Comments on: What Aspect of Photography is Most Important?

By: Brian Auer

Brian Auer — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:17:18 +0000

You’re absolutely right about this Jim. By asking this question, I was hoping to bring out some comments such as yours. I was also curious to see where the voting distribution would fall — I’m actually a little surprised at the results, but they’re not too far off from what I expected.

By: Jim Goldstein

Jim Goldstein — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:52:35 +0000

Oops I missed this one. From the given options I’d have said lighting also, but I think the question (no offense) is rather one dimensional.

Photography is a multi-faceted medium. Your question would be equivalent to asking a painter what color is the most important for painting. One part is no more important than an other, it is how you mix and combine the various components to create your photo that matter. In that regard vision and execution are two very important elements of photography. Combined with Susheel’s comment of experience you’ve got what i consider to be the big three components of photography as I see it.

By: Who’s Your Favorite Professional Photographer? | Epic Edits Weblog

Who’s Your Favorite Professional Photographer? | Epic Edits Weblog — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:09:35 +0000

[...] Also, don’t forget to check the results from last week’s poll — What Aspect of Photography is Most Important? The answers were pretty interesting (though mostly expected), but a few of the comments were very insightful. Turns out that composition, lighting, and subject matter are the top three most important aspects of photography. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

By: Brian Auer

Brian Auer — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:07:28 +0000

I like that argument — no light = no photo. Too funny.

By: Ed Z

Ed Z — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:17:49 +0000

wow that’s a tough question, since a lot of those are inter-dependent… I would separate the list into 2 halves - the “creative” half being more important and the “gear” half being less important.

if pressed, I’d probably say that lighting+composition are th most important since great photos can be made regardless of equipment, because the composition conveys the message, and the lighting creates the image.

to break it down to the absurd, one could argue that lighting is the most important, since no light=no photo, period.

By: Brian Auer

Brian Auer — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:20:27 +0000

That’s a good insight to this question — you’re probably not the only one thinking along these lines. As for the poll options, I’m using Democracy Poll and I don’t think it allows multiple votes. If anybody has a better alternative, let me know and I’ll give it a try.

By: Susheel

Susheel — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:51:17 +0000

Brian,

I’m not voting on this poll, but to me, experience is also a pivotal part of this. I’m talking about experience both as a person, and as a photographer. From the technique point of view, your priorities will shift based on your experience, intent, and all the rest…

I don’t really think that ‘experience’ should be added to the list because that’s more a personal factor or a factor that primarily determines the subject matter… So I’m not adding it to the list.

Maybe you should have lists where people can check off more than one option. just a suggestion.

By: Brian Auer

Brian Auer — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:45:04 +0000

I fully understand, that’s a pretty good answer. I think it applies to some types of photography more than others, but I’ve certainly had my fair share of the luck-factor playing into my shots.

By: kRiZ cPEc

kRiZ cPEc — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:28:18 +0000

to me, the items in the list are equally important. So I added “Luck” to the list–meaning a photographer be at the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment and saw the right thing…
Hope you understand me.

By: Michael Brown

Michael Brown — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 04:21:45 +0000

Without a doubt, ….. “composition”.
It’s like “life”.
It always matters most!