I have a saying and a standard that I try to live by, which my mentor taught me. It goes: “The best images deliver the details and don’t force your viewers to search for them.”
They find a way to reach out of the screen or print and grab at someone. Want some great examples? If we really had to list them, we’d say compelling food photography, close and intimate street photography, shocking images in the news, etc. These photos find a way to tell a complete story in a single photo. But this doesn’t always mean that you need to overthink your process. It’s sometimes just as simple as getting a different angle.
For the sake of being vain, let’s analyze something that everyone does: food photography that you post onto your social media pages. After the jump, you’ll be able to see two images that I shot; and one is clearly more detail oriented. Sure, they’re both quick snapshots, but one image clearly tells a lot more than the other.
So with that said, you should keep in mind that absolutely no subject is boring–you just haven’t found the right angle that will inspire people or elicit an emotion. And as a photographer and artist, it’s your job to do that.