What makes a good photo good?

[rx2010]

I've been reading the forum for a while now, trying to learn how to make good images. Every time I frame a shot, I'm thinking about exposure, ISO, light, etc, etc. All of these things I have learned and am still learning through books, magazine, and this forum. However, excellent photos always seem to stand out, and are easy to spot. I see photos posted in the "critique" section, and members make comments to crop here, or remove shadows there, and after making those adjustments, the images look much better. This has even happened to a couple of my images that I have posted on here. After I made the changes to the photo that were recommended by folks on the forum, I was much happier with the outcome. My question is this, what makes a good photo good, or what makes a good photo better? How do you know where to crop, where to saturate colors, etc.? How do you keep all the "rules" or "guidelines" straight so that you can produce that ultimate image?

Rules are for nerds and poindexters.

Art is subjective and fluid.

Math is objection and static.

If you want rules, then mathematics is more likely to be your field of interest.

There is no such thing as an "ULTIMATE IMAGE", it's an illusion.... like Simon Cowell's appeal.

~Eric

[candidrachel]

I think a good photo is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. Not all photos that I look at float my boat but to others they are amazing. I like photos that look natural and pretty much untouched. I don't follow "rules" I tend to shoot from the hip

[Jim Bryant]

What makes a good photo a good photo........when it takes your breath away!

[rx2010]

Originally Posted by maxharvard

Rules are for nerds and poindexters.

Art is subjective and fluid.

Math is objection and static.

If you want rules, then mathematics is more likely to be your field of interest.

There is no such thing as an "ULTIMATE IMAGE", it's an illusion.... like Simon Cowell's appeal.

~Eric

nicely put

[beatles2]

I think it something different for every body, what makes me go wow could be different than what makes you go wow. Now how to get that shot, well easier said than done.

[spencer28n]

A good photograph is one that makes you think. It can be the subject, the color, or anything else that makes it a good image but like Maxharvard said, in art there are no true rules or constants. I guess eventually you just develop a vision and an eye for it.

[autofocus]

I agree with most of the previous posters that photography, like art, like beauty, is "in the eye of the beholder." I've seen photos judged where one judge will absolutely love the photo while another will totally trash the image. There are some basic conventions that most would agree should normally be followed. But as Eric stated above, rules are sometimes meant to be broken.
I think a good photo, regardless of the rules, should tell a story..maybe upon viewing it should evoke some questions about the image..who or what is this? what are they doing? where is this? etc....

Some years ago I worked for a major company that used a ranking and rating system for it's employees. My regional manager's interpretation of the three categories went something like this:
1) Does not meets: person does not understand the rules
2) Meets: employee knows the rules, but goes no further
3) Exceeds: employee breaks the rules

So, breaking the rules can often be OK

Vince