How to tell if your picture is a "great picture"

[sk66]

Ok, it's late (I had to work 13+ hours today), I'm still awake, and there's nothing on TV....so I thought I'd share.

Something I've noticed and which (I think) helps me better judge my own work.

Make your picture as small as possible while still being able to tell "what it is". Does it grab your focus? Does it "demand" attention? If so, it may be a GREAT picture.

Make it 1/2 size. Now does it grab you? If so, it may be a very good picture.

Make it full size. Now does it grab you and demand attention? It may be a good/ok picture.

(It's better if this is done along with many other pictures as in a "gallery view". Lightroom is great for this purpose.)

There are exceptions to this of course, but look around at other peoples photos/galleries....It's almost always the pictures that stand out when at "thumbnail" size that are the truly very good/great pictures.

Unfortunately, very few (if any) of my pictures will pass the "may be great" test.

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by sk66

Ok, it's late (I had to work 13+ hours today), I'm still awake, and there's nothing on TV....so I thought I'd share.

Something I've noticed and which (I think) helps me better judge my own work.

Make your picture as small as possible while still being able to tell "what it is". Does it grab your focus? Does it "demand" attention? If so, it may be a GREAT picture.

Make it 1/2 size. Now does it grab you? If so, it may be a very good picture.

Make it full size. Now does it grab you and demand attention? It may be a good/ok picture.

(It's better if this is done along with many other pictures as in a "gallery view". Lightroom is great for this purpose.)

There are exceptions to this of course, but look around at other peoples photos/galleries....It's almost always the pictures that stand out when at "thumbnail" size that are the truly very good/great pictures.

Unfortunately, very few (if any) of my pictures will pass the "may be great" test.

Ask yourself: "Would I pay $250.00 for this?"

[sk66]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

Ask yourself: "Would I pay $250.00 for this?"

Jeeze, that just eliminated everything I've ever done....I'm cheap.

[GEli]

Isn't this more a test of how heavy the contrast and saturation has been ladled onto a shot? Anything without a great deal of "pop" would be excluded from such a rating scheme, yet many great images have been created with more subtle gradients and less garish colours.

This is probably a good way to judge if an image will get a second look in a high-volume contest judging, though. With multiple thousands of images, the initial review is often done with thumbnail size images and blazingly fast review periods.

[daft_biker]

How do I tell? The shot puts a big smile on my face

[sk66]

[QUOTE=GEli;311166]Isn't this more a test of how heavy the contrast and saturation has been ladled onto a shot? Anything without a great deal of "pop" would be excluded from such a rating scheme, yet many great images have been created with more subtle gradients and less garish colours.
[QUOTE]

No, I don't think so. A very good black and white will stand out as well. However, I did say "may be" whatever quality....The saturation/contrast may work even if you can't tell what the subject is.
BTW, I would say MOST great photos have subtler gradients and less garish colors.

Spend some time looking at other's galleries critically....

[sk66]

Originally Posted by daft_biker

How do I tell? The shot puts a big smile on my face

And THAT is all that matters if this hobby is for your personal enjoyment only.

[waffles]

Originally Posted by daft_biker

How do I tell? The shot puts a big smile on my face

I'm with you on that one. I don't think there is a magical formula you can use to tell if a shot is great.

If there's a good shot, you can just tell. The whole thing is so subjective anyway...

[Laurence]

Everyone has different opionions on everything. If I take a photo and find it very pleasing then it is a great shot to me. I have seen photos that others think is great and I don't.

[Mr Guy]

I'm not sure how many great pictures I've made, but I have a few pretty good pictures. I consider pretty good pictures to be pictures that I can look at three or four days later and STILL be proud of them. So many of my pictures I really like when I'm doing my first and second pass, and some even make it through clean up and I love them. Then the next week I look at them and all I can think is "Man, I wish I'd used a tripod" or "What's going on with her eye?" Even some I really like I kinda wished I'd been able to compose differently. I'm slowly gathering more, but right now I still only have a few that I can look at days and weeks later and think, I don't think I'd do anything differently in this one.