The goal is to make beautiful photos. But why? And what constitutes a ‘beautiful’ photo?
Let us essay some of these ideas:
What makes a beautiful photograph?
First of all,
What constitutes a beautiful photograph? What is our philosophy of aesthetics?
From a simple perspective, we can consider anything beautiful as an aesthetic which puts motion into our muscles.
For example, when I see photos that I consider beautiful, my toes feel a bit lighter. I want to dance and skip around. Beautiful photos motivate me to move, think, and wonder.
Analyzing beautiful photos from the masters
When I study the photos of the masters of photography (let’s say Henri Cartier-Bresson), I seek photos which I consider beautiful. How to judge a photo as beautiful? Some thoughts:
Breaking down the image
The first step is to break down an image. To deconstruct it. Like a child will break apart a toaster or computer to figure out how it works.
For example one of my favorite HCB compositions broken down (created on iPad and Procreate). First the elegant curve-triangle on bottom:
Then the sun in the top left— for balance.
Then the girl in the top right corner — just missing the point of the boat:
Also note the elegant curve of the bridge:
Other details:
But truly from a “minimum viable composition” perspective, this is what I see which I love:
Super simplified:
With the animated GIF:
Towards more beautiful photography
It seems:
- Simpler and more elegant compositions
- Involving composition, shapes, forms, and the human element.
- Dynamism, movement, emotion.
ERIC