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recipe for a good photo
10 pounds of light
Quality of light is very important. Photography is really about recording light. For most circumstances, you want soft diffused light. This can be a bit of a challenge, as naturally available light is usually at its best at dawn and dusk, and is usually rather dim, requiring long exposures, large apertures, high gain or some combination thereof in order to get a proper exposure. "Golden Hour" photography can produce very vibrant images.
In order to get enough light for a proper exposure, flash is often used. However, most people just use the on-camera flash with no diffusion. That creates harsh shadows, which are usually ugly. To get really good results with flash use reflectors, soft boxes, diffusion, umbrellas and whatever else you can find to soften up the light. I've found that elevating a flash head so that it is near the ceiling works very well in small rooms, as the flash bounces off of the ceiling.
Hard light can sometimes be effective, but the harsh contrast is a huge challenge to use creatively.
In addition to whether the light is soft or hard, the color and direction of light are also important. The crucial thing about light is to be aware of how it is illuminating your subject. The biggest difference between a good photographer and a hack is their understanding of light.
2 cups of camera
You need a camera to take a photo. A camera is simply a box to hold a lens to direct light to a recording media. A better camera can expand the possibilities of what you can capture, but even something as simple as a box with a pinhole can work.
You need media to record the photo on. I happen to prefer digital. Digital capture allows instant review, easier use, and no nasty chemicals. It just has a better flow for me. When buying a digital camera, the most important feature is the sensor. All of the features in the world won't make up for a sensor that doesn't have enough resolution or has too much noise.
You also need a lens to direct the light to the media. I usually use prime lenses (ones that have a fixed focal length, so they have no zoom feature). Zoom lenses are like a whammy bar on a guitar, some people can use them well, but most abuse them. Primes help get you in the proper state of mind to really consider composition. Instead of just zooming in and out, you need to move the camera into the best position, which forces you to find the best direction to take the photo from, and the proper distance from the subject. Primes generally offer better quality than zooms, and often need less light. Higher quality lenses are usually better, but technically inferior lenses also have their place. Like a tube amplifier, distortion and imperfections can actually improve things sometimes. My opinion of lenses is that they should either be sharp, or unsharp in an interesting way.
dash of subject
What to point the camera at. Pretty much anything can work, but a human face is the most likely to provoke an emotional response. One of the most famous photos ever taken was of a simple pepper. A truly accomplished photographer should be able to make a worthwhile photograph of any subject.
tons of inspiration
This is where all of the technical knowledge of how the camera works, the choice of subject, how the subject is lit and just plain luck and happenstance come together. Landscape photography can take a lot of planning and adjusting. For candid photography, this can happen at a very rapid pace, but no less depth of thought or emotion. The difference is like comparing classical to jazz. Fashion photography is more like Pop or Rock.
Way too many photographers have no inspiration, and are the equivalent of Muzak or Smooth Jazz (or cheez whiz). All the elements are there, but there is nothing special or exciting. They often are very convenient like McDonalds.
hours of processing
Once you have a promising negative or digital file (preferably in RAW format), you now need to get the best out of it. Even if you want the image to be strictly documentary, you will still want to color correct and adjust the overall tonality. If this is not a journalistic image, and you are not constrained by the need to restrict manipulation, the possibilities are endless.
Lather, rinse, repeat
No matter how good you are, not every trip of the shutter will produce an earth shattering life altering photo that will become famous. Each photo should be a learning experience though. Especially when learning a new technique or becoming familiar with a piece of equipment, your first attempts are likely to be disappointing. Think of them as prototypes that you can throw away. The first time I had an opportunity to use pro level studio flashes, I took a day and half to experiment before using them on a job. After about 400 test shots, I got the hang of using the strobes. Had I not done that, the job likely would have been a failure. Those 400 photos will never make my portfolio, but the things I learned have had a strong influence on my style.
As a side note in favor of digital: it would not have been practical to cram all of that experience into a day and a half using film. The ability to instantly view the image and histogram after taking a photo was instrumental in allowing me quickly learn what did and didn't work when working with pro strobes.
Serves 1 to millions
Now that you have a finished image, it is ready for presentation. The primary means of display are digital, and on paper.
The easiest way to serve up images is on a web page. There are many many services out there that will host photos, but anyone can learn to create their own site if they have the time. I also like to use my photos as my screensaver.
Inkjet printers, photolabs or your own darkroom can be used to create prints. To really make the best of an image on paper, it should be mounted and framed.