"What Makes a Good Picture" Response

One of the first pieces of text that I read on this page was the sub-caption, "Experts' answers reveal and extraordinary diversity of approaches to one of the most important questions in the world of photography." This at first glance seemed unnecessary to include, because it is obvious that every artist is different in every way they take and make a photograph. After reading on, I discovered that each photographer, editor, and director had completely different interpretations on the message and understanding of a photograph. While Ansel Adams is deeply rooted in the idea of clarity and reason, Brodovitch is concerned with originality, and Chassler measures success on what the reaction of the audience. Throughout the reading I could not help but return to what Sey Chassler said on the matter. He focuses on impact. What does the audience think? Does the photographer's message come across enough in the image? Can the image stand alone? From others in a series? Can it hold its own if the artist is not there to explain?

Often in photo class critiques we are asked to let others in the class talk about our work while we sit quietly and listen to the comments and criticisms. Chassler would approve of this, but be disappointed to learn that as soon as our peers wre finished commenting, we had a chance to explain the work and defend ourselves. After reading his take on the subject, he would much rather us have tape over our mouths to keep us quiet and see if the image is strong enough to grab the audience without and input from the artist.