Tuesday, May 26, 2015

What makes a photograph great?

At the 9-11 Memorial, New York City, Stephen P. Russell
It seems to never fail, that in an exhibition of photographs, there are always one or two which stand out from the rest. Even though decisions are mostly subjective about how great an image is, most people zero into the same few images they consider great.

Invariably it's not one or two characteristics of an image that make it great, but a host of them, and how they work together. Contrary to popular belief, the qualities which make a great photograph aren't a secret of professional photographers and editors. Anyone who thinks about it, can figure it out.