As we said in the previous post, photography has an amazing transformative power over people and all that surrounds it.
Photography can denounce, bring joy, drama, praise, photography can tease and provoke a vast load of reactions depending on the authors using of the photographic language on each situation.
Photographic language is one of the key elements of photography and is the mean that allows the author to communicate with the viewer.
So we can safely say photography is a form of non-verbal communication. We don’t speak with words but instead we use images.
On the written language you have to understand and know how to use the grammar rules in order to properly communicate an idea, otherwise your message will be hard for people to grasp, leading to misunderstandings.
The same principle applies to photography, you may know how to press the shutter, to control exposure to capture an image, but if you don’t know how to use the elements of photographic language, your images could be hard to understand and even be misinterpreted.
Today I want to show you how the mere fact of choosing the photos for your blog or social media can have an impact on how the public perceives your work and in the construction of your business career over time.
1 – BAD PHOTOS
What is? It appears to be easy to tell a bad photo from a good one but it all depends on the author’s intent. To simplify let’s assume that a bad photo is a photo that lacks the minimal technical atributes such as composition, focus, treatment, photographic language, etc. A bad photo is a photo that don’t communicate any clear idea or concept and even the opposite: it causes visual and conceptual confusion, denoting that the author didn’t knew what to do but pressing the shutter without any intent.
What is the impact? This kind of photography have little to no positive impact at all. It can’t communicate anything with the viewer and most of the time brings an negative impact, making the public begins to question the author’s knowledge and technique.
Consequences? The consequences of posting bad photos is the rapid lose of professional credibility, devaluing your work, bringing insecurity for clients, ultimately resulting in the lose of contracts.
2 – GOOD PHOTOS
What is? A good photo fills the basic concepts of photographic language such as composition, focus, treatment, etc. and it posses a clear idea, a message, showing the author knew what to do and what was the intended message.
What is the impact? A good photo have a relative positive impact. However it doesn’t have much power to raise the author’s professional authority, but to maintain a certain level of professional reputation.
Consequences? A good photo, besides the designation “good” tend to be viewed more or less like an obligation for someone who positions thenself as a professional photographer. In other words, good photos are good to maintain credibility at a minimal level demanded for somebody who charges to make photographies.
3 – VERY GOOD
What is? A photo is considered “very good” just like a “good photo” it fulfils the concepts of photographic language like composition, focus, treatment, etc. showing a clear message, but it surprises the viewer with an unexpected idea or concept.
What is the impact? A “very good” photo have a great positive impact and could raise the professional authority of the photographer.
Consequences? A “very good” photography have the potential to raise your authority as a professional, adds value to your work, excite the curiosity of potential clients who care about quality and can distinguish from a good work from a very good one.
4 – EXCELLENT
What is? A photo considered “Excellent” reaches for the highest level on the concepts of technique and photographic language. It posses a clear idea and have been executed with excellence. The author had attention to every single detail denoting not only he/she knew how and what to do but a thinking beyond common perception, conceptualising the image in his/her head before and using all the know-how to actually making the image.
What is the impact? An “excellent” has a high positive impact and great power to raise the author’s authority as a professional also giving an artistic perception of the work.
Consequences? An “excellent” photography raises your authority in the photography business, adds value to your work, arouse admiration for your work and attract more clients concerned about quality and able to distinguish a high level professional work. It also attract the respect of fellow colleagues and can win awards, have the potential to go viral on the internet, be published in magazines, wedding and photography blogs, making you a reference beyond your local frontiers.
5 – EXCEPTIONAL
What is? An exceptional photography surpasses beyond the highest concept of technique and photographic language. It is highly executed, with total attention to every single detail of every aspect of the photography. It have a very clear message that is conveyed through a carefully constructed image that exceeds the frontiers of the obvious thinking with an accurate visual, social, politics, cultural and artistic sense.
What is the impact? An exceptional photography have the highest possible positive impact and have the power to consolidate the author’s authority up to the point of being considered a true artist.
Consequences? An exceptional photography have the ultimate potential to consolidate your authority and afford you to establish your own value. It attracts admiration, clientes who value an artistic and unique work and are willing to pay for authorship. It attracts the attention and admiration of other photographers, earns professional respect around the world and certainly will win international awards, be featured on blogs, magazines and sites worldwide and even could get your name inscribed on the history of photography on books, biographies and documentaries.
I hope you enjoy!
As an additional tip, a good way to know what is the level of your photography is to enter competitions, to have an outside and impartial look at your work by a competent jury can help you to better understand where are your photography skills and how to take it to the next level.
Frankie Costa, founder Inspiration Photogpaphers
