Photography, as an art form, requires the artist to look inward and pull from experience and knowledge to create. Personal growth is reflected in one’s creativity, and by exploring new habits, ideas, and learning from different art forms, you can transform your photographic journey. To start the year, here are three ways to give yourself new perspectives.
Be More Consistent
When you leave your home, you always have your keys, wallet or purse, and phone with you. If you have ever left home without even one of these, you know that feeling of being naked. A new, predictable habit to form is to never leave your home without your camera. That quick run to the store can reveal a perfect moment to capture. Having a camera with you will have a subconscious effect, making you more aware of potential photos. Taking more photos builds confidence both technically and artistically. Photography is like learning a language: the more you use it, the more fluent you become.
Japanese Philosophy
Integrating Japanese philosophy into the way you approach photography will give you a new perspective on how you create. For several years, I have been adhering to these four philosophies in my approach to creating images and in my daily life.
Kaizen “Continuous improvement”
A Japanese business philosophy focused on small, incremental daily improvements. Setting small goals every day for yourself makes a huge impact over time. Find pain points in your workflow, from something as simple as finding a more comfortable camera strap to labeling your image files more effectively. If there’s a camera menu item you spend too much time trying to find, set it to a custom key so you’re not distracted while photographing.
Wabi-sabi “Finding beauty in imperfection”
Chasing perfection is exhausting. Letting go of the obsession with creating the perfectly balanced, exposed, color-accurate, pixel-perfect photo is liberating. Wabi-sabi is the appreciation of beauty that is imperfect, authentic, rustic, and incomplete. The story told by an image resonates more with the viewer than the technical aspects of the photo.
Mono no aware “The pathos of things”
This philosophy embraces impermanence. When you depress the shutter button, the moment you capture in a fraction of a second will never happen again. Following mono no aware removes the hesitation of “should I or shouldn’t I take that picture?” Appreciating the fleeting moment and the underlying sadness that it will never repeat compels you to take the photograph.
Ma “Negative space”
The intentional, conscious creation of space brings harmony between objects. It is not the absence of things or subjects, but the concept of space as a positive entity. Allowing your subject(s) to breathe within a frame gives balance to the viewer. Another way to approach this is to find solace in space within a frame.
A great video by Tatiana Hopper that dives into Japanese philosophy in photography.
Look Outside of Photography
There are many things that influence the micro decisions you make when taking a photo. Exploring art and cinema in depth will give you new insight into composition, lighting, and color. Studying masters and contemporary artists, as well as cinematographers from the silent era to today’s films, will open worlds of inspiration. Here are a few videos to kick-start your exploration:
A reel of beautiful shots from cinema.
My favorite documentary on cinematographers.
A great series on artists by curator and gallerist James Payne.
Photography is a life long learning process as you evolve so will your photography.
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