Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr.: A Simple Plan to Protect Young Minds

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Even before the Internet, a time when pornography was tame compared to today, there was experimental evidence of its negative effects.In a 1988 experiment by Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant, published in the Journal of Family Studies, college-age subjects viewed pornographic material for six weeks. A randomly assigned control group did not. This would be a good photo except for her missing fingers and elbow… Doh! In going through my old shots, I noticed many shots where I cropped out a lovely model’s foot, chin, arm, or leg. Even your most creative editing job will not save a photo of model with a missing chin. The authors of the study offer this explanation: Pornography depicts sexual gratification as impersonal, self-centered, and relationship-free rather than part of a committed love relationship that carries responsibilities; by contrast, marriage and parenting are two of the biggest commitments and responsibilities we can take on as human beings. Pornography's depiction of depersonalized, "free sex" appears to have had the effect, on the young adults in this study, of weakening the values of love, responsibility, and sacrifice that marriage and raising children require. Teens' Viewing of Internet Pornography: GlobaI Findings

What do we know about the impact of Internet porn on the young people who consume what this technology has made available? In 2012, the journal Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity(vol. 19) published a research review by scholars from four universities, "The Impact of Internet Pornography on Adolescents."It examineddozens of studies of teens in countries as diverse as Canada, China, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Among the findings: An image says more than a thousand words. But what about when that picture is bad? What does it say then? More than just the subject of the photo, a poorly composed or taken photograph can communicate all sorts of negative things about the person behind the camera. It can say you’re lazy, unprofessional, or that you don’t care about your work. In short, it can make you look like an amateur. When teens view pornography that depicts violence, they are more likely to become aggressive in their own sexual behavior. The focus refers to the area in a photograph that is sharp, while the depth of field is how much of an image is in focus behind or in front of your main focal point. At the end of the day, only you can decide whether a photo is good or bad. Take these tips into consideration when evaluating your photos and keep experimenting until you get the results you want. With practice, you’ll soon be able to determine what makes a good photo and what doesn’t! Is the Image in Focus?The ability to take a good photo is an art form. It takes practice, patience and skill to master photography knowledge and be able to distinguish between good and bad photos. Here are some indicators of what makes a great photograph: Sean Covey, son of the famous Stephen Covey, has written a terrific book for teens that I regularly recommend to parents: The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make.It's full of wise, down-to-earth advice regarding the decisions teenshave to make about friends, school, their relationships with their parents, love and sex, self-worth, and addictions. When it comes to good photography, details matter. A bad photo may be missing something that would make the image stand out and create a more powerful impact. Depth of field is a fantastic tool for narrowing the focus of your composition. However, it’s easy to get carried away with razor-thin focus. Many photographers buy a “fast” lens that opens up to f/1.2, f/1.4, or f/1.8, and only shoot wide open. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should! It’s all too easy to miss focus at aperture values lower than f/2, and these lenses are quite soft wide open.

Take a look at other photos on the same topic and ask yourself how you can make yours unique. Is there anything you can add or change to make your shot one-of-a-kind? Think about experimenting with different angles, perspectives, or techniques such as long exposures or HDR images.If the image has been shared on social media, it’s also worth looking at the comments under a post. If there is something wrong with the image, it’s possible that lots of other people have also expressed doubt, or even debunked it outright. Familiarise yourself with the internet and its memes/jokes Because of this dependance I spent most of my time during shoots waiting for my camera to grab focus, then actually taking shots. Since I’ve been shooting a lot more video with the 5DMKII, I’ve had to master manual focus. Now, I find my eye is a lot more reliable than auto focus. Study the lighting situation before shooting and look for areas of light and dark in the scene. If needed, you can use an external light source (such as a reflector) to bring more light into certain areas of the photo or even add some dramatic lighting effects. Is it Missing Something?