What makes a good/great photographer?

doublehelix2

doublehelix2

doublehelix2

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I always wondered about what makes someone good/great at taking phtographs, and there are a lot of you guys here. So what are your opinions? I'm a layman to this, so please feel free to be condescending. lol:cool:
 
Good eye for composition, have that and you can give them any camera and they'll snap something and people go "wow", be it a DSLR or a camera phone.
 
as well as having all the technical skills it also depends what kind of shoots they do

a good fashion/glamour photographer can light a scene perfectly to flatter the models best features and hide the worst

a good photo journalist needs to capture the "moment"


etc etc
 
Prepartion
Research
Equipment
Patience
Time
Practice
Subject

etc etc.

There are some people out there who suggest that it's as easy as picking up a camera and having a magic touch/eye, as long as you possess said magic or it may grow.
Lets be realistic, its not like painting, if you try hard and research and some cases copy, your work will begin to advance. Then its up to you to take what you've learnt a step further. Most of the photography seen in this forum or in the art world today has been done before.
You could say tat in some way all landscape is copying Ansel Adams, or all candids are copying Walker Evans blah blah blah. :)

If you want to be a good photographer of flowers or insects go sit in a field or the garden and practice, if you want to be recognised as an artist you have to push the boundaries of what has not been done before, and thats not easy.
 
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In a word: Passion.

The best photographers are passionate about their work to the point of obsession. They go through life framing the world through a real or imaginary viewfinder. This passion leads them to strive for perfection, to train their eye, to hone their technique, to plan and prepare for the "perfect" shot and to be ruthless in that pursuit no matter what the cost in time or discomfort.
 
aztechnology said:
personally I think it's that "eye" that matters.

Aadd a little bit of technical know how and Bob's your uncle.
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The problem i have with this, is a similar problem i have with the way people interprete the competition entrys. A good photographer wont see "window" and find the said "eye" and take a picture of a window via rules of third. You might consider taking a picture of Buckingham Palace's windows "the eye", i wouldn't.
I would prefer to see some people research peoples eye onto the world or the way caves window onto a beach, or whatever, "windows" doesn't just mean window.

Thats is not found by an eye, but by fore-thought, and what i previously said.
 
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ChroniC said:
Thats is not found by an eye, but by fore-thought, and what i previously said.
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I agree up to an extend. Most photographers would have an idea of a shot they would like but unless they're composed in a studio environment (or a grand scale depending on how much time, money and influence they've got), I can only see photographer's "good eye" to spot a place they've been passed or by chance see a fitting place for a composition

i.e. (with your beach and cave idea) walking down the beach and spotting a little cave across the other side, wondering in and realised looking out the cave entrance is the perfect view of the beach. Using the cave walls to frame the breach.

So it's not as much fore thought than luck, imaginative/creative and good eye to spot such a shot.
 
Dr Jones said:
Good eye for composition, have that and you can give them any camera and they'll snap something and people go "wow", be it a DSLR or a camera phone.
Click to expand...

There are a few people on here who you know that you could give them any camera and they will make a take a good shot of something.
 
I'd say many great photographers are able to see a shot before it is shot, the "decisive moment" - when should a shot be taken? totally up to the person behind the viewfinder but to get that moment they have to know it's coming and be on the ready.

In the olden days they didn't have 10fps cameras or anything, just a Leica and a lens (or equiv) and whilst today it's easier to grab moments with bursts hooting it does not fix errors in composition or focus/lighting and metering so still the photographer needs to know his or her camera inside out to get everything 1:1 out of the box!

Many people also think you need to have all the flash heads and strobes and kit to be a good photographer and people will associate a good photographer with such equipment and I don't think that's going to change any time soon, the bigger your kit list spans the more professional you look to people and even if your shots come out bad people will reckon they are excellent quality because of the kit used sadly!
 
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mrk has pointed out a very common misconception that is prevalent around here - that to take excellent photographs one needs the latest kit. In fact the reverse is probably true.

The rapid advancement of the technology is often a barrier to mastering the basics of the technique of capturing an image on film or ccd. Don't get me wrong, I am all for advancement but there are a few fundamentals that have to come first.

How often does one see someone trying to take a photograph using thousands of pounds worth of equipment holding the camera and standing in such a way as to almost guarantee camera shake in the hope that the VR and IS technology will compensate for this? All too often in my experience!

Since my friends know that I am an obsessive and experienced photographer I am frequently asked "Why didn't this turn out right?" and find myself explaining yet again the basic relationships between shutter speed, aperture, film speed and depth of focus and the creative choices and restrictions that they make us work under. Sadly far too many of my friends still expect the camera to do all the work for them and are still surprised when they are disappointed with the results and then seek to solve this by spending still more money on kit which will never be used to even close to its full potential.

On the bright side, some of my friends have been prepared to accept the fact that the equipment can't do it all, taken on board the fundamental techniques for taking a picture and improved the results they get immeasurably. In the cases of the ones I really trust this has meant that they have borrowed an F3 body with a 50mm lens from me for a couple of weeks to discover with their own eyes and fingers what their far more modern equipment is doing and to then take control back for themselves.

Of course, not everybody has the same level of natural talent. This is of course an unfashionable point of view in these depressing days when bright children are held back in our schools for fear of traumatising their slower classmates. To do anything well requires natural aptitude and hard work. A lot of hard work. How many of us have bought an electric guitar with visions of playing like Hendrix only to give up after a couple of weeks when we discover that it is not as easy as it looks?
 
I think in my opinion, passion, commitment and a level of natural ability will make or break a good photographer.
I don't believe you can really teach someone to "see a good shot" or "visualise a shot" ahead of time, you either do it automatically or not at all. But thats my opinon.

I think influences and style do come into play. I've had my head buried in the pages of Andy Rouse's new book "Concepts of Nature" and its worked wonders for me, not in terms of going out and just trying to copy stuff from the book. I've found its given me more insight into what makes a beautiful natural image, as opposed to a technically perfect but boring capture.

In terms of gear and equipment, I think that its relativley easy to spend a fortune and have the camera simply rattle off at 10fps, like chucking mud at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. I say this because its something I used to be a victim of.
That said, to get good images, at the end of the day no amount of money spent on gear can teach you composition, it may get you closer to the subject with a big lens, or produce a huge image with a 22MP body, but at the end of the day those are only technical enhancements.
 
So reading all the above ive concluded im going to sell my kit. :o

No seriously great feedback from opening post!!
 
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