Pretty scenes don’t always make for great photographs. Think beyond the pretty photograph.

For example, take today’s photograph.

A compelling landscape photograph should have at least three subject objects. One of those subjects is typically defined as your shot’s “hero.” The hero better be interesting and immediately catch the eye. The remaining subjects better support the hero, and they don’t include sky, trees and dirt, unless the sky, trees or dirt offer the viewer something extraordinary. In the case of this photograph, we only get one thing slightly out of the ordinary, the nice rock formations with the added benefit of scattered snow. So, for the sake of this image, the rocks are the hero. The sky, and trees can’t be considered worthy primary subjects for a shot like this. They look okay but aren’t hero quality. So, what to do? Well, nothing really.

This is just to explain why a scene like this can’t hold up as a great photograph. It needs something more. It needs either a more dramatic sky, more dramatic trees or something else, such as a building or other artifact or characteristic in the scene to make it more interesting. It’s more or less a background without a main subject, and it’s a bit too busy to even make a great background.

When you’re analyzing a scene looking for a hero, try to avoid using the sky. It is a rare thing that the sky should be used as the primary object of a landscape scene. Not to say it can’t or shouldn’t happen, but I almost always consider sky to be in addition too. Like a good supporting actor in a movie. Weak sky, weak scene. You still need a leading subject, and the sky shouldn’t be your first choice. A lot of amateurs will see a pretty sky and take a shot. Everything else be damned, but by golly that sky sure was pretty. Well, pretty skies aren’t hard to find, and making a great photograph isn’t quite as simple.

Are the rocks compelling enough to be the main subject though? I don’t think so. One way to help you identify the subject in your scene using Adobe Lightroom is to use the “Masking” function and tell Lightroom to select the subject. As you can see, Lightroom considers the rocks to be the subject of the photo. Of course, Lightroom analysis isn’t going to tell you how good your composition actually is. It’s just trying to give you what it thinks is the subject for editing purposes.

Still, the rocks are not strong enough to carry the day in my opinion.

The bottom line, scenes like this are too static, too mundane and too common. My old mentor Kathleen Norris Cook would refer to this photo as “a snapshot.” Little context, boring subject matter. I saw it, photographed it and couldn’t make out what the photo was really about.

End result. A pretty scene and a pretty photograph, but not really a great photograph. The only thing that makes it a pretty photograph is the fact that it is properly composed and exposed. If you mess up on any technical aspect of a scene like this, you won’t even have a pretty photo.

When I find a “pretty scene” I try to imagine what it takes to make use of that pretty scene. When I’m out hunting for wildlife photos and find a pretty scene, I try to be patient and wait for wildlife to appear in that pretty scene. Imagine the above photo with a herd of deer moving through, or perhaps hikers enjoying a trek through the mountain terrain or climbing on the rocks, or something more compelling. I try to wait for the hero to show up.

Don’t settle for snapshots of something that looks pretty. Take a little time and study the situation. Consider different viewpoints, focal lengths, accompanying elements. Make a few test shots with different compositions. Once you nail it down, get serious and make a great photograph. Don’t settle for something you though was just “pretty.”