December 06th, 2013

Photography is about seeing. Photography is about capturing light and subject in that box called the camera and making people feel. We obsess about the quality of the shoebox or the features it has but in the end it is all about what you see. Developing how you see the world is the key to great photography. What made you take the camera out of the bag? What made you stop the car to take a photo? Was it the light? The color? The texture? The simplicity? Or was it the subject.. a wild coyote just walked into your kitchen and downed a box of Captain Crunch. To get better at seeing just walk around your world and see what you see. So before you pull out the camera and start thinking camera math, choose to think creatively first..then stop and figure out how to get what you see into your lens and onto you sensor. So, to become a good photographer the first step is not to buy good equipment and just learn about what all the buttons are for but to start to nurture and develop how you see. Do you see photos in your mind and wake up at 3am with a great photo idea or do you like to roam around and capture what inspires you? One of the best ways to develop your seeing is to roam around without your camera and see what you see- make yourself a human camera. Use your iphone and not take pictures, just walk around and use it as a frame to frame what you see. If you want, shoot it. After all, you can take a Pulitzer Award winning photo on your iphone- you just wont be able to show it in Time Square or get shallow depth of field. Or, walk around and use your hands as a frame- like the cliché directors pose. Developing your visual voice as a photographer is what will separate you from amateur to artist.