The first question every photographer must answer: Why?

Friends and strangers who know I am a photographer sometimes ask me questions about photography, and how to take better photos. Almost always these are “how”, “what” or “where” questions. Before you can answer any of those, first you must answer:

Why?

This simple question can take many forms, and the answers can be complicated, but taking photos without knowing the why, leaves you adrift, and your photos will suffer. In this post I will address what I see as some of the most important “why’s” of photography. This is only my personal experience as a semi-professional photographer, but it is experience I have gained from years of photography and a lifetime of asking why.

Why take photos?

This is the big, broad, philosophical question, and the most easily ignored. I believe, however, it is the most important one to answer. Many budding photographers pick up a camera, and start shooting things that look cool: sunsets, babies, animals, landscapes. This is all great, and much can be learned with this scattered approach, but you can only go so far before the motivation starts to run dry and you loose the initial excitement of taking photos.

The best photographers are motivated to take photos by specific reasons. There can be more than one motivating reason, and they can change over time, but the important thing is to be aware of it. Lets say your motivation, as is one of mine, is to show the beauty of nature. If this is a goal you have in your mind when you’re taking photos, it will help you to find more compelling shots. What is it about nature that amazes you? How does that amazement show itself to the eye? How can you capture that in the camera? How do you convey the emotion you feel to the people who will eventually see your photo? When is the best time to get that shot? Where should you be when you take the photo?

Understanding the broad, motivating “why” naturally leads you to the other questions that help you get the great shots you want. But remember, there is not only one “why”. There will be many and they will change over time.

Why this shot?

Every time you trigger the shutter, you are making a creative decision. But just shooting like a machine gun, clicking at every opportunity in the hopes of getting a good frame from amongst the junk will end up a frustrating experience. You won’t get the very best photos possible this way, these require thought and decision.

When I was first playing around with a camera and learning about taking pictures, I was using an old second hand film SLR. I was a kid on an allowance, and my Father gave me some advice that sticks in my mind to this day: “Every time you want to take a photo, imagine I’m behind you, tapping you on the shoulder and asking: ‘Is it worth a dollar?’”.

Despite the fact that film and processing costs are irrelevent in the era of the digital camera, the advice is still very appropriate. Is the photo you’re about to take good enough that you would be willing to pay for it? If not, why are you taking it? Not every photo has to be worthy of printing and framing, there are other good reasons for taking photos: for practice, to experiment with an idea, to test the exposure, to risk the mundane for a chance at the excellent. Every photo should have a reason, and if you are aware of the reason, you will take better photos.

Why this equipment?

If you are fortunate enough to have a variety of photographic equipment available to you, such as lenses, light sources, a tripod etc, then you have a lot of flexibility when creating your images. Many photographers will have a specific kind of photo in mind for each piece of equipment, or conversely, for each kind of situation they will know exactly what gear it needs.

Stopping to ask yourself “why” will make you think about the image more and possibly open your mind to alternatives. Sure that portrait looks great with the telephoto lens, but after you’ve taken it that way, why not get up close with a wide angle for a different feel? Yes the low light means you need a tripod, but why not also take a photo with the camera deliberately in motion to create a more dynamic image?

Why these settings?

Just like keeping your mind open to using your equipment in different ways will open up creative opportunities, so will doing the same with your camera settings. The meter suggests shutter and apeture settings for a good exposure, but why not try something different? Why not push the exposure way up the bright end and get a high key photo, for that dramatic stark look? Why not change the auto white balance from daylight to tungstan to get a dramatic cool blue image.

Understanding why certain settings work, and what kind of images they produce will mean that you will learn about light and taking photos much faster, and you’ll always be open to creative deviations from the “normal”.

Why should others care?

You may love that sunset shot, but why would anyone else? If you’re shooting for an audience, and not just for your own pleasure, it helps a great deal to understand their tastes and interests. This is critical in professional photography, but even if you are just taking photos to show your family, understanding their feelings will make their enjoyment of your work that much greater. Remember how Aunt Jane loves daffodils, don’t pass up a chance to shoot them. Uncle Joe always hates having his photo taken, but everyone else wants a treasured memory of his birthday.

Some photographers, possibly the most noble, use their work as a tool for social change. Nowhere else is an understanding of why more important. Why is the subject’s plight important? Why should everyone know what’s happening? Why hasn’t the issue been given better coverage? Why is it worth risking your life to get the message out? Only when you understand the why of suffering or injustice can you ask the other questions of how to capture the message in the image and where and when to be to get it.

Why aren’t you asking why more?

A simple exercise you can do to improve your photos, before you even pick up the camera, is start playing the game of “why” that you probably last played when you were three. Ask yourself a why question about your photography and imagine the answer, then ask “why” of the answer, and why of that answer, and so on. Pretty soon you’ll get down to the very core of the question, and by understanding the big whys, you can take better pictures.