“My photos are boring.” Whenever I lead a photography workshop or tour, there’s always at least one frustrated photographer who laments about not being able to capture what they see. If you feel the same, you’re probably not asking yourself the right questions.
To simply snap a shot because something looks nice is not enough. Having an expensive camera won’t help either. I don’t care if you own the holy trinity of lens sets, can recite the aperture scale backwards, or can shoot in manual mode blindfolded, none of that will help if you don’t know why you’re pressing the shutter.
5 Pre-Photo Questions That Will Transform Your Photography
Our minds are great answer machines. If we ask it a question it will find an answer – rational or not. The trick is to get clear about the purpose behind why you want to make an image. Here are five questions to ask yourself before pressing the shutter.
1. What’s interesting?
You could easily substitute the word interesting for your desired outcome like: magical, beautiful, epic, amazing, moving, important, etc. Some other variations are: Why does this shot matter to me? What draws me in? What catches my attention?
2. How can I amplify the interestingness?
How can I enhance the thing that drew me to the scene? Is there a way I can “turn up the volume” on that aspect. Do you need to: get closer, change your point of view, reduce or increase your shutter speed, use a different lens, blur the background or increase your depth of field, follow the rule of thirds or break it?
3. How can I flow with the light?
Photography means drawing with light after all. Rather than get the light (natural or artificial) to do what I want, I try to flow with it. I look at how the light and shadows interact with the elements in the scene? I ask myself if it will be better at another time of day or even year?
4. What’s the story?
Sometimes the answer is obvious right from the start. Other times it only reveals itself after you answer the first three questions. It’s also important not to get too hung up on finding one. Every photo doesn’t have to have a deep meaning. It could be simple like ‘this scene is beautiful’. Are there any themes you can build off of rich vs poor or old vs new?
5. What can I exclude?
It’s easy to want to cram in too much. Cutting out all that is unnecessary gives even greater focus to your message. Find the picture within the picture, the small scene within the big one. Sometimes the simplest photos are the ones with the greatest impact. Less is more.
Conclusion
Find something that interests you. Make it more interesting. Flow with the light. Tell a story. Subtract the clutter. Ask the right questions.
What questions do you ask yourself before taking a photo? Share them in the comments below.
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