Four ways to bring more meaning into your photography

Do you feel a sense of dissatisfaction or stagnation with your photography

It’s a common feeling for those who have been photographing for a little while. I’m often asked by people how they could take their photography further.

The key to this is making your photography about meaning rather than improvement. When we start thinking about the content of our images rather than the techniques behind them is when a noticeable shift starts happening, both in our photographic ability and our creative enjoyment.

Here are four issues that are really important to me as a photographer:

Vision over gear

Technology distracts. Many are convinced that they won’t change until they buy a new piece of equipment. Or they are too busy trying to learn all the functions on a new camera that they don’t really need.

Vision emerges from taking time with a subject, not taking time with the latest kit.

Attention, curiosity, connection

Once we start thinking more about the subject and less about the technical side of image making, our way of looking begins to change. We may start to feel that we have a relationship with our subject.

We start to see details that we did not before. We start to ask more questions about what is in front of us. All of this combines to allow us to start thinking about our creativity in a new way.

Photography as a practice, not a hobby

Most people start photography as a hobby. They enjoy days out with a camera. But when we develop our attention, curiosity and connection, our photography starts to become a way of expressing ourselves. Our creativity becomes an important part of our rhythm of life. And we are likely to start creating projects and bodies of work and developing a narrative and a point of view with our images.

Remember, this doesn’t have to mean spending more time on photography, unless you want to. It is about spending your time differently, more intentionally.

Creative process over output

When we start to practice photography in this way, we discover another change as well. We often stop worrying about the perfect image or the one that will win a competition. Instead, we value the time spent exploring our subject. We look forward to the creative journey. We enjoy the experiments we undertake. And we stop worrying over whether an image is a great image and endlessly obsessing over social media. There’s another benefit as well.

Frustration is beneficial

Before, photographic challenges were technical hurdles that showed a lack of ability. Now   frustration is seen as a sign of growth, not failure. It is a sign that we are beginning to stretch our vision. The mentees I work with often embrace frustration as a challenge that moves them further forward. This is an indication that things are going well.

I believe that many people want to achieve a place like this in their photography

However, sometimes it is hard to arrive there. The industry in geared around technical ability and the need for companies to sell more stuff! Workshops are often centred on showing participants the honeypot sites, not on stretching their way of thinking.

I’d love to help you on your journey. Do find out more about my mentoring services here. It could be the start of the next phase of your journey.