The art of seeing: the most important skill a photographer can have

It all begins with seeing

Photography is nothing without a vision of what is in front of us. The best photographers make us look at something ordinary in a new way. Or they bring attention to something we would not have considered looking at.

We are all capable of doing this. Success does not lie in thinking about gear and technique. It lies in spending time with a subject, rather than making the first image that springs to mind. And it comes from deciding what your image is about: what you want to say with it. 

What’s the difference between looking and seeing?

Looking is acknowledging what is in front of us. But we do no more than that. We acknowledge the presence of something with a quick glance.

Seeing is finding meaning in what is in front of us. We have a better understanding of it because we reflect on it. We are likely to connect our subject with thought or information. 

If we look at something, we have a fleeting impression of what it is like. If we spend time with it instead and start seeing, then we begin to appreciate all the elements. And we may start to feel an emotional connection to it as well.

What happens if we look at an old tree?

We will probably have the sense of a big trunk and a tangle of branches. A tree is a commonplace sight. So we move on without giving it much attention. Or, if it is nicely isolated and there’s a pretty sky, we may make a quick image without a lot of thought.

But if we spend time with that tree we begin to see more and appreciate it more. How wonderful is that texture of bark with all its intricate patterns. How old and gnarled the tree looks. Perhaps it reminds us of an elderly relative or even our own sense of ageing. And what about the curve in one of the branches? How beautifully sinuous it might be, reaching out into the sky as if it were the limb of a dancer.

Now we might begin to create some very different images, ones that celebrate the tree more. And the content of those images will probably be very different from a quick image made after just looking. Those images might cause a viewer to see or think about the tree differently as well.

A look results in a quick snap: a photograph without much to say for itself. It is a record of a scene without any interpretation. Seeing results in thoughtful images which are attempting to say something about the subject. The image might share a message, a feeling, a point of view or an experience.

Which type of image would you prefer to make?

This blog is adapted from my book A Deeper Way Of Seeing. Find out more and purchase your copy here.