In order to take a great photograph, all elements need to come together. That is that the subject, the lighting and the position from which you take the photograph all need to work together. If not, you may have a great idea for a photo but it just will not relay or portray what you intended it to. I took a photograph of a beautiful church with a willow tree in front of it. It is one of my favorite photos but I had taken it with my phone so I decided to try to retake it with my ‘good’ camera. It was no where near as wonderful. My first shot just happened to capture the church with perfect lighting, from the perfect angle at the best time of day. I learned that the camera you use is not as important as all of the surrounding variables which are needed for a beautiful shot.
It is also important when taking pictures of people that you look to capture the emotion which is being experienced by your subject. it should be fairly obvious to those viewing your photograph what the subject is feeling at the time the picture is taken. “A look is worth a thousand words”. So true. When captured properly, nothing needs to be explained or said.
Photographers can easily mix up their idea for a photo and what is actually in the photo. Sometimes photographers also mix up their experience of taking the photo with the photo itself. Gary Winogrand used to let his film sit for two years before developing it because he wanted to forget about the experience and just see what was in the image.