3 Keys to Great Photographs

Today I will share with you my 3 keys to great images. Anyone can improve their photography by learning the 3 keys.

Key 1 = Exposure
Key 2 = Composition
Key 3 = Creativity
Sounds simple, well it is. Today lets tackle Key 1, Exposure.
There are two types of accurate exposure. Technically accurate, and artist accurate.
Technically accurate exposure is getting the image on film, or sensor, to look like it did at the time of exposure. This means that a neutral grey mid tone in your image is exactly the same density in the final capture, whether it is film or digital. In the ‘old’ days we used a densitometer to measure the density of the film. The blackest black and the whitest white and the mid tone. To do this accurately we would include in the image, before clicking the shutter, an 18% gray card. An 18% gray card is exactly between black an white. If the gray card in the film measured in the exact middle of black and white, then the image was exposed ‘technically accurate.’
But what if you wanted a high key image or a low key image, or you wanted to control the highlights or the shadow detail? Well, middle gray might not be middle gray anymore. It is up to the artist/photographer to make the choice before pressing the shutter. The photographer has control of the outcome. Mastering exposure is simply knowing the outcome before the event. Seeing into the future, so to speak. And you must MASTER exposure if you want to make great images!