Whats the distinction between an 'ok' image and a 'WOW!' image?

[BEGM83]

So we all take pictures. But what makes one person's images 'ok' and anothers eye poppingly 'wow'?

Just been pondering on this but can the same image be both meh and wow at the same time (obviously to different people!) or is there a difference between a technically proficient meh and a down right rubbish meh or are they one and the same?

How do you differentiate between the two?

[Aleix]

Well it is not only something related with post processing techniques, even though they do play a role making a picture pop. Some factors I can think of right now:

- Originality
- Great composition
- Pic tells a story or clearly transmits a message or a concept
- Good use of techniques like dragging the shutter, long exposure, etc.
- Good technical settings: exposure, focus, sharpness, etc.
- Good postprocessing: usually avoiding excessive saturation, cropping, color correction, noise removal, etc.
- Great lightning to give a dramatic effect, or to avoid harsh shadows, high-low key, etc.
- Etc.

Regards

[Nicole]

Sure, my thought is an image can definitely be meh to one person and wow to another. All I have to do to confirm my suspicion of that is to look at photo contests. I don't always agree with the winners, but obviously whoever picked the winner saw something that was wow in an image that makes me go meh.

I also think that yes, there can be a technically proficient meh and a rubbish meh. Which really just goes back to my first thought. But just because an image is technically proficient doesn't mean it's going to be wow. I think it just helps get it there. I think my mental scale is something like:

Rubbish > Rubbish Meh > Meh > Technically proficient meh >a bit off, but ooooh > ooooh, nifty > wow > oh my god, wow, I doubt I'll ever be able to shoot something that amazing

So, I think long story short, I'm just going to say that the difference between meh and wow, is that gut feeling.

[sk66]

It's an individual thing of course, But the difference between OK and WOW can be very minor...it's surprising really.
Often it's almost "subliminal" differences that make it....

[mokka]

je ne sais quoi

[LeeR]

As usual, I agree with sk66; the difference between an OK image and a WOW image can often be very subtle. But I would discourage you from trying to find a formula that explains the difference. A lot of people try to hold up the rule of thirds as a possible factor but I can show you a whole lot of images that fit the rule of thirds precisely but fail as WOW images and vice versa. My own personaly theory is that learning to communicate with photographs is a great deal like learning to communicate in a foriegn language; there are a million things to keep in mind, all at the same time: the conjugation of the verbs, the meaning of the nouns, the tenses, the genders, etc., but eventually, with enough practice, you are doing it and people are understanding what you are trying to say.
Now, you may ask the question, "Why don't I just say what I want to say with words rather than try to put it into a photograph?" Certainly, this is an option available to you, but consider the following; photographs, like all art forms, often bypasses our natural defenses and we are able to communicate ideas that people would normally never conciously entertain. That means your images could possibly have a profound effect on people the world over. Check out "13 photographs that changed the world."

[Jill H]

thanks for the link Lee - fascinating!

[Jim Bryant]

a WOW image makes one want to return again and again or stay longer to study every aspect (see Aleix comment). It has drawing power and impact. An OK images gets, "That's nice!"

[candidrachel]

Its the ability to make something boring look interesting and to capture an image in a unique way that makes your photographs different to everyone else's.

[kate.si]

How many people agree that it's "wow"? I'm not going to say that there isn't something innate to the photograph but I think it also has a lot to do with who's looking at it. I think it's a lot like music. Sometimes you put a bunch of notes together and it's a piece that moves you to tears. Sometimes you can put a bunch of notes together and you pat your kid on the back and hope they practice more.