• A good photo should first please the photographer, then the audience.
• A good photo should have balance (in components and subjects too. Don’t have negative space).
• Leading lines should lead the eye to the image.
• An image should not exhaust the eye. Should not be too noisy (colors and components).

Beautiful does not equal good.

Beauty is subjective.

There are a set of criteria that define a perfect picture:

• Technical:

  • How well lit is the scene or the subject?
  • Is the focus exactly where it should be?
  • Is it sharp?
  • Is the noise at its minimum?
  • Does the dynamic range show the maximum amount of detail?

• Story:

  • Does the photo tell a story?
  • What is it about?
  • What is happening in the world that this photograph is showing?

• Meaning:

  • Does the photograph say something?
  • Is it a symbol?
  • Is it a form of criticism?

• Feeling:

  • What feeling does the photograph provoke?
  • What emotion does the photographer want the viewer to feel?

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  By looking at the history of the most important pictures, we can understand that the technical aspects are not always important. Some of the greatest images in the world were out of focus, slightly blurry…