Why I Shoot: The Three Discoveries That Hooked Me

First in a series unpacking my photography motivations

As I mentioned in my last blog post, part of my process is finding my photography's soul. To make progress on this, I have spent a good amount of time reflecting on a few key "why's". This first post explores my general "why" for photography. So why keep reading? If you're here as a fellow photographer, maybe some of my why resonates with yours (and I'd love to hear if it does or doesn't). If you're a friend who's curious about my photography hobby and why I've dived so deep into it, this post is a look into my process.

Discovery 1: How a Camera Changed How I See

I first found myself investing deeper in photography when I decided to buy a camera and explore my city more. I very quickly realized that being somewhere nice and having a nice camera wasn't enough. I struggled to find the right way to capture what I saw and even build the confidence to point my camera at things I noticed. This made me realize photography was going to be much harder than I'd initially expected.

A photo from my first ever photo walk with my camera. Struggling to point straight ahead and mostly just took pictures of buildings.

What had immediately changed for me was how conscious I was of my surroundings. Not in a vigilant way, but in an open and curious way. I started reacting to light falling on objects or sounds that might indicate something was happening. I started to be way more present and observant than I've ever been.

I also found myself noticing things in varying degrees of detail. Sometimes my eye would be drawn to a whole wide scene, something like a busy city scene or a vast landscape. Other times, I would laser in on a sticker on a post or a texture on a wall. And other times it would be a combination or interplay of the two. In some ways, it felt like one massive city-wide scavenger hunt.

It also started making me more observant beyond the context of the photos I was taking. Some days I'd just be walking around without seeing specific photos or frames, but I'd be way more sensitive to something that could become a photo. And sometimes those make me regret not carrying my camera in that moment.

This first excitement and new found sensitivity towards the world around me was the first big draw and the first component of my "why".

This was the very first photo I took where I discovered 'hero shots' and felt that scavenger hunt excitement I described.

Discovery 2: Getting Obsessed with the Technical Stuff

After opening my eyes to the world more, my brain immediately became obsessed with the technical aspects of photography. Like many aspiring photographers, I started to learn to shoot in full manual, taking control of my camera and mastering all the different settings.

Photographers today argue whether it's really necessary to shoot fully manual. Admittedly, modern cameras are really good at guesstimating what we want to shoot and how we want to shoot it. But I wasn't satisfied with just using my camera "optimally".

I found myself curious about the settings, not just to get my desired photo outcome, but also because the actual physics and engineering behind it fascinated me. I was finding myself questioning why the aperture's f-stop affects depth of field. How a stop of light is consistent across shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. What ISO is and why is there also ISO in film? All of this got me digging deeper and deeper.

As a data practitioner in my day job, it's no surprise I was curious not only about how things worked, but why they were the case. I wanted to learn not just how to use my camera, but why certain tradeoffs are optimal. I wanted to know that the photos I made were because of deliberate choices, not happy accidents. Each missed shot frustrated me more and more. I knew it wasn't the camera's fault, so the only option I had was to analyze what I did wrong. And the only way to analyze this was to learn as much as I could about cameras.

These two photos are examples of my struggle to capture compelling scenes. It was my first time to shoot in low light, so I couldn't get the camera to do what I wanted. I eventually settled on these two frames that were "sharp enough" and "bright enough".

This obsession actually translated to everything. My entire project named "Processed Photos" was born out of my constant exploration of the how and why my photos were the way they were. This led me to meticulously studying my exposure settings and reflecting on what had gone wrong, so I never made that mistake again.

Eventually, I decided I wanted to make a book that documented my first year of photography. It would explore "hero" shots that show a progression of my work and my ability to nail the shot better over time. That book is on hold for now. I still might make it, but I learned something in this phase that explains why this book idea transitioned to my Instagram profile plus this blog.

In this phase of my "why", I had believed that the key to taking good photos was mastering my technical skills. That beautiful things just had to be noticed (discovery 1) and that I just needed to have the skills to capture it (discovery 2). But I soon came to realize that both of those are just the prelude to photography. I had believed that I was already in the process of taking good photos, photos that mattered, or could matter. Now I've come to realize that both of those were just the beginning of a much longer journey.

A common “Central Park” photo early in my journey.

A “Central Park” photo I took a year later.

Discovery 3: Realizing I'd Just Started Playing the Game

Once I got that "aha" moment of realizing that I wasn't close to mastering photography, that I had literally just started playing the game, my why shifted one more time. I started to explore more inspiration, beyond just Instagram "bangers". I started to find photographers that made work that excited me or put me in awe. I started discovering bodies of work instead of isolated photos. I started thinking about cohesion and collections.

This was when I also invested in a photography mentorship program with Jakob Lilja-Ruiz (@portra_papi) and bought more photo books. This is when I saw photo work that wasn't always technically perfect, but was cohesively impactful. I was learning more and more that good photography was not at all about technical skill. Technical skill is learning how to hold a paint brush, mix pigments, and throw it on a canvas. That doesn't make you Leonardo Da Vinci. That just makes you competent, not great.

This suddenly shifted everything. It made me realize that it wasn't just about a beautiful scene and the skills to capture it. It also requires being able to hone your style. Developing your taste and training your eye. Learning how to tell stories with the photos and represent multiple sides of that story. Incorporate depth and at the same time clarity. Introduce humor and enhance drama. Capture moments and memories, not just snapshots.

Instagram profiles of some of my recent favorite photographers

This is by far the hardest part to learn. For one, it's the hardest to describe. Some artists take the approach that the source of art is largely spiritual or found in a dimension that's beyond us (my takeaway from Rick Rubin's "The Creative Act") while others believe artists have processes that can uncover some of the mysteries behind the art (something I'm actively discovering and exploring now with Adam Moss' "The Work of Art"). Regardless of which it is, or which combination of the two, the undoubted fact is that the artistic process is equal parts incredible and difficult.

This was something I never would have thought I would explore in my life. Growing up, I always was interested in very analytical and technical things. Consumer technology, debate, analytics, and software. None of these really scream "artist". And while calling myself an artist is a massive stretch, by any standard, I am still genuinely curious and want to dive deeper into this.

Continuing to explore and uncover the artistic process, and the discipline as a whole, feels like the key to finding my soul. This realization connects directly to what I wrote about "soul" in my previous post - that cohesive meaning I'm still searching for in my body of work. By taking inspiration from the greats that have come before me, by continuing to be inspired by the great work of others, and by actively exploring what my process might look like, maybe I might just discover my process that leads me to my work's soul.

My Instagram profile's before and after I started to be more conscious about a larger body of work.

Looking Forward

My photography why has grown over time. Both in the number of whys and the depth of each one. So why do I shoot? I want to get good at taking photos that matter. I want to see the world, engage my analytical brain, and explore an artistic side that I never thought I had. There's so much more to learn and discover and that's what keeps me constantly excited.

So what's next? I have a couple more "Why I Shoot" posts planned. Most of these will dive deeper into specifics of my practice or niches that I am drawn towards. Some future posts might be "Why I Shoot Film", "Why I Shoot Leica", and "Why I Shoot Street". Each why I explore brings me closer to clearing those three bars I set for myself: consistency, confidence, and soul.

If any of my whys resonated with you, feel free to drop a comment, send me a DM, or share this with your network! I also want to know what your why might be and where we might differ.