LOMOGRAPHY : ART OR PHOTOGRAPHY?

What makes a good picture? It's a good question... and there's no real definitive answer. Much depends on what you are trying to capture or express. Is it the colors, content, composition or the photography icon that looked through the lens to take the shot? With Lomographic or regular photographic cameras most photographers can produce all kinds of sharp, well-exposed, colorful and interesting images. But what sets pictures apart from others when photographers compose their images? We asked our team of lomographers to define their perfect shot.





"What makes a good picture? Is it the colors, content, composition or whoever took it?"

001 binsentu, Graphic Designer: "I like my shots the way I like my music, both have to be with emotion. But this can be achieved in many ways, through black & white, portraits, landscapes etc. The bottom line is that I don't (pardon my French) give a sh*t about colors, composition content, or anything else. The only thing I DO care about is the way a photo makes me feel, as if the photographer captured an emotion on film. What makes it weird is that those photos are the way they are because the person who took it probably DID think about the colors, content and composition. But when you look at a photo those are not the things to look out for."

002 almondvankate: "For me a good picture needs to have something that captures my attention, for a lot of people this seems to be color but all to often extreme colors mask a poor picture. I couldn't care less who took it, whether it was a "nobody" or a well known artist/lomographer. There needs to be something to hold you, to "punctuate" the air around the picture, something that makes you look and understand the world or the artist a little bit more. As William Faulkner said, "The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, and hold it fixed so 100 years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again."

003 SAmi, Lomographer: "A good picture is the result of the coming together of all those elements: color (or lack thereof), composition, lighting, contrast, subject, mood, everything. Sometimes it takes hours to set up a good shot, sometimes it just happens by chance, holding out the camera, clicking and hoping for the best. What I find so beautiful about the process is that the only thing you can be certain of is that you'll never know precisely how a shot will come out. It's those pleasant surprises that make it worth doing."

004 the3eyedboy : "As with any art form it all falls down to subjectivity. Each individual brings something of themselves to what they see in a photograph and takes away some of what the photographer has shown them. It doesn't necessarily have to be down to color, content or composition but can be any one of these or indeed all of them! Lomography is not by its nature an art form- nor are many of us "photographer" in a traditional sense. If a photograph gives you something, anything and you take some of that away with you- then it's a good photograph (for you!)"

005 wall: "I have to be difficult and pick an option that isn't there. Personally I see good photos that are ones which bring back memories. Every picture has a story kind of thing. It's kind of a vague concept and it can only really apply to photos you have some connection with. Although saying that some pictures you can relate to in you own way, so I think content is pretty important. I don't believe color is fundamental to the end result - some of the best photos are in black & white. Nice colors do help though. Whoever took the photo is irrelevant for viewing the picture but a good photographer will make good pictures, obviously. I think a good picture is all about timing, which is why carrying a camera around with you all the time might seem geekish but you have the opportunity to catch some good moments. To summarize: a good picture is one where you can look at it and it brings back memories, a story, emotions and if you were not there makes you wish you were."

006 Gloria.Fantasmagoria, Legend: "One thing is clear: I'm a sucker for pretty colors and there's no denying it. And yet, if I stop for a moment and think about the kind of photographs I consider to be really good, I know that color doesn't really come into it. Color is only the make-up on a beautiful - or not so beautiful - face. Artfully applied, it can enhance the good points and draw attention away from the bad points. Thickly smeared on, it can look striking and original from a distance, but perhaps a little alarming on closer examination. But face-paint maketh not the sex goddess and colour maketh not the lomo, to coin a phrase. A truly good photograph for me must convey a compelling atmosphere. This need not necessarily be the true atmosphere of the moment captured. A good picture should create a distinctive atmosphere all of its own. It should draw you into the world it conjures, like a vision or a daydream."