1. ART!

2. Composition: Rule of Thirds
Images that fall on one of the four intersection points are more visually pleasing.

3. Color
Colors opposite from each other on the color wheel are complimentary and work well together.

4. Contrast
(noun) - A principle of art, contrast refers to the arrangement of opposite elements (light vs. dark colors, rough vs. smooth textures, large vs. small shapes, etc.) in a piece so as to create visual interest, excitement and drama.
The colors white and black provide the greatest degree of contrast. Complementary colors also highly contrast with one another.

5. Repetition and rhythm in art
Repetition refers to one object or shape repeated; pattern is a combination of elements or shapes repeated in a recurring and regular arrangement; rhythm--is a combination of elements repeated, but with variations.
Compositions are also generally strongest when the number of objects is odd. Ex. An arrangement of three glasses would be stronger than two.

6. “Bad” Art
Judging art is largely subjective, but pieces with little contrast and poor composition will be weaker. Realistic pieces require accurate scale, but abstract and expressive works still use contrast and composition.

7. Photography Clichés
Sunsets, flowers, pets, unnecessary black and white, selective color (when the petals on a flower are left pink and the rest of the picture is black and white), urban decay
Sunsets are pretty, puppies are cute, but these things are boring and done by everyone. This does not mean that every sunset is automatically ruled out, but it does mean that a photograph should also have something else that makes it unique.

8. Photography Clichés Cont.
Black and white overturned lawn chairs are cliché. Taking a mediocre photo and putting it in black and white does not make it art. The lack of color should add something to the picture.
Photographs of rundown buildings are one of the most overdone and disliked subjects. There is an appeal behind them which is why they became popular, but their popularity has also led to their demise into yawns of boredom and sighs of “oh this again.”
Selective color is overdone.

9. Art Clichés
There are less hard and fast rules for clichés in drawings and paintings. Any subject can be made original with an original style.
We are also in high school and realistic still lives have merit even if they are not particularly original.