Grading Images

Images can be good and/or bad in any combination of ways (f-stoppers)

Images can succeed in one, or a combination, of three different ways.

Technical

Images that succeed on a technical level exhibit the following characteristics:

• appropriate focus
• appropriate sharpness
• appropriate depth of field
• appropriate post-processing
• appropriate composition
• appropriate use of color or black & white

Emma Sofia Griffin

Jack Tucker

Garrett Hill

Emotional

Images that succeed on an emotional level might:

• relay a powerful moment to the viewer
• evoke a powerful memory in the viewer
• elicit a powerful response from the viewer
• cause the viewer to pause or think

Barry Yang

Garrett Hill

Ellis Coffelt

Eva Liu

Conceptual

Images that succeed on a conceptual level might:

• be able to be read both in a surface way, and on one or more deeper levels
• be abstract
• make use of visual metaphors
• be planned or designed in advance

Nell Smith

Gates Shoemaker

Tanner Smith

Bringing it All Together

While images can be successful in different ways, the best images will typically succeed in multiple ways.

Gracie Lupas

Joshua Hart

Evan Hessler