Good and bad photographs
Is there is such as thing as a universally bad photograph? Or a universally good photograph? Sure, there are photographs that you might not like at a particular point in time. And there are photographs that some people like (right now) that others do not (right now). But consider these two axes:
Light + composition + subject/moment
Mind + eye + heart (ala Henri Cartier-Bresson)
The first axis represents three possible components of a photograph. These are not my own contributions… I’ve gleaned them from other people but they do make sense to me.
The second axis has to do with the alignment of things within yourself, as the photographer or the viewer, that affect being open and receptive.
These axes work and combine differently over time and the possible combinations not only affect what you see but also how you sense, perceive, and eventually judge. While the actual light, composition, and subject of a photograph doesn’t change, the “I like this” or “I don’t like that” is based on your perception and your perception is based on where your mind, eye, and heart are at in a given moment… and this alignment of mind + eye + heart changes over time. (It might seem that the “eye” has more to do with the photographer but the viewer absorbs the photograph through their eyes).
So what feels right today (“I love this photograph!”) might not feel the same in another month. Conversely, the “wow, that is boring!” might change entirely with a different set of experiences or a different mood. Even a photograph with a technical flaw (e.g. being slightly out of focus) might be perceived differently. We are always changing.
An exercise that I found interesting is to view a photograph without trying to judge it… and even without trying to determine what it is of. Instead, focus on the image that forms in your mind and on how it makes you feel. Warm? Cold? Scared? Relaxed? Anxious? Let your eyes wander through the image as if it were a maze. Are there patterns that continually bring you back to a particular point? Is there a certain part of the image (maybe the color) that contributes to the main feeling that the image brings you? Only later do you start to identify the “what” of the image and, eventually, be willing to hazard a “I like this” or “nah, I don’t feel it”. By emphasizing the feeling as opposed to the judgement, you can better understand where the judgement comes from. And, later, you might be willing to accept a different judgement based on different conditions and alignment of your mind, eye, and heart.
I wish you well!
