There’s a big difference between the subject in front of us and the meaning behind it

What an image initially appears to be about can be very different from the message the creator wants to convey. The real reason we make an image can often have little to do with the actual subject matter.

Looking back over the various bodies of work that I have created, there has always been a reason for creating them that is not always obvious. In my States of Mind series I was conveying the different emotions that I was feeling and expressing them through the work that I created. My Dead Flowers In Vases series was exploring ageing. The Floor At The Arnolfini celebrates the unseen and explores how we can see form and texture in new ways.

Generally, if we are artists, there is an “why” to making an image

Sometimes we have a clear intent in our minds of what it is that we wish to convey. But sometimes that intent is subconscious. We may need to do a little work to find out why we were driven to make a particular image or body of work.

I am currently working on a project where I am making images of my local stream, The Bybrook. I was drawn to make a certain type of image. But it took me a while to work out that I wasn’t documenting the stream itself. Instead, I was using water as a metaphor for memory. I wanted to explore the blurring between fiction and reality that memory can create.

Many people struggle to find the intent in their images, or the reason that they made them. There is a simple exercise that can help photographers discover more.

Try this simple exercise about intent

Look at an image and write a single word about it. This word should not be a descriptive word. It could be a word about how you feel about the image. Or it could be a word about a hidden meaning that you see in it. Some people prefer to write a word cloud: a group of single word descriptions. This allows deeper exploration of the image more before settling on the intent.

Once you have decided on your word it can be useful to use this as a prompt to create more images around the same theme. It might be the start of a project. The images may not seem cohesive at first, but the meaning often brings them together. Understanding this intent can help with sequencing an existing body of work. Or with writing about your images.

Not everyone will see your intent

We all see and interpret images differently. When I have run workshops and asked attendees to give a one-word description of an image, I have usually received radically different answers from attendees. There is a huge range of influences that will mean that others will not or cannot make the same connections as you. Everyone has a different background, a different environment and a different set of memories.

But it does not matter that people do not always see your intent. You have a personal reason for making the images that you do. That is enough. However, you may wish to guide the viewer.

Stating your intent can encourage viewers to see work in new ways. That is a good reason for telling people about the intent behind your image(s).

Understanding intent moves our work to a new level

It allows us to move on from meandering, playing and doodling. All of these have their place in the creative process. But intent allows us to move towards closure. It allows us to create work with vision. We know we have been able to express something important to us. Or we have the chance to explore a theme in greater depth.

PS Would you like explore intent in more depth?

Join Rob Knight and myself for The Vision. If you would like to challenge your artistic style, explore surroundings in new visual ways or create a variety of different interpretations of one subject, this online workshop is for you. It next runs in February and March 2024. Find out more here.