• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • START HERE
  • BOOKS
  • SHOP
  • WORKSHOPS

ERIC KIM

BLOG

  • ARS BETA
  • WHY?
  • AMAZON

Image Quality and Great Photos

marseille

How important is ‘image quality’ (aesthetics) of a photograph to make it a great photo?

When does image quality or the aesthetics of the photograph matter?

For example, below are some pictures I shot on 35mm film (Portra 400). Note the subtle grain, and color ‘irregularity’.

  • Vibrant reds, vibrant yellows, subtle blues.
  • I like the grittiness of the skin tone, and how the blacks have grain. Shot with flash.
  • marseille
    One of my masterpiece photos. I know this photograph wouldn’t look as good if I shot it digital color. I think the grittiness of the Portra 400 (brown-sun baked skin tones), and the smooth velvety blues (only can be rendered on color film).
  • Surreal head flash
    Another surreal gritty photo with color and flash.

My personal opinion:

Color photography is great on color film (Kodak Portra 400).

Why? Because the problem with digital color photography is this: the colors are ‘too clean’.

The upside of digital medium format color photography

An alternative: ‘positive film’ color JPEG setting on PENTAX 645z (digital medium format camera).

  • Woman in airplane. Sunset over NYC. Pentax 645Z
  • Kid with Spider-Man outfit.
  • Cindy in Madison, Wisconsin 2017

What I love about the PENTAX 645z for color:

  1. When shooting JPEG (positive film preset), the colors look ‘false’. Also the color scientist at PENTAX did a phenomenal job at creating gritty yet juicy colors.
  2. Obviously shooting digital is far more convenient than shooting film.

Biggest downside of 645Z is the size and weight. But if you want the apex of beautiful color in digital photography, 645Z is the way to go.

Studying the greats

Richard Avedon photos:

Been looking at Josef Koudelka, HCB, and Avedon, and here are some thoughts:

  1. I am very grateful that Avedon shot his portraits (American West) photos in large-format monochrome. The monochrome portraits have insane longevity; they still look SUPERIOR to modern digital photos. Also the monochrome looks 100x more beautiful than color. Avedon has done color very well, but monochrome certainly has a more classical and timeless feel.
  2. Josef Koudelka’s photo are beautiful because of the grit in his photos. The extreme high contrast and grittiness of his black and white film (pushed) in his Gypsies and Exiles project makes his photos look more beautiful.
  3. With Henri Cartier-Bresson, most of his black and white film photos don’t have great ‘image quality’ (many photos lack contrast, are a bit blurry, and don’t have much dynamic range), yet they are still beautiful. Why? HCB was the master of composition. The aesthetics of black and white film will always look beautiful. Good aesthetics of black and white film + great compositions = great photographs.

Basic ideas:

Providence, 2019. RICOH GR III, 28mm, high contrast JPEG preset.
Providence, 2019. RICOH GR III, 28mm, high contrast JPEG preset.
  1. The aesthetics of your photographs matter. For digital photography, I encourage you to shoot JPEG with some film-simulation you find beautiful. For example RICOH GR III and high-contrast black and white preset looks beautiful. Ricoh GR II and positive film JPEG color preset looks beautiful.
  2. To make really great photos, you need beautiful aesthetics AND great composition.
  3. With aesthetics, you don’t need “the best” aesthetics, just “good enough”. A standard is black and white film (it is certainly ‘beautiful enough’). If you want beautiful color photos on a digital camera, use a Pentax 645Z or a Fujifilm GFX 50R.
  4. Once you have a camera/aesthetics/processing style which is beautiful enough, just focus on making great photographs with great compositions!

Now that we have established good enough cameras and equipment for photography, let us focus on making (greater) compositions!

ERIC


AESTHETICS

Pinnochio nose. Downtown LA, 2015
  • Imperfect Photos are More Beautiful
  • Do you photograph the world better, the same, or worse than reality? #aesthetics
  • Aesthetics are Ethics
  • Beauty over Truth #philosophy #aesthetics
  • Philosophy of Aesthetics and Beauty in Photography
  • Aesthetics in Photography
  • Aesthetics Strengthen, Simplify, and Focus
  • Not better image quality; more beautiful aesthetics!
  • Why Aesthetics?

COMPOSITION 101

ERIC KIM X ANNETTE KIM X BAUHAUS REMIX

Master composition for yourself:

Photography Composition Concepts

  • Re-Interpret your Photos
  • Visual Gist
  • Dynamic Composition
  • 10 Tips How to Work Your Compositions in Photography
    • Download ZIP of composition files >
  • Composition for the Sake of Composition
  • The Gaussian Blur Test
  • How to Teach Yourself Photography Composition
  • Composition vs Aesthetics in Photography
  • 10 Simple Composition Tips to Make Better Photos
  • How to Compose a Photograph
  • Edge Detection Photography Composition
  • Vector (Arrow) Photography Composition
  • Clear and Obscure (Chiaroscuro) Photography Composition

Street Photography Composition Tips

Tokyo, 2017
Tokyo, 2017
  • 7 Street Photography Composition Tips The Superman Low Angle Perspective Photography Composition Effect
  • High Angle Perspective Street Photography Composition Technique
  • How to Shoot Low Angle Perspective Street Photography Composition Technique

Photography Composition Tips

  • 5 Photography Composition Ideas
  • How to Photograph Motion
  • Photography Composition: Which Direction is Your Subject Looking?
  • Blocking Technique in Photography
  • How to Shoot a Triangle Photography Composition
  • How to shoot a golden triangle composition in street photography
  • 8 Simple Curve Composition Tips
  • 5 Simple Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition Tips
  • Foot Zoom
  • Photography Composition: Light and Dark
  • Street Photography Composition Lesson #16: Scale
  • Shape, Arrangement, Position (S.A.P.) and Contour, Inter-Contact, Position (C.I.A.) in Photography
  • 10 Tips How to Fill the Frame in Photography
  • Look Up! 16 Photography Composition Perspective Tips
  • 5 Simple Street Photography Composition Tips
  • Depth Perception
  • Golden Angle Composition in Street Photography
  • Photographer as an “Arranging Artist”
  • Dynamic Off-Center Street Photography Compositions
  • 5 Essential Composition Tips in Photography

Color Theory

Color wheel theory: Dynamic tension between opposing colors.
Color wheel theory: Dynamic tension between opposing colors. Image from CREATIVE EVERY DAY
  • Red and Green Composition Color Theory For Photographers
  • The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Color Photography
  • Opponent Process Color Theory For Photographers
  • Color Theory For Photographers
  • Color Manual
  • How to Shoot Color Street Photography

Learn From the Masters of Composition

Sergio Larrain Compositions
Sergio Larrain Compositions
  • 10 Lessons Matisse Can Teach You About Art and Life
  • Henri Cartier-Bresson Composition
  • 10 Timeless Lessons Edward Weston Can Teach You About Photography
  • 10 Inspirational Sergio Larrain Compositions
  • 5 Henri Cartier-Bresson Photography Composition Lessons

Dynamic Photography Composition 101

Leading lines. ERIC KIM DYNAMIC COMPOSITION
Leading lines. ERIC KIM DYNAMIC COMPOSITION
  • Introduction to Dynamic Photography Composition
  • How to Visually Analyze Your Photography Compositions
  • Dynamic Tension: Opponent Based Theory For Photography
  • Opponent Process Color Theory For Photographers
  • Dynamic Photography Composition 101: Figure to Ground

Painting Compositions

Vermeer
  • Johannes Vermeer
  • Raphael

Dynamic Photography Composition Tips

Chiaroscuro. DYNAMIC LIGHT AND SHADOW. Hanoi, 2016 by ERIC KIM
Chiaroscuro. DYNAMIC LIGHT AND SHADOW. Hanoi, 2016 by ERIC KIM
  • 7 Simple Photography Composition Tips
  • How to Make Aggressive Photography Compositions
  • 10 Dynamic Photography Composition Tips
  • How to Make More Dynamic Picture Compositions
  • Unorthodox Photography Composition Techniques
  • Deconstructed: Saigon Eric Kim Photos

Composition Theory

Dynamic low angle composition. Tokyo, 2011 by ERIC KIM
Dynamic low angle composition. Tokyo, 2011 by ERIC KIM

Take your composition to the next level:

  • Gestalt Theory
  • Juxtaposition
  • Center Eye
  • Low-Angle
  • Dutch Angle
  • Deep Depth
  • Spacing
  • Silhouette
  • Leading Lines
  • Figure to Ground
  • Fibonacci Spiral
  • Cropping
  • Emotion
  • Composition by Eric Kim

Street Photography Composition 101

DYNAMIC REFLECTIONS. Man and three reflections by ERIC KIM
DYNAMIC REFLECTIONS. Man and three reflections by ERIC KIM

For distilled lessons on composition, read the free ebook: “The Street Photography Composition Manual.”

Further articles to improve your compositions in photography:

  • Composition Lesson #1: Triangles
  • Composition Lesson #2: Figure-to-ground
  • Composition Lesson #3: Diagonals
  • Composition Lesson #4: Leading Lines
  • Composition Lesson #5: Depth
  • Composition Lesson #6: Framing
  • Composition Lesson #7: Perspective
  • Composition Lesson #8: Curves
  • Composition Lesson #9: Self-Portraits
  • Composition Lesson #10: Urban Landscapes
  • Composition Lesson #11: “Spot the not”
  • Composition Lesson #12: Color Theory
  • Composition Lesson #13: Multiple-Subjects
  • Composition Lesson #14: Square Format

Composition Theory

Chiaroscuro. DYNAMIC LIGHT AND SHADOW. Hanoi, 2016 by ERIC KIM
Woman and door. Chiaroscuro. DYNAMIC LIGHT AND SHADOW. Hanoi, 2016 by ERIC KIM

Learn compositional theory:

  • Why is Composition Important?
  • Don’t Think About Composition When You’re Shooting Street Photography
  • How to Use Negative Space
  • Street Photography Composition 101
  • The Theory of Composition in Street Photography: 7 Lessons from Henri Cartier-Bresson

Compositional lessons from the masters of art

  • Composition Lessons Raphael Can Teach You About Photography
  • In-Progress: Leonardo da Vinci

Composition lectures


Composition pictures/grids

Eric Kim photography Bauhaus Piet Mondrian

Golden Diagonal Composition

golden diagonal composition
Golden Diagonal Composition / Kyoto Station, 2018

HENRI SHOULDER STRAP

Film Leica MP x Henri Shoulder Strap (CREMA BROWN)

Supreme >


Street Photography Starter Kit

street photography starter kit by ERIC KIM

Master street photography >


HENRI WRIST STRAP PRO

Henri wrist strap pro

For the pros >

Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship

My brand-new Udemy Course, "Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship" now live!

Seize your destiny >


Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography

eric kim ultimate beginners guide to mastering photography udemy

Master photography >

ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS

red hand ERIC KIM

Unleash your creative potential:

2021:

  • April 10-11th, 2021: BOSTON / Discover Your Unique Voice in Photography Workshop [Register Intent Here]
  • May 1-2nd, 2021: CHICAGO / Street Photography Composition Masterclass [Register Intent Here]
  • May 22-22nd, 2021: NEW YORK CITY / STREET PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS by ERIC KIM [Register Intent Here]

Be notified of when new workshops are live here.


ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER

Free Motivation for You >







JOIN ARS: The Anti-Social Media for Photographers

Ars black logo

 

Get real feedback on your photos on ARSBETA.COM

WHY APP?

zen of ERIC KIM why app icon

Never stop asking why?

PHANTOM BLACK HENRI WRIST STRAP

Shoot like a ghost >


STREET NOTES

Never hit the streets without it >


FILM NOTES

Now is your time to (re)learn film >

HENRI WRIST STRAP

The classic CREMA BROWN >

CREATIVE EVERY DAY

Create every day >


PHOTO JOURNAL

Photo Journal Print Edition

Discover more personal meaning in your photography >

OPEN-SOURCE