10 Principles of Beautiful Photography

by Trey Ratcliff – note: this article appeared in Smashing Magazine . The backside of the Taj during a summer sunset Introduction A camera does not work like an eye; memory does not work like film. There is a fine line between a photo that is quite nice and one that is quite breathtaking. At some undefined point, a photo can cross the Rubicon and be forever a piece of beautiful art. That hinterland between a regular photo and evocative art is a moving target from person to person and taste to taste. However, that zone of wonderment can be narrowed a bit once you start to consider about the way the brain stores memories and emotions. And, yes, it gets a bit touchy-feely here to determine if you have been able to cross that line. With rigorous practice and peer feedback, you can start to appreciate where that zone is and consequently improve your hit ratio. The good news is that it does not require rune rites of scapulimancy to divine your way to a more beautiful photo. There are some basic things and mantras to keep in mind as you practice and fail then practice and succeed then practice and fail and then rinse and repeat. I’ll detail a few of these below. Swallowing the Ruins – a remote temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia 1) Think about the brain I’ve always thought about photography differently. I grew up only seeing out of one eye, thanks to several botched surgeries in the 1970’s, when the state of the art was refurbished archaeological tools of Australopithecus medicine men. When you see out of one eye your whole life and then start using a camera in your mid 30’s for the first time, something happens to you! You come […]

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