Are these defects BREAKING your photos?

Why some photographs just don’t work as well as they could
Can we first agree on one thing: These days, the vast majority of photos being made are horrible.

As pictures, they simply do not work.

As a gallery owner, exhibition consultant, and photo competition judge, I view and analyse many thousands of photos every single week.

Can you imagine the huge variation in the quality of these images? From exceptional to truly disastrous. Why?

Some photographs rise above the others mainly because they exhibit clear, decisive intention on the part of the photographer.

But equally, they are measurably better in their construction.

Put another way: Great photos don't have the deficiencies found in most other pictures.

So if you want to make stronger, more effective photographs, you can start by avoiding and eliminating defects.

And you should be doing this right from the time of capture.

Before you press the shutter you need to run through a checklist of criteria.

Some of these criteria are positive influences: those characteristics that you want in the photo and must emphasise. Others are negative; things to be avoided or eliminated.

Doing this makes you a designer of photographs.

Let’s look at some of the most typical ‘bad’ things we see. Here’s a very condensed list of just a few of the main problems frequently found in photographs:

• Weak subject*: it’s hard for the viewer to determine what the photo is about. This usually comes from too much going on in the frame.
  
  
• Distractions: even when the main subject is clear, other things pull attention away from it. Distractions are often elements of high contrast, drawing the eye to them.
  
  
• Eyes taken out of the frame: elements near the edges or corners of the frame, and/or directional lines move the viewer’s eye—or, more accurately, their imagination—out of the picture space.
  
  
• Bullseye effect: main subject located in the centre of the photo, preventing active eye travel around the frame. (But there are exceptions when this might not be considered a fault.)
  
  
• Wonky horizon: when a strong horizontal line runs across the frame it feels off-kilter, creating discomfort in viewing. Note that this crooked line could actually be invisible, created by other elements within the frame. This wonky feeling can be used for creative effect but, too often, it's done unintentionally.
  
  
• Dust spots etc.: specks, blobs, wiggly lines of hair or fibre, scratches … anything on your sensor, film or lens that creates unwanted marks in the photo. (You might be surprised how often these are overlooked!)
  
  
• Not sharp where it should be: which elements are in perfect focus and which are not gets into one of the most creative and artistic areas of photography. But too often, the thing that really should be sharp just isn't.

And so on.

You will probably have noticed that the majority of these problems could be categorised as ‘distractions’. Fundamentally, you must eliminate anything that interferes with the viewer’s emotional and intellectual experience of looking at the photo.

*Regarding the subject of a photo: obviously, whether the actual subject matter is interesting to a viewer is very, um, subjective. What I might think is intellectually stimulating may not resonate with you, and vice versa. But great design stands independent of any specific subject matter.

What’s most important is that you’re making photographs of things that you personally and honestly find compelling. If you don’t really love it, this will show in the finished picture, and will create a disconnect for viewers, as well.

So that’s our first objective to making stronger photographs: Identify what you want the viewer to be looking at and remove any distractions from it.

(Now you may be thinking, “Gosh… that all sounds like a lot of work. I just want to have fun with my photography and not think too much about it.” If this is how you really feel, that's totally OK—but then my training isn’t a good fit for you…)

When you fix or altogether avoid problems like the ones I've described above, it’s like pulling a veil off your images—clarity, power and connection start to shine through.