marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

1. Except in landscapes like a mountain scene where you have no choice, I try to find angles to take shots instead of straight face-on parallel with the subject. Either from an extreme side of the subject, below the subject, above the subject, or something like that. Rule of thirds is nice as a general rule but rules are made to be broken sometimes.

2. In many cases it's not necessary to have the whole subject in the photo. For example, a models face with just some of her hair showing implies her whole head of hair and what color it is, instead of including the whole thing. Having a bill of a hat on her face implies a whole hat but it doesn't have to be shown. But I'd shoot the whole head and zoom in to crop during post editing instead of trying to get the composition on location because there may be a dozen different crops that could be the WOW one. Sometimes a models eyes without the rest of her face or anything else is intriguing. Again I'd do the searching for that WOW in post editing.

3. If you have a decision to make about capturing something on the left or right of your main subject but it can't be both, upper or lower but not both, try to pick which side adds the most quality data that potentially enhances the subject and doesn't detract from it.

4. I'm into vibrant colors in nature so that is part of my WOW.

5. Shoot something unique that you've never seen in print before so it feels like it's exclusively yours - although it probably isn't.

6. Don't always look at the big picture when searching for WOW because sometimes your foot is about to step on something interesting or your leg or shoulder has just brushed past a hundred interesting things.

Willy Loc: Alaska

As I write this there are 17 pages of replies to the original post. I'm not going to read them all so my apologies if I repeat what has already been said.
To get a WOW photograph you need WOW subject material.
For instance, if you took the same photo of a house cat & a Siberian tiger where all aspects being equal such as lighting, composition, exposure and pose, the house cat would not have the WOW factor. The tiger would.
I took a photo course several years ago. The instructor used the term R.U.B.I. and wanted us to remember it forever. It stands for Relevant, Unique, Beautiful & intriguing. A compelling photo should contain at least one of those elements. If it contains more than one, all the better.

The attached photo is of a woman and her children during the great depression. It is a very compelling photo and it has the WOW factor. The photo is very simple. Everything in it needs to be there. There is nothing missing from it.
And no, I did not take it...

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

amehta Loc: Boston

I would say technical competence is a necessary but not sufficient requirement.

This is one of the reasons I don't agree with the "its the photographer, not the equipment" meme. I think it's both.

Ansel Rosewater

Here’s a Question… rather than an answer
The importance of this subject (Wow! Pictures) can be seen from the 17 + pages of comments, mostly attempting the subject of what constitutes a “wow” and some suggestions on “how to.”

Portraiture is one of the many art forms of photography, and in my opinion, one of the most exquisite when done right. In most cases, the subject, the environment and lighting are all under the control of the photographer. There are giants like Neuman and Karsh and, as suggested by one poster, Russ Elkins (clipsoftips.com.).

I’d like help knowing how to achieve the black & white quality and sharpness in photos like these giants get. Someone once told me that Karsh used a negative plate that was 8 x 10 to get the fine detail. Is this possible with a Cannon G9 or a Cannon T3i? Can PhotoShop help? Does it help to alter and experiment with the spread of the grey scale?

Here are example of Karsh's work:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1182&bih=512&q=karsh+portraits&oq=karsh&gs_l=img.1.6.0l10.1809.3416.0.23899.5.5.0.0.0.0.47.218.5.5.0....0...1ac..32.img..0.5.218.b3xRwZILl38


The example I use is Rus Elkins photo from his Website. It is masterful.

A

festive50 Loc: Ruislip, Middx. UK

A few people mentioned being in the right place at the right time. Well this was in fact the case when I posted this in the PC & A forum.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-166525-1.html

Being a complete novice it's not at all technically competent but although it's not a WOW photo it somehow has a wow factor and the most WOW photo I have ever taken.
I'm sure Graham Smith (our UK Strret Photographer on UHH) would have been more successful in it's execution.

Phil

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Years ago, back in the days of "real" film, one of the photo magazines did a big article on a seminar taught by the fabulous Jay Meisel. The seminar was essentially on how to make powerful "wow" photos. Meisel, a thinker as well as an artist, analyzed the factors that make photos powerful. Factors including use of color, composition, and that special extra Meisel referred to as "gesture." Meisel himself certainly had a grasp of the wow factor; a huge number of his own photos were shockers and stoppers.

riverenfp Loc: St. Louis, MO

I feel when I do not try to make something happen, the WOW photo will show up for me, just waiting for me to take the photo. I keep my eyes open and just allow them to present themselves. I think it is just a feeling and a sense of what works and what is special.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

Very nice post Ansel. :thumbup:

Can I ask you a favor? Would you please edit your link to the following to prevent this page from being too wide to be displayed on a normal screen set at 100%?

[ u r l =https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1182&bih=512&q=karsh+portraits&oq=karsh&gs_l=img.1.6.0l10.1809.3416.0.23899.5.5.0.0.0.0.47.218.5.5.0....0...1ac..32.img..0.5.218.b3xRwZILl38]VIEW HERE[ / u r l ]

...with NO spaces between the [ u r l] or the [ / u r l ]

Doing that will allow the viewer to click on the hyperlink to be redirected to the website of your choice without being the dead link it currently is as posted AND without stretching out the displayed page.

Thanks!!!

amehta Loc: Boston

It's too late for him to edit it, but thanks for this, I couldn't tell what had cause the extra-wide page.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Cholly,

Thanks from me too! I been having the same problem off and on for a week or so and couldn't figure out was causing it; I restored, ran scans of several kinds and was coming to the conclusion I had some bug.

Jim

Boone Loc: Groundhog Town USA

There are WOW IMAGES that are "Found". (and they are rare) and then there is a WOW IMAGE that is "Created". This is something you can set out to create, and can be done almost anywhere at any time. My 0.2 Cents worth. Thanks, Boone :thumbup:

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

I'm not sure I agree with you, but it's a matter of how you define "found" and "created". If you find something that isn't really a WOW shot, but you start looking at it from different angles, see how the light and perspective changes as you move around it, and you suddenly see it from an angle that makes it a WOW photo, did you find it or create it?

The point is that we pass by potentially WOW photos every day, but we don't see them because we haven't trained ourselves to look for them. If you search for WOW subjects, you will find them. If you expect to find them when you are not looking for them, you will find far fewer of them.

"finding" denotes luck, like when you find a dollar bill on the ground while out for a walk. But if you are looking for subjects to photograph, you will have a much greater chance of finding them.

Ansel Rosewater

For Cholly and others: a condensation of the URL to the Karsh photographs

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1182&bih=512&q=karsh+portraits&oq=karsh+p&gs_l=img.1.0.0l8j0i5l2.1903.6287.0.9204.7.7.0.0.0.0.47.325.7.7.0....0...1ac..32.img..0.7.325.xgObUuiySBk

Sorry, that wasn't shorter, but it does work by copying and pasting into your browser.

anotherview Loc: California

You can make a photograph stand out by applying the simple techniques of composition, point of view, framing, lighting, and good exposure, among others.

Development of the photograph in the editing software may also contribute to a stand-out photograph. Applying just the right amount of contrast can transform a photograph for more eye appeal.

My suggestion: Study composition, point of view, framing, lighting, and good exposure, including how to use the Histogram on a digital camera.

If doing landscape photography, you will want to learn how to apply the Hyper-focal Distance in order to achieve sharpness from near to infinity.

You could attend workshops, too, for the experience of learning from an accomplished photographer.

Happy New Year!
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