What makes photos "POP"

Time, patience, confidence and experimentation = Experience
It will happen....... because you want it to! - just enjoy the journey....

Center focus ,DOF, saturation ,etc.... Veiwmaster effect...

watt100 wrote in post #10510017
OK, so you think most of the photos lack "pop".


what about this one, does it have the requisite pop ?


XSi with Canon 55-250IS

just slight post processing !

pop won't come in a photoshop filter, unfortunately.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #10510410
Again, it is all subjective, each person has a different creative "mind's eye", and so if you only see a few with pop, that just means you have developed a different taste of what you like vs others. There is no real definitive recipe for "pop", unless you mean ...

Agreed again.
I'm not sure there is a difinative explanation of POP in a photo either.
By the way I'm more of a Coke man myself.

White never looks more white than when against black. Red never looks more red than when its against green. A brightly lit subject will pop when placed against a background thats in shadow. Color, contrast and light are basic tools in achieving the pop you talk about and can be further enhanced by shallow DoF.

Take the time to learn to see when those kind of things are happening within the photograph then have the photographic skill to capture it and the PP skills to be able to see it through to the final image but the key is being able to see it.

yes...color theory and composition, light and darks, negative and positive shapes, lighting, etc, more important than an OOF background.

Peepaw wrote in post #10511454
Agreed again.
I'm not sure there is a difinative explanation of POP in a photo either.
By the way I'm more of a Coke man myself.

lol, Pepsi is the pop for me all the way until either the grave claims me or the doctor tells me to stop.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #10511546
lol, Pepsi is the pop for me all the way until either the grave claims me or the doctor tells me to stop.

I'm not sure he was referring to a beverage

Good Light, Correct Exposure, and last good PS

Buchinger wrote in post #10489868
The person is actually a friend of a friend and I doubt she does any Pp. Maybe this link will work.
http://www.kodakgaller​y.com …g%2FALB%2F.jpg%​3Fp%3D5300

To achieve this type of results is rather simple. They used a more narrow depth of field (lower aperture number) to seperate the subject from the background/foreground. They applies the rule of thirds A LOT. If you take the image frame and divide it into thirds horizontally and vertically, you want to put your subject along one of those lines. This is also a common rule in landscapes, have the horizon go across the upper third or lower third part of the image. Personally, I think the rule of thirds has been over taught and over used, but there is still a place for it.

So, to summarize, you would want to shoot in AV or M, set your aperture to a lower number (which will decrease the depth of field, and use the rule of thirds. Do that and you could duplicate this pretty easily.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #10511852
I'm not sure he was referring to a beverage

I can't deal with pepsi. Coca Cola for me.

TGrundvig wrote in post #10512019
To achieve this type of results is rather simple. They used a more narrow depth of field (lower aperture number) to seperate the subject from the background/foreground. They applies the rule of thirds A LOT. If you take the image frame and divide it into thirds horizontally and vertically, you want to put your subject along one of those lines. This is also a common rule in landscapes, have the horizon go across the upper third or lower third part of the image. Personally, I think the rule of thirds has been over taught and over used, but there is still a place for it.

So, to summarize, you would want to shoot in AV or M, set your aperture to a lower number (which will decrease the depth of field, and use the rule of thirds. Do that and you could duplicate this pretty easily.

"When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches."
Edward Weston

airfrogusmc wrote in post #10511852
I'm not sure he was referring to a beverage

I was, Coca Cola.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #10512417
"When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches."
Edward Weston

I could not agree more, the OP asked how to achieve the type of photos found at that link....so I explained it. But, for me personally, not my style.

TGrundvig wrote in post #10512535
I could not agree more, the OP asked how to achieve the type of photos found at that link....so I explained it. But, for me personally, not my style.

Yeah I was agreeing with your rule of thirds comment. And backed it up with a big gun (Weston)