Top Photographers Answer, “What Makes a Good Photograph?” 34

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What makes a good photo? Why do some photos succeed while others fail? What is a good photo versus a bad photo? I often look in awe at other photographers’ images from the places I’ve been and think, “how did they see that?”

I went out into the online world in search of answers. How did they see that, and can you and I see it too?

I asked some my favorite great photographers one question.

The format was completely open ended; these great photographers were free to include as much or as little as they wanted.

“What is the most important element of a good photo?”

The answers.

The shooting styles and photographic resumes of these photographers vary greatly, but they all have one thing in common: their work inspires me. Their photographs are beautiful to look at, they’re deeply emotive, and they drive me to become better. I highly recommend taking a look at each of their sites and following them as I do. After all, who better to learn from than the people who inspire us?

Presenting the photographers and their answers:

Justin Mott

“I always teach my workshop students you want someone to feel something, some sort of an emotion when they look at your images. That could be curiosity, anger, sadness, happiness, etc. The most important element of a photo to me is its ability to evoke emotion.”

Burma by Justin Mott

Justin is an award winning photographer. He’s worked with The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Forbes, Conde Nast Traveler, and National Geographic Traveler, just to name a few. Read more about Justin and view his breathtaking work at https://www.justinmott.com/

Tanveer Badal

“You have to really care about whatever you’re shooting. I know it sounds like a cliché but when I first started taking photos, like most amateur photographers, I would shoot everything in sight. Flowers. Doorknobs. Nascar. It didn’t matter that I didn’t care about pretty flowers, door knobs or cars going in circles, I just took photos of them because I thought that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re holding a big camera and something ‘cool’ is in front of you and you wanted to take a good photo.

“After the first million or whatever shots, I stopped my serial shooting spree. Now I don’t shoot as much but I’m always looking. One of my favorite parts about being a photographer is that it forces you to pay attention to things ordinary people may take for granted, or worse, not even notice. Light. Weather. Seasons. Most of my favorite shots were often taken at quick bursts — when inspiration struck and I was mentally and physically in a glorious state.”

Top Photographers Answer, “What Makes a Good Photograph?”

Tanveer is a travel and wedding photographer who’s done work from the USA to Bangladesh and everywhere in between. See more of Tanveer’s stunning photography at https://www.tanveerbadal.com

Jon Reid

“After spending 10 years hung up in the technicalities of photography, I’ve come to appreciate that a good photograph is one that causes some sort of emotional response. We’re bombarded with so much imagery that our most common response to photography is indifference whether they are good images or not. If an image surprises me through an unusual view, wows me through its sheer beauty or makes me angry by showing injustice, it is a good photograph. It could be technically terrible, poorly composed and horribly exposed, but if it causes an emotional response, it will be memorable and therefore successful.”

Jon and his wife Tina are freelance photographers based in London. Their professional work has been used in magazines, print, web advertisements, and designer look books. See more of Jon and Tina’s incredible photography at https://www.nomadicvision.com/, and view their fashion and lifestyle work here: https://jonreid.net/

Larissa Olenicoff

“Good photographs put you in a particular moment in time, they tell a story, or they speak to your emotions. The most important element of a great photograph is that it does all of the above. That’s what makes great pictures, great pictures.”

Larissa does things with her iPhone that make me and my fancy DSLR envious. Her creativity permeates her photos through her beautiful editing style. View more of her moving images here: https://blonde-gypsy.com/

Colin Roohan

“The ability to capture a frame with some element of intrigue is highly important when making a good photograph. This is going to keep your audience captivated. The intriguing element will invite your viewer into your scene allowing them to create their own narrative. What makes a great photographer? The ability to visualize emotion through your lens.”

Colin has worked with AFAR Magazine, Travel + Leisure, The Royal Geographical Society’s Hidden Journeys, Groove Magazine, and others. View more of his captivating photography here: https://www.colinroohanphotography.com/

David Lazar

“When you are talking to good photographers, you are going to get a lot of technical tips, but I think the most important aspect to make a good photograph would have to be: interesting and engaging subject matter. Even if certain technical aspects are not well executed such as focus and composition, there can still be a reason for finding the photo meaningful. Ideally, engaging subject matter, lighting, composition and a sharp focal point are the most important aspects, collaboratively.  Interesting lighting in photography is most fundamental, composition contributes in giving impact and aesthetic merit, and a part of the photo in good focus to draw our attention to the subject are very important. But an uninteresting subject matter for me will still leave a photo with little appeal even if all the other technical aspects mentioned are well executed.

“Everybody finds different subjects in photography appealing to varying degrees, which is why photography is subjective. But if we can find subject matter that a large percentage of people will be drawn to and they find stimulating, then we are starting to achieve amazing photography.”

David’s expert use of color and light draws his viewers in and keeps them there. In 2012 he won the travel category of the Smithsonian Photography Competition, and his work is frequently published in travel and photography magazines. David hails from Brisbane, Australia, and he has been traveling annually since 2004. View more of David’s masterful work: https://davidlazarphoto.com/

Mitchell Kanashkevich

“The most important element to me is not necessarily tangible. A good photograph must make the viewer care, engaged. How it makes a viewer engaged can be achieved in different ways, composition, light, the choice of subject – any or all of these — all of these help answer the question “what makes a great photographer?”

Mitchell is a professional photographer and author who’s been published in a wide variety of books and magazines including the NY Institute of Photography Book “Top Travel Photo Tips” and Lonely Planet Traveler. View more of his powerful images: https://www.mitchellkphotos.com/ and check out his current project here: Eyevoyage

Dario Endara

“The most important element of a good photo is the ability of the photograph to communicate with the viewer.  It should be able to tell a story through its composition, lighting, and most importantly its subject matter.”

Dario is an American photographer living in the Netherlands. He shoots a wide variety of genres including travel, wedding, portrait, and underwater scenes. His goal is to cover as much of the globe as possible, and he’s well on his way having visited more than 30 countries. Read Dario’s stories and see more of his brilliant photographs at his website: https://www.darioendara.com/

Clare Absolon

“The most important element of good images is the story that it tells. I don’t believe that you need to be a professional to take a great photograph; as long as you have a grasp of composition and lighting you should be ok. My favourite photographs are always the ones that evoke a feeling or a memory, transporting you to another place and time. Often this means avoiding the obvious shot, and instead trying to capture the images that reflect the story of your individual experience to create something unique.”

Clare primarily shoots digital and she edits her photos to a classical perfection that’d be easy to mistake for film. Her photography style had me hooked as soon as I came upon her website. She’s embarking on a round the world trip later this year. 

Mark Timothy

The most important element of a good photograph is, “to capture the energy of the subject. Too many people think the question is — what makes a good photographer — when the real question is how you watch and observe a scene before you even click your camera lens. Great photographers are all great observers first.”

Mark photographs patterns and movements in natural light. He sometimes blurs the images to take away the hard edges, and he looks within his subjects to capture the core energy. See more of his beautiful imagery at his website: www.marktimothystudios.com/

Ken Kaminesky

“If you survey great photographers, the answer is subjective to the type of photograph and we are talking about. There is a big difference between a newsworthy photograph, fashion photographs, travel photographs, food photographs, and so forth.

“Even breaking it down within one genre like travel can be difficult. For the type of travel photography that I do, the most important element would have to be the sense of awe that the photograph conveys to the viewer. If the reaction to one of my photographs is that the viewer wishes he or she could visit that location then I’m doing something right.”

Over the last ten years Ken has been shooting commercial lifestyle images with stock photography agencies including Alamy, Jupiterimages, Corbis and Getty Images. His travels are extensive and ongoing, and he has been making good photos and sharing his experiences on popular travel photography websites on the internet over all that time.

Matt Brandon

“If we are talking about a portrait of a human, then I think the emotional element will trump all others. That is not to say that composition, the technical side of the image shouldn’t be there i.e. correct exposure, focus, and so forth. But I think history remembers the emotional images as the good photos more than the technically perfect ones. Mind you, not every portrait has such great emotion, but even in the stoic face we must feel something, a connection with the subject. To me this trumps everything else and I think great photographers would universally agree.”

Matt is a Malaysia based humanitarian, travel photographer, and author who collaborates with NGOs to tell their stories and train their field staff to do the same. His images have been used by clients such as Partner Aid International, NeighborWorks, the BBC, Honda Motor Corporation, and Bombadier Transport Corporation, Asian Geographic, KLM Airlines and others. View more of Matt’s spectacular work at his website: https://www.thedigitaltrekker.com/

Richard I’Anson

“Light! The ability of light to transform a subject or scene from the ordinary to the extraordinary is one of the most powerful tools at the photographer’s disposal in order to produce a good photo. Given all other things are equal: it is the light that a photographer shoots in that sets images apart and takes a bad photo to a great photo quickly.”

Richard literally wrote the book on travel photography, having authored Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Photography. He’s been traveling for over 30 years, and he’s visited 85 countries and all 7 continents. He’s published a total of 10 books, and when he’s not traveling he lives at home in Sydney, Australia. View more of his amazing work at his website: https://richardianson.com/

What I learned

This project is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and I’m really honored that each of these supremely talented photographers wanted to participate. Despite having such varied shooting styles and backgrounds, each of these great photographers are focused on very similar fundamentals. By extension then, anyone who wants to take better pictures should focus on these fundamentals as well.

Also worth noting is that none of these photographers mentioned their camera gear when answering this question. I don’t know what kind of cameras were used to make these images, but does it matter? The photographers created the images you see here, and gaining insight into what they were thinking is far more valuable than knowing what kind of gear was used.

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