The Crucial Balance That Makes a Great Photo

We spend a lot of time working on various techniques, thinking about composition, etc., but when you boil it down to its essence, what is it that makes a great photo? Every photo has two important qualities that help it stick in the viewer's memory. This insightful video discusses what they are and shares some examples of how they work together to make compelling images.

Coming to you from Nicolas Levy, this excellent video essay discusses how the presence and balance of information and emotion in an image contribute to its effectiveness. I first heard of this idea when I saw advice about how to know when to convert an image to black and white, which said to render an image in color when you want to convey information and black and white when you want to convey emotion. Since then, I have noticed that these two characteristics permeate every photograph, and the more I consider them, the more intentional I can be in my creative decisions and the stronger they tend to be. It is a different way of looking at the creative process than we might be used to, but it can really pay off. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Levy.

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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Nice article.. a reminder that there is much more than technical aspect in capturing photos.