How do you approach photography?

[Baaaark]

Usually I have a friend or decoy stand in front of the camera to distract the lens and body, while I approach it by flanking it, getting behind the camera, and then hitting the shutter, all Navy Seal style.

 

[Aruzuriel]

Still new to photography but since the first time I picked up a camera seriously just couldn't stop. I feel although it is neither artistic or journalistic to me. Photography in general I find calming and one of the only times I feel at peace. Whether it be documenting something or something more artistic and set up I am just glad to have a camera in my hands. I approach with an open mind and as ready as I can be for what I get or even just feel like doing.

 

[Hawaii Five-O]

I don't know, I just look for an interesting angle and push the button.

I am painting with light,

Well no, not really, your capturing refracted light.


Unless your talking about light painting with a flash light.

 

[Josh220]

I think I may sometimes TRY to look at it in an artistic way, but in the end I usually come out shooting like you. Not that it's a bad thing.

 

[farmerj]

I have an engineering background.

I CAN'T see artistically. Generally it's with broad sweeping shots capturing all the details with it being seriously analyzed after the fact and determined what worked and that process repeated again on the next subject only to realize what worked before has no bearing on the new subject and has to be modified and adjusted before moving on to the next victim.

In the army, they call it "spray and pray".

 

[tnvol]

Although I think it is an art, I havent always gone about it in an artistic way. I've always taken pictures of everything no matter where I've been in the world but never really took it seriously. I was just capturing the moment at that time and didnt really care if my pictures meant anything. That changed recently though. I started getting into it pretty heavily about three months ago. I got a decent camera and started to learn the basics and have started to put them to use to "create" more so than just snapping pics of cool things. I'm having a blast.

 

[Sachphotography]

I take a purely artist approach. I want the world to be seen the way I see it. I want people to understand what it is I see. I want them to experience a world that would have otherwise passed them by. For me, it is about the experience, the Joy and passion. No two people see the same thing the same way. I don't have the most expensive equipment. I do not have the money required to obtain the best lenses. What I do have is a passion to take what I posses and catch that one glimpse that fades away such as a dream fades the instant the dreamer awakes.

Daniel Sach
Sachphotography Fine Art Photography The homepage of Daniel Sach and his photography Company

 

[Andrew Boyd]

For me it's all about the light. On days when I can slow down and really watch the light, that's when I see images I want to shoot. Some artist once said that when he saw the world naively, as a child, was when he was at his best...I think there's something to this!
I wrote an article about this on my blog you might like too.

 

[SonnarSphere]

..

I've never really had a deep reason for liking photography. It's just fun. I feel shallow:er:.

! don't feel shallow. this is a great reason.. with maximum options.

i like handling and using cameras..the objectivity of it. i like how optical devices see and render
the world, how time can be defined visually, how things can be characterised..subjectively.
how a moment can be visually and emotionally re-experienced later-on. and shown to others.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I have enjoyed reading this thread, and seeing where all of you are coming from.
I think it is still too early to tell about where I am at. I am an artist, therefore I want to be an artistic photographer. For now I will still try to shoot everything to find my strengths and weeknesses. I have noticed that I am most often not good capturing a large scene, and when I get home to go over what I have captured, I often find smaller things I find exciting or interesting in the bigger picture. I didn't catch on to this for a while either. But now I see it, and I am teaching myself that I can look for the smaller stuff, and I am finding my niche, or my love through this medium.

I also love post processing, and am training my self to see in the field what colors I can bring out later. I have learned that I love abstract photography, and that I need to really learn the language of composition. I know I will never be a wedding photographer. I don't know that I'll even be good at portraiture. What I see is, if I ever hope to earn a dime from this hobby, it will be from an artistic view of the world.

Time will tell. Right now I want to learn as much as I can, as fast as I can, and become adept at applying what I learn.