Photography Needs a Course Correction 

After 38 years as a photo pro, here’s what I have to say about photography learning. 

 It’s all wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong.

 Maybe it’s not wrong to learn basic camera settings, but it’s entirely wrong-headed to focus on them. 

 Maybe it’s not wrong to develop techniques to make your images better, but it’s stupid to spend much energy thinking about improvements, when you haven’t even thought about how to make good images.

 Sure, you’ll waste time and money. But I’m thinking of the big costs you’ll suffer. This misdirected thinking will:

 • Destroy your focus

• Waste your energy

• Weaken your enthusiasm 

• Lead to bad habits, and

• Poison your passion before you even start.

 In most cases, this approach destroys your chances of ever making decent images. Leave this method to snapshot shooters and adolescent wannabes. They just want to “take pictures” and will not be hurt.

 For serious shooters, there’s a better way. And from the beginning of photography, it was the way of the greats. For them it was the only way. 

 The Greats Got It Right

 These men and women were too busy creating breakthrough images, some that changed the world, to spend time salivating over the new 35mm lens coming out next week. 

 Most of their images had distinctive looks. Nothing generic about their photography. They made images with style.

 Many of the genius shooters everyone admires knew little about photo technique. Most knew just enough to do their work. What they did know was how to come up with interesting ideas and embody those ideas in captivating images. 

 Truth is you don’t need much technical know-how to get started making cool images. Some kinds of shooting in some areas of photography require more specialized knowledge. No problem. You’ll pick it up when you need it. With the internet, doing this continual on-the-job learning has never been easier. In the meantime, you’re growing as a strong image maker and learning authentic photography.

 And you don’t need a fancy camera, or even any camera. The phone in your pocket is better than most of the cameras I used in professional work.

 What is Authentic Photography?

 I call the work of the great shooters ‘authentic photography.’ It’s about image making. Not the tools of the trade. This should be obvious to all, but it isn’t.

 The work of authentic photographers is based on ideas, all kinds of ideas. Moods and feelings. Observations and relationships. Light and shadow, color and contrast, rhythm and movement. Captivating subject matter. And countless other things in the real and mental worlds. 

 The work of authentic photographers is not based on equipment and technique. Hardware and software. They have something they wanted to show through their images, and they work hard to do it well.

 Only in Photography Do Novices & Pros Make These Mistakes 

 Is any of this surprising? Do painters obsess over brushes and pigments? Do guitarists focus on which brand of strings to use on their instruments?

 I’ve heard many artists in various fields talk about their work. They were all enthusiastic, but it was not over the tools of the trade. It was what they were trying to do with them. Painters wanted a special look, a new way of expression. Musicians wanted their own sound. None obsessed over equipment.

 Go into a camera store at lunchtime and listen to the way “photographers” talk about new gear. The cluelessness is mind numbing. Is their unbridled enthusiasm for a piece of gear anything other than a fetish or perversion? It has little to do with the quality of your creative output.

 A Sad & Tragic Warning

 Once upon a time there was a super photo educator. It was the late ’80s and I was at the beginning of my career as a fashion photographer.

 When I discovered this photographer, I took his paid seminars twice. I bought several of his rather high-priced videotapes on photo technique.

 And I learned a ton of photo technique and processing techniques from this great teacher. This was before digital, so we were all using film, which made what he taught even more important.

 It seemed like this guy knew everything about technical  photography there was to know.

 Here’s the sad part.

 During my study of his methods I saw many of the images he made in his work. None of them were very good in my opinion. And I wouldn’t use any of them in my portfolio if I had done them, even though I was still a novice.

 I won’t name him. Even though he’s gone now. I still respect him for what he achieved. But I was forced to realize that although he was a super talented educator, he was a lousy photographer. And that’s why this story is sad and tragic. I wanted better for him.

 We shouldn’t call everyone who works with a camera a photographer.

 Maybe we should divide people in this field into two groups–Photographers and technical specialists. The photographers will focus on creating cool images. And the technical specialists would focus on the equipment used to make those images. And in my opinion, most photo teachers should come from the first group.

 When you’re in a difficult shoot, it would be awesome to have one of these gifted technical specialists in the room with you. Most of my assistants were right out of school and not as knowledgeable as the man in my story. Still there were times they could help with technical difficulties when they came up.

 But most of the time, there was little they could add to my image making. And that’s because of the misdirected focus most photographers find forced upon them.

 When I was working in advertising, before becoming a photographer, other copy writers and graphic designers would frequently make strong suggestions to improve my work. These people were focused on the work itself most of the time rather than on the tools of the trade.

 Moving Forward With Authentic Photography

 In future articles I’ll describe the right way to learn and practice photography. First I’ll give you a general outline of method, and then I’ll give specifics showing you how to carry it out.

 Your method of working will become yours. Your images will be yours and reflect who you are, your taste, ideas, point of view. Instead of producing generic images that look like everyone else’s, you’ll create images that stand out. And it will feel exhilarating.

 As your images continue to improve, strengthened by your natural instincts and tastes, the quality and individuality of your work will gain you greater recognition and admirers. And if you want to be a pro, this is essential for growth.

 If you use your photography skills professionally, you will frequently face push-back from clients who want to see their point of view expressed in the images they pay for rather than yours. Understandable. Most shooters decide to make some compromises when this happens.

 I’ve had to do that many times. There are certain lines I refused to cross, but often I would comprise to get assignments. In retrospect, I wish that I had stuck to my guns more often.

 If I could go back and start over, I would be less compromising. The clients I lost for non-compliance would have been replaced by new clients who wanted distinctive images.

 How Do You Transition from the Photography of Gadgets to the Photography of Ideas

 Idea-based photography. It probably sounds vague to many people. Maybe a little scary. But in future articles I’ll give many concrete examples to get you started. And one way of doing it would be to point out the work of outstanding shooters who base their work on specific ideas.

 Not everyone will be moved by the same ideas. That’s the main point. Your photography should be yours. 

 There is no privileged way to be emulated by all. Instead you find your own points of view and develop your work from them. And soon after you start down this path, everywhere you go you’ll find ideas to shoot with. The challenge then shifts from finding ideas to choosing those that seem most promising.

 The Ultimate Reward for Practicing Authentic Photography 

 When the sterile drudgery that is a big part of the gadget-based approach to photography is eliminated, the joy of photography becomes exhilarating. 

 I remember my favorite shoot with my favorite model. I ended up calling the shoot “Rhythms in Blues.” I was excited for a few days planning it. I wanted serious moods of serene melancholy, something you don’t see in most fashion photos.

 To highlight the mood, I would be using tungsten film outside (which makes the images bluish). I would also be doing it on a foggy, cloudy day after sunset (each of which makes the images even more blue). Hair, make-up, and wardrobe were chosen to embody the look.

 I had two other cameras hanging on my neck, one with black-and-white film, the other with color negative film. Today with digital photography, one camera would be enough.

 The shoot was done on a Saturday late afternoon, so I wouldn’t be seeing any results until Monday. So I was in a state of heightened excitement for almost a week. 

 I had ideas in my mind that I wanted to turn into images. When I saw the results I was disappointed at first but came to totally love the results.

 When I would go to model agencies in Miami, NYC, and Milan, I would ask them how they wanted me to shoot their girls. They would point to the Rhythms in Blues images and say, “Shoot them all like this.”

 The shoot brought in many new clients. Several of the images hang on my living room wall more than 20 years later. The total satisfaction was incredible. This is what authentic photography looks like.

 Imagine what the world of photography would look like if every photographer suddenly changed from equipment focused to idea centered.