Had I photographed the same image under harsh light (either at mid-day or during summer months), the picture would not have had the same visual impact. The above picture was photographed at about 9 AM, during the month of September. The human eye registers only the frequencies of light reflected all around, irrespective of the subject that one is trying to capture. It was only later that I realized that even the sharpest of the pictures when shot with bad light end up becoming mediocre ones. As a beginner, I often used to wonder why my sharp image isn’t as eye-catching as I supposed it should be. Light is obviously the most important element in any photograph because of the basic fact that photography itself is about recording light. In this article titled, “ Elements of Photography”, I shall discuss the four elements that would distinguish a good photograph from a casual click.

But good photography goes way beyond mere sharpness. Obviously, no one would take a second look at a blurry picture. I don’t mean to say sharpness is insignificant. Little did I know then that the art of photography was much more than sharp subjects and creamy backgrounds. These cliché questions were the only ones running through my mind most of the time. “Which shutter speed should I use to capture birds in flight? Which ISO will give me images with less noise? What aperture will give me a creamy background with a sharp subject? What are the recommended auto-focus settings?”. Getting a sharp image was all that I had in mind. I was consumed by the technical aspects of photography during the early days of my career in photography.

Photo elements