What makes a photo good?

[nitro_2005]

For the last couple of minutes, i've been wondering and asking myself that question. i've been browsing the latest photomode comp thread (i entered with a pic of a charger flying sideways over the flugplatz) and no-one really took interest, where as others post ordinary pictures of cars in photo locations and various tracks, and i wonder: how can they get attention with ordinary pictures, while my flying charger hardly turns any heads?

now, i'm not slating any of the other pictures which have been posted, because i think they are all great. but what amazes me is that most people just enter a simple picture and it gets lots of attention!!!

so, the big question i want to answer is: what makes a photo great? originality or simple ideas?

 

[yanks111]

Air time does not equal a great picture.

Lighting, sharpness, detail, focus, setting, reflections, angles and more make a great photo.

Link to your photo so I can see?

 

[superbad]

Threads like this get attention

Yanks111 is right saying comments at this stage mean nothing (although would be nice) sob! It's the vote that counts.

 

[dbartucci]

What makes a photo good depends on the viewer, but originality doesn't hurt. Reference the top-down shot of the midget in this weeks' comp. imo not the best shot there, but no one else did it like that and that's what's generating the votes there. Similarly, the Bentley with planes at La Sarthe was novel.

Also, imo jumps (unless you pass someone going over the top) and backfires are played out in this forum and it'll take a lot before anyone takes notice.

Yanks has made some general points, but I'll try to elaborate on what was said. If you can capture some kind of reflection on your car it'll really make it pop in high detail, this is fairly easy to do in photomode, but harder in photodrive, not only due to the polys, but capturing the right moment. Some really good shots have caught cars at seattle, hong kong, or the grand canyon photomode spot with just the sun's corona on the car.

Background, it has to look good, or not, depending on what you're trying to capture in the pic. If you want a sense of speed blurring the background and the car makes sense, if you've got a nice shot of the sea at tahiti or costa d'amalfi you might instead try to get the background with the car being secondary.

Using black and white or sephia to create classic looking shots can also make your pics stand out from the rest.

Don't try to do too much at once with your pics.

Good luck