CJS Photo Magic - Online Photography Course for Digital Camera's: Learn how to improve your photos and make money with Photography

While beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, there is still a general criteria that makes a photo stand out and look great.

You can use the information below to judge your own photos, or as a guide to taking future ones. Compare your photos before and after applying this information to see the difference it makes to you, and to others who see your photos.

Balance	How do all the things in the photo "gel' together? Does the main object conflict in size or other ways with another object that is not the area of interest?
Composition	Where is the object in the photo? Does it obey the "rule of thirds?"
Clarity	Clarity can be effected by focus, composition, space, contrast and even color.
Color	How nice is the color? Is it the same in your photo as it was in real life?
Detail	How good is the focus? Is the area you want to capture in sharp focus and is there a nice amount of detail?
Light	Is the scene lit nicely? The color and angle of the sun in the mornings and afternoon can give an interesting and beautiful depth for example, but if the light is coming from behind the subject too much it can look aweful.
Noise / Grain	Most of the time any hint of noise or grain can make a photo look let appealing, especially the case in color photography, however grainy black & white photos can look great. Low noise is the ultimate test of quality camera and can be what sets apart normal photos a professional photography.
Space	Is there a sense of space or does the viewer feel claustrophobic? Space is usually achieved by having the subject or object clearly separate from backgrounds.
Focal Point	This a the first point the eye looks at in a photo. Is it clear or hiding amoung a cluttered background?
Position	Where were you when taking the photo? Did you have a good view of what you were photographing? This is a more intuitive aspect of photography, for example most people would naturally take a photo of their friend with a famous monument behind them.
Framing	This is how the scene fits in to the rectangular shape of the photo. Does everything fit in nicely? Holding a camera normally (horizontal) is great for most photos such as landscapes, but holding it vertically is usually the best choice for taking portraits and photos of people. It's always best to leave some room on the edges of the frame.
Texture	Every object has some kind of texture, for example wood, rusted metal, water, dirt, skin. Capturing the texture nicely can make it easier to image what it would feel like, adding more for the senses of the viewer than just sight. Contrast is very important when trying to convey texture.
Contrast	Generally, if a photo has too little contrast the result is a very "flat" and washed out image. Most cameras have fairly high contrast that look better but still not as natural as our eyes see. Getting the right contrast between bright and dark areas in a photo is more of an artform, and very important.
Story	A picture tells a thousand words. Photos become art if they also tell a great story. Do you eyes get taken on a journey around the photo? Is time also captured?
Art	Art provokes emotion in addition to being technically accurate and pleasing.
Scale	Can you get a sense of size in the photo? This is often difficult because a photo is smaller than real life, but you can address this with creative camera angles, such as down low looking up, or panorama's for landscapes.
Shape	What curves and lines give the photo it's overall shape?

Lighting, contrast, color, anti-blur, grain, and focus etc. are all things that require skill from the user. You need to know how to control the camera in the best way to get the desired effect, and have a basic understanding of light and how the camera sees.

Embarassingly often, photos can turn out too dark or bright, blurry, grainy, out of focus, and have unappealing color. By learning how to control this, your photos can become stunning works of art.