How to take a good photo
Here are a few ideas I picked up from browsing images in Flickr. I just went for a bit of a hunt through the interesting images until I found a good image and then documented the arresting feature. What I ended up with was a list of hints to try to remember next time I'm out and about taking photos.
Shoot relection in water
Get the focus right. Don't just mirrow images - make the single subject the focus.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tjt195/12127930/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93893205@N00/64184940/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciro/1758435/
Shoot through water
Make sure there's no reflection.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djs1021/29143860/
Self referential
Take a photo, print, return to the scene and take a photo of the photo. Interesting but a bit cheap unless relevant.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raul/41476707/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95111447@N00/40238228/
BW for portraits
Grain and starkness add gravitas to subjects
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eddielaw/49919568/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stillpicture/39463802/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/babsi/42389067/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cariephoto/show/
Night shots enhanced by lingering sunset
Adds colour and drama to the image
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilfjames/822205/
Close ups of chaos makes viewer doubletake
The viewer spends longer processing the image leading to more rewarding consumption
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yeahboone/28365913/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolffman17/16998094/
Fame and action are enough
Good subjects always work. See paparazi and sports photographers. The subject matter speaks for itself.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/froodmat/51128168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatevernevermind/22981532/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelydixel/6321340/
A new perspective
Put the lense where the eye can't go: high, low, big, small.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny_meriel/20297074/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vision_aerie/3245770/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuelyung/37945030/
Camera is faster than the eye
It can reveal things we never see with the naked eye. Run of the mill, point and shoot, photos are generally too slow.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/borghetti/6596202/
Photographers photo
Photographers have their own tricks whci add a sense of unreality to an image and takes it out of the everyday: play with light, backlit, noir, infra red.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artofgold/32012683/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theorem/23719776/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bhikku/17602694/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ackley/2942132/
Beauty in abstract
Abstract shapes sparate the image from photography and reach to other ideas. Also good for contrasting the natural and mechanical.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryan/25652552/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlyambiguous/19985476/
Photo as canvas
Crops on street art elevate the art to a canvas once the grime of the street is removed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dispositive/23114600/
Juxtapose for comic effect
Jokes are unexpected truth, so too with photos. Works well for portraits. Gets you another look in at the subject.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/henk/796710/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janv/13816599/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/betina/13993717/
Contrast for interest
Contrating subject matter makes us think.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whileseated/50636340/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twmlabs/41482884/
Focus draws attention to an idea
A non descript photo gains strength by telling a story by emphasising certain elements through focus/blurring.
Colour stands out
Look for blocks, gradations and contrasts.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mylakent/63475757/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marct/32766382/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34379736@N00/64086472/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chun/9887123/
Form can be interesting too
Probably doesn't have as much punch as colour.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k/4505471/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/34337425/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/esthet/3753156/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cariephoto/2433627/
Texture is cool as well
Even more subtlehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/special/3912163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictobox/4747479/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bingolittle/4302278/
Less is more
Photos can trigger a creative process like a book. It doesn't all have to be spelt out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emikohime/62333544/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/velvethellvis/41596903/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john/10881278/in/pool-moms/
Be brave to get the subjects
A lot of images are the same. You need to become at one with your subject
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdierdorff/53940727/
Strangeness is evocative
Staged photos don't strike me head on but do evoke strange mixed feelings.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furnari/8481521/
The passing of time
Images capture a fraction of a second but the can capture so much more: exposure, repetition, blurring, sequence.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanbornstudios/36360575/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonlucas/17302350/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reality/3764433/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/patisfaction/1864688/
Window to another world
Viewing a photo is voyeristic. We gain insights into another's world - a stolen moment. These are the trickiest photos to get and I feel quite guilty about taking them. The viewer avoids most of this guilt as they are reduced to consumer rather than exploiter.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elix/160596/
Sex sells
Sensual images will stir emotions. Even the suggestion of sex is enough for arousal.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mivella/15150349/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43472158@N00/3320688/
Push the limits, strip away the unnecessary
Draw attention the the essential aspects of an image: high contrast. over exposed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkvam/1177681/
The eyes have it
Beauty is in the eye of the beheld.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twmlabs/41482884/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/noqontrol/11757131/
Shooting to the light increases contrast
Usually you want to avoid it because of loss of detail in forground images, however, striking silohettes can be formed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellishall/52103259/
Tags
photography
flickr
