What Makes a Good Photo?

In February last year I was looking around an entire gallery of competition winners. One thing that struck me was the fact that I struggled to find an image that hadn’t been heavily Photo shopped. Don’t get me wrong, there were some amazing images there and quite deservedly so. However, it got me thinking about what makes an image good!

I change my mind from one day to the next as to what makes a photo really good. One day I get annoyed at those heavily manipulated images that seem to be all the rage with many photographers these days. The next day I am loving them, processing and creating them myself! For example, the following image from a recent wedding I shot was a set up from the start.

It is slightly blurred, a little grainy and overexposed, However, during the rest of the day and night I didn’t manage to get a more natural shot of the bride and her mother together. To be honest, I don’t think I could have done if I had the whole of the next day and night too!

A week or so later during a camping holiday with my family, we had an evening of exceptional light. I dragged my kids into a nearby field for some semi-posed stock shots (below left). Within minutes, things broke down (as they generally do with children). I quickly snapped this photo before my kids jumped all over me (below right).

It is slightly blurred, a little grainy and overexposed, However, during the rest of the day and night I didn’t manage to get a more natural shot of the bride and her mother together. To be honest, I don’t think I could have done if I had the whole of the next day and night too!