There are many opinions on a good or a bad photo. Photography is an art, and any form of art is subjective to the viewer. While some may call an image excellent, others may call it ordinary. However, we cannot leave it at that and accept ANY image as, ‘acceptable’. Looking at the technical aspects of it, no photograph can be a ‘good’ one without good lighting and good composition. These are two important aspects of an image that need to be accounted for when we speak of a ‘good’ image.

On the other hand, it is also true that people with absolutely no knowledge of these two elements of photography are able to immediately know when they lay their eyes on a good image. It is a spontaneous reaction that tells them that the image they are seeing is a winning photograph. This is because the subconscious mind is able to work out issues such as lighting and composition while the conscious mind may not have grasped them as yet. This you may say is a debatable conclusion, but how else could you reason out a layman liking or disliking an image. Any which way, there is no doubt that lighting and composition are two critical factors when you speak of an image being ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

As photographers, we need to work out WHY an image is good, WHAT makes for a good lighting set-up and also the factors that define good composition.

Once we have learnt to look deeper into an image and break it down consciously into aspects that the mind has already favoured, we are in a much better position to think before we shoot an image our selves. This process is critical when we take photographs. The fact is, that the thought process that takes place in your mind before you actually shoot is far more important than actually triggering the shutter. This may not be entirely true where candid images are concerned, and we believe that shooting good candid images comes from even harder training. Try starting with predetermined images where you have your lighting and composition figured out. Once you are completely familiar with these aspects, you simply ‘know’ at the back of your mind when you do happen to see a scenario that does bear the makings of a good image, and then you start shooting candid.

Journalistic photographers do not have the luxury of planning out their lighting as studio photographers do, and this makes their jobs even harder. At the same time, a news image is acceptable even when it is grainy or lacking in some aspect marginally. Studio photography leaves no room for such factors – studio images need to be well composed and a lot of planning needs to go into them – there is absolutely no excuse for lack of sharpness, bad lighting or thoughtless compositions.

Do start experimenting for yourself – digital has made the learning process so much simpler. Look at an image that you ‘know’ you like and go ahead and try and define why you like it. Then, try and make a similar image yourself, and when you are able to achieve results even a little similar to the masterpiece that you had in mind, your learning process has begun – we will help you with this in the coming articles.