What makes a good photo?
A philosophical excursion on the four values I look for behind the lens — and the one I used to chase alone.
I've spent a lot of time — still do, and probably always will — thinking about what a good photograph is. It is an entirely subjective question. The answers you hear from people are diverse.
This is my take. Not the right answer -- there isn't one. It is about the thoughts and the discussion. So as you scroll, hold your own answer in mind. Push back. The point of an inquiry question is to keep asking it.
Here are two portraits. Which one do you think is the better photograph?
A portrait from the Farm Security Administration series, documenting families enduring the Great Depression in the American South. Evans spent days with the Burroughs family before they let him photograph them.
A modern studio portrait — dramatic soft side-lighting, perfect exposure, crisp detail. A technically beautiful image by a working street photographer.
We can't simply say one is better than the other — it depends on what they are better at. One tells a story. The other is technically perfect. And those values can't simply be combined.
Imagine Evans had photographed Allie Mae the way Tucker photographs his subjects. The story would be distorted. In Evans' portrait, technical imperfection is exactly what makes it perfect.
A few weeks ago, I collected my thoughts and came up with four values.
Each can make a good photograph on its own. They can also combine. Click each one.
Does the photograph tell a story? What is happening in the world this photograph is showing?
A photograph that carries a story does more than record a scene — it places us inside a moment. We feel the wind, hear the room, sense what just happened or is about to.
Now score the two portraits yourself.
“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Many people, especially those starting out, only seek technical perfection. I used to. But there are so many other layers -- and at times you have to sacrifice the technical to achieve a certain feeling.
— My capstone's guiding principle
From technically clean to emotionally honest.
A good photograph is whatever moves you to look twice.
Frank Chen · Capstone 2025 · Mentored by Ms. Moss