From the course: Learning to Critique Photos

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Common characteristics of strong photographs

Common characteristics of strong photographs

From the course: Learning to Critique Photos

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Common characteristics of strong photographs

- Art is not a democracy, but there are some common characteristics of strong photographs. Technically, they should be really good, but even technical excellence can be trumped by strong content. You can have a technically excellent, boring image, and conversely, sometimes the shortcomings in technique can be an advantage in some images. Take this image here. It's a plane coming into JFK at night. It's a two and a half second exposure. Now, I'm not using a tripod, can't really use a tripod in this situation, so I'm pressing the camera up against the glass, trying to be as steady as I can so that the things that aren't moving in the image, or moving that much, like the wing, will be sharp, and the lights will create this beautiful pattern. I think if you were to be critical, you might say, "Well, it's not maybe as sharp "as it could be, the wing anyway," but the reality is, what's being conveyed kind of trumps any technical shortcomings, and the picture works, in my opinion. You know…

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