Photo Considerations

What makes a good photo a great photo

When taking photos do you ever stop to ask yourself; why am I taking this photograph? Often, we see a scene or subject matter and just start shooting because something about the scene or subject matter appeals to us.

However, before we start shooting, it can be beneficial to pause before shooting and ask ourselves a few questions. By doing so, we may find that we capture or create better images.

I know that I am sometimes guilty of shooting and then thinking more about my images when post processing them. When in fact, with a little more upfront thinking and planning I might have created a stronger image when shooting.

Below are a few questions that I have come up with, maybe you will find them helpful too.

Taking photos

• Subject matter
  • What am I shooting?
  • Why am I shooting it?
  • Is this the best time of day?
• Composition, Lighting & Framing
  • How should I frame my subject?
  • What elements can I use to isolate or frame my subject?
  • Am I making best use of the available lighting conditions?
• Exposure
  • What combination of Aperture & Shutter Speed should I use?
  • Do I need to apply any exposure compensation?
  • What is the best white balance setting to use?

Processing

• What RAW corrections or adjustments do I need to apply?
• Do I need to crop my image?
• How can I exploit the data in my RAW file?
• What creative adjustments do I want to apply?
• How am I going to use the final image

Sometimes it’s not clear to me how I want to process an image but sometimes I am not sure what to do. So I just put my images to one side and wait for that little bit of inspiration to arrive before processing them.