"Bad" Photography

Today our assignment was to take bad photos. Why? Because if we know what a bad photo looks like, we can then learn to "make" a good one. It might sound a little silly, but if you think about other things you learn throughout different experiences we often use the same approach. We figure out how to do a good job by knowing what was done wrong. :) Here are 5 pictures I have taken and explanation as to why they may be "bad". 

*Just a note, this wasn't an easy assignment because even thought I'm no expert in this whole photography thing, I had a hard time purposely taking a "bad" photo. This is because before taking the picture, I knew it wasn't going to turn out well and I wanted to change it! However, that was not the object of the assignment. 

 "Bad" Photo 1: 

Aperture 20

Shutter Speed 1/320

ISO 400

This photo is "bad" because of the exposure. You can see that the lighting does not compliment what is trying to be conveyed in the photo--a type of self portrait. Her bottom half is too dark while her upper body is lit by the sun; making for an unappealing combination. This could be changed by either moving her into complete shade and taking the photo with different options on the camera. 

 "Bad" Photo 2:

Aperture 10

Shutter Speed 1/250

ISO 100

In this picture, I centered the boardwalk. It is certainly not as appealing as it could have been if the rule of thirds was used. It is almost makes the photo look "choppy" and sectional. The board walk is centered and with the rule of 3rds, the idea is to place the most interesting parts of the photos near the corners to sort of draw the surroundings/backgrounds to what is being created as the most important part of the picture. Also, because of this, this picture doesn't seem to have a flow to it. 

"Bad" Photo 3:

Aperture 10

Shutter Speed 1/320

ISO 100

There is no subject to this photo! It is just sort of "blah." There is no focus or attraction to the picture. It does have a decent color contrast between the dark trees against the lighter, faded, cloudy sky (which, on a side note, could be better). Yet, it almost loses that charm because there is nothing standing out as a focal point against that type of background. 

 "Bad" Photo 4:

Aperture 10

Shutter Speed 1/320

ISO 100

It is probably pretty obvious as to why this photo is not very good. One,  it is zoomed out way too far and two, its exactly centered! There is too much going on around what we wanted the subject to be, which makes it less interesting. 

"Bad" Photo 5:

Aperture 20

Shutter Speed 1/100

ISO 400

The lighting in this picture is far from its potential to make a good portrait. Notice the ISO is at 400. Also, the shutter speed is quite slow which may allow for more light to enter into the picture. Contributing to the brightness in an already bright, naturally lit setting.