philmurfin Loc: Bakewell, Derbyshire UK

An excellent well considered answer!

alawry Loc: Timaru New Zealand

Hi Paul greetings from Timaru, I always sit up and take notice when I encounter another Kiwi here. I do like the question, what makes a good photo? It's hard to define, but I know it when I see it. I like photos of derelict buildings, barns etc, but often they are just a snapshot of the building. When I see a photo I like, I try to work out why do I like it. Things like composition, foreground, background, leading lines, context, all so easy to see when it's done right but damned if I can do it myself.
On our TV recently we had a series, country house hunters, a local version of the English Location Location program. I know it's subjective but to me it was a flop, just missing something I couldn't put my finger on it. And photos are like that. What makes it great is almost indefinable. My photo will be technically perfect but just not quite the right angle or POV or something. And my culminating observation is, some people have got it and some people havn't and you can't really change that.
Anyhow, I'll keep on daily going thru UHH and try to learn.

Take care. Andrew.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

My humble take on this. A photographer could be anyone shooting with a camera but a real photographer is that one that knows what he or she is doing. A professional photographer is someone that shoots to make a living, understanding that that person knows the trade.
What is a good photograph? For a photographer his image could be a good photograph but unless there is a good visual design, good exposure and a strong main subject in a photographic competition judges will not consider it a good photograph.

You are absolutely right, there will be here and in other photo forums different opinions and it is not because we live in this country but because we are all different. What I could consider a work of art could be a total disaster for others.

wham121736 Loc: Long Island, New York

You forgot to mention those who have been taking (not making) pictures for som.e time but are still bad photographers

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

Sounds like you're trying to pick a fight 😀😀😀

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Perception, interpretation, we're all different...

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

To me, a good photo is one I would like to look at again, or maybe for a longer period of time that I normally spend glancing at photos.

A good photo is something I would like to hang on my wall if I had any space on my wall.

A good photo shows something of interest, maybe a family member that is long gone (or newly arrived).

A good photo shows something that jogs my memory of something I enjoyed.

A good photo shows me the way something was but isn't any more.

A good photo can make me laugh.

None of these things is significantly influenced by the technical qualities of the photo.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Relative to you of course.
My tastes may differ.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

We are all different, but some of us are more different (adapted from Animal Farm, Orwell, 1945)

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

A good photographer. Not the equipment.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Excellent discussion. It's the Art and Science of photography. As I became relatively competent with the Science part, I started focusing on the Art and it took me down a completely different path. On the surface, what makes a good photo is lines, shapes, form, color, texture, composition, lighting, how to set a mood and tell a story. Easy, right, but you post what you think is a good photo and you get few or no likes, or worse, harsh criticism, why?

A photo is a transaction between the photographer's work and the viewer. Viewers are a huge random variable. An image that resonates with one group may actually offend another group, yet there are some iconic images that are universally liked. For example, a lone tree on hill as the sun sets or with the moon in the background. A happy child or children playing, ... When taking a Psyc class we read a research paper studying the differences between men and women. A series of photos with a wide variety of subjects were shown to the participants who were asked to rate the photos. The only photo both men and women liked was picture of a pretty young mom holding a baby. It turns out the men liked the mom and the girls liked the baby. Did you know that in addition to red, green, and blue cones, women have cones that are sensitive to orange? So viewers don't even see the same way.

Sometimes I take snapshots to remember a place or event, but that's not the topic of this post. I came to the conclusion that I will capture images of subjects I like, that I find interesting. Do a competent job technically with the camera, and a competent job in Post. Different photographers find different things that are interesting. Some like, shapes, form and texture, but I like very colorful subjects and I love a beautiful flesh tone. I love photographing animals, especially water birds. If others like them - fine, if not, I don't care. Certainly, I don't change my photos to satisfy photographers on social media who think photography is about their cameras and glass. Cameras and glass are tools, not photography. Photographers have taken phenomenal images over the years with far less capable cameras than we have access to today. While I have a Z9, I am not at a disadvantage with my D7200 doing street photography.

If you want to become a better photographer, follow Alex Kilbee on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePhotographicEye He does not talk about gear, he talks about the Art of Photography.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

You could ask the same question, substituting Author or any number of other nouns. Is an author someone who writes award winning books? Does that include people who write guidebooks for using digital cameras? Or do they have to write lurid romances, or histories of the world wars? Science fiction? Autobiographies?
What is a good book?? It's an un-answerable question!
Uh Oh. I see Rodeoman beat me to it! Fine minds think alike!

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Actually unanswerable - ask 100 get 100 different answers. If you want to be competitive or to discover "better" photograpy, join an upscale camera club that offers critiques.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Anyone who uses a camera is a photographer. Some do it to impress only themselves. Some do it to impress others. That’s the long and the short of it.