Introduction:

I often receive Instagram DMs from friends and followers who are curious about getting started with photography: What’s the best gear to get started? What camera do you use? How do I get noticed? Where should I post my photos?

Whilst all these questions are irrefutably valid and worthy of addressing at some point in an often arduous journey of becoming a self-respecting photographer, they tend to fall under the umbrella of ‘how photography’.

‘How photography’ consists of a subset of questions that focuses on the process of becoming a photographer, but one that often neglects a more difficult albeit more important subset of questions that ultimately sets a more secure foundation on which to build either a successful photography career or satisfying photography hobby. It’s the neglect of this vital subset of questions that has ultimately resulted in a loss of originality, creativity and experimentation in the photography space in recent years, resulting in the same, tired, worn down tropes being constantly propagated on social media, thoughtless gimmicks for the sake of small, regular dopamine hits in the form of likes and shares, and the overall transformation of photography into the predominantly soulless exercise that it is today.

This subset is, of course, ‘why photography’.

So, Why Photography?

If ‘how photography’, the question that so many people are tripping over themselves trying to answer, is the process, then ‘why photography’, the question that people should really be examining before ever looking at things like which camera model offers the best color science, is the core, the essence, the raison d’etre that should exist at the start of every photographer’s journey and ultimately be present throughout the entire creative process. 

Don’t get me wrong - I’m not expecting everyone with even a slight curiosity about photography to wake up one morning with the epiphany that they want to give up all worldly possessions to track and document the breeding patterns of the Cuban snail. I’m merely suggesting that the questions I discuss below can serve as a starting point and/or subsequent checkpoints that lead to a more original, more creative and more fulfilling photographic venture. There is absolutely no reason why the answers to the ‘why photography’ questions can’t change along the way, but it is up to you to ensure that the photography you’re currently doing, and the reason why you’re doing it are and continue to be aligned - if they’re not, that’s when it’s time for a bit of a wakeup call. 

As someone with experience of doing things the wrong way round and going through their own wake up call, I hope that my past mistakes documented in this article will serve photographic enthusiasts well, acting as sincere advice for those who want to get started with photography in the modern age.

Once Our Biggest Opportunity, Now Our Biggest Downfall

When you look into the history of photographic masters like Ansel Adams or Joel Meyerowitz, you can see that the world in which they started photography was very different to the world we live in today. Perhaps this difference has allowed for a clearer, deeper understanding of ‘why photography’ than many of us have in the digital age. Joel Meyerowitz (who’s street photography masterclass I often refer to as ‘Voldemort teaches street photography’ - jokes aside, it’s absolutely fantastic) is 85 years old, having started photography over 60 years ago. He quit his job at an advertising agency after seeing Robert Frank (another of the American great photographers) at work, and took to the streets with a 35mm film camera to capture his unique perspective on life in New York. Listening to him talk about photography is inspiring and infectious - he has such clarity on what he wants to achieve as a photographer and what he’s aiming to show through his work. He grew up in an age where images and video weren’t oozing from every crevice of our societal (or social for that matter!) existence, giving him a potentially clearer focus and starting point for an epic, unique photography career. 

Therein lies the rub. The society we live in is programmed to consume media. Every screen in our existence provides easy access to exabytes of images that, when paired with a validation system of likes, shares and comments like those that exist on social media platforms, offer a rather enticing portal to a world of attention, recognition, fame and fortune. The possibility of getting our images seen by millions of people at the touch of a button is an opiate of the modern masses, a pipedream that exists to get people churning out content that in turn forms the very fabric of the platforms that capture so much of our attention. 

Instagram started with images but, following the competition from rivals like Tik Tok, has since pushed users towards the creation of reels and video content, leading to those that started out as photographers now turning to ‘content creation’ in an effort to stay relevant. I’ll be honest with you - I really, really dislike the term ‘content creator’. It suggests a kind of mindless conformity without any definition or purpose, an absence of any type of specific medium, with the implication that said person will ‘create’ whichever means of ‘content’ will garner the most attention. It reduces art forms like photography and videography that should be steeped in meaning and self-expression into assembly lines for public consumption.

I’ll pause here momentarily for a short clarification - I do understand the need to use certain mediums and content types to get an audience and get noticed. For example, if you’re a chef that wants to show off your skills through reels posted on IG, more power to you. The difference is that hopefully you’ve considered the ‘why’ part of your career or hobby before doing so and have thus adopted social media as a medium through which to get noticed and peddle your trade. A key difference with photographers is that because the photos are the medium, there is a risk that you skip the ‘why’ part entirely and just want to take photos with the hope of getting noticed. 

Whereas the space was relatively small in the days before the days of the internet and camera phones, photography now exists as an art judged by the masses, meaning that social media users are more likely than ever to be influenced by which of their posts gets the most likes. Essentially, the Joel Meyerwitz’s and Ansel Adams of the photography space are no longer - our photographic endeavours often lack meaning, purpose and clarity, lost in a swirling vortex of need for validation, dopamine and instant gratification. What once was our biggest opportunity to get an audience, now risks becoming our biggest downfall. 

Getting in Touch With Your Inner ‘Why’

What’s the solution for this predicament then? Conform? Immediately adopt the ‘content creator’ moniker, buy three more video cameras, two new sets of microphones and ring light and start making whichever content we think will do best based on platform features, trends and whatever gets the most likes? Or, perhaps, we do the opposite - all rush out to buy film cameras in an effort to bring out our inner purist, dramatically destroy our phones with a hammer, and only display our photos in prestigious galleries that we’re invited to exhibit in? 

The answer, unsurprisingly, is neither. Despite my distaste for the term ‘content creator’, content creation for content creation’s sake is perfectly acceptable - if you’re creating content to make a living and get noticed - and you’re aware that you’re doing it for these reasons, then great, all is peachy. If you’re either a photographer who started out doing one thing but has ended up doing something very different and now feels a bit lost, or someone who has never considered the purpose of your photography before, there is no time like the present to get in touch with your inner ‘why’.  

Stop what you are doing (finish this article first, then stop), grab a pen and paper, or an iPad, or chalk, or whatever writing instrument you may have near your person (I’ll stop short of recommending using your own blood - we’re writing a photography exercise, not a Faustian contract). Find a quiet space devoid of distractions and avoid picking up your phone and getting lost in the blackhole of IG. Look at the set of questions below and jot down some short answers - these will serve as the initial checkpoint that you can refer back to in the coming months and years to see if your motivations for photography have changed. The aim of this exercise is to have a basis for future reflection at any point you deem it necessary - being aware of the way that our art evolves and changes - whether independently or under the influence of societal pressure. Constantly reflecting on your aim of doing things is a good way to maintain creativity and originality. If you’re new to photography, skip down to the second set of questions as they’ll be slightly more relevant for you. 

The Inner Why Exercise:

What you’ll need:

• A writing implement

• A quiet space free of distractions

• Your brain 

• 10 - 15 minutes 

Questions for Photographers to Develop Your Inner Why:

1. What got you interested in photography in the first place? 

2. What type of photography have I been doing in my time spent on it? 

3. What subjects do I want to photograph?

4. Does my current photography focus (pun intended) match the reason I got interested in photography?

5. Why do I enjoy the type of photography I’m currently doing? 

6. What am I trying to express through my images, whether to myself, the subject, or the audience. 

7. How can I improve my photography in line with my interest in it? 

8. What equipment do I need to do my photography?

9. How much time am I willing to invest in getting my photography from where it is now to where I want it to be. 

10. What are some concrete goals I can assign to my photography and how can I achieve them?

For those of you interested in getting started with photography, here are some more pertinent questions for you.

Questions for Aspiring Photographers to Develop Your Inner Why:

1. What got you interested in starting photography in the first place? 

2. What type of photography am I most interested in pursuing? 

3. What subjects do I want to photograph?

4. What is the reason I want to pursue photography and what will it mean to me?

5. Why might I enjoy the type of photography I’m interested in? 

6. What do I want to express through my images, whether to myself, the subject, or the audience. 

7. How can I improve my photography in line with my interest in it? 

8. What equipment do I need to get my photography journey started?

9. How much time am I willing to invest in getting my photography to where I want it to be. 

10. What are some concrete goals I can assign to my photography and how can I achieve them?

The Purpose of the ‘Inner Why’

Remember, the desired outcome of this exercise isn’t to get you to smash your phone or storm the Meta headquarters in a fit of rage. The outcome of this is to put the reason back into a process that has become devoid of it in recent years. If you’re a content creator (winces in pain) who enjoys creating content, and the answers to the questions above reflect that, then great - off you go and check back in a few month’s time to see if that’s still the case. If you started out in photography because you wanted to capture the intricate emotions of pedestrians in the bustling heart of a city metropolis like New York, but find yourself making reels about how much a particular building looks like the set of a Wes Anderson movie, then it’s time to have a serious word with yourself and potentially hit the reset button. 

To use a concept discussed by the aforementioned master photographer Joel Meyerowitz, as much as we choose what people see within the frame of our photos, we also choose what they don’t see. The frame is our medium, our window to the way in which we view the world, our way of sharing a unique perspective and form of self-expression. The fact that this choice can be distorted or even adulterated by the opinion of thousands of strangers that we’ve never met before, or company bigwigs bent on maximizing screen time to pump shareholder value, is extremely unnerving. Use the questions above to regroup, refocus or restart, with the ultimate goal of aligning why you do photography with the photography you actually do. Maybe it’s not achievable immediately, maybe you want to dabble - I know I certainly do, maybe you want to build an audience and then experiment. Who knows. The point isn’t to have all the answers, the point is to develop an awareness of your art so that you’re doing it for the reasons you want to do it for, rather than blindly rushing in and finding yourself unhappy with your work years down the line. 

In part two of this article I’ll go into more detail about my own personal journey as a photographer and provide my own answers for the ‘Inner Why’ exercise listed above. Sign up to the email address or follow my socials for further updates on the second half.

Thanks for reading.

Blair