Your shooting philosophy

[Jeff Canes]

I’m a #s 1 & 2 person, but I voted for #1 “I shoot what looks good to me” because it seem to be the main reason

 

[darin3200]

I don't go out with any thing specific in mind, just a camera to take pictures of thing. But I do notice a general style from my work.

 

[Jeepnut28]

i like to look at things at different angles and I hate following rules.

 

[ThomThomsk]

When I say theme, I don't mean something like "ducks" or "sports", but something like "fear" or "happiness". An emotion or concept, not a subject.

That's pretty hard to do. Even with non-visual forms of communication it is a challenge, even more so if you want to be original and avoid cliche. In photography I'm not sure how you do it.

On Sunday I spent the whole morning photographing an area of old beech and oak woodland where anything that falls is just left to decay. This was mostly an exercise in practicing exposure control, but I now have a load of images of decaying fallen trees, stumps and leaf litter.

I didn't intend to follow any particular theme, it was just a convenient place to get some dappled shade and interesting shapes, but someone looking at those photos might see a theme of decay and renewal. Would it make any difference if that is what I had intended?

As for happiness or fear, the struggle I have is to understand how a photograph that conveys that concept to me can reliably convey the same thing to someone else. People filter what they read and hear and see through their own experience and cultural norms, which makes it hard to be sure what effect a picture will have. Has the photographer failed if the viewer doesn't feel the emotion he intended?

Thomsk

 

[JTHphoto]

I use to be a #1, but the last few years I have been shooting as a #3 so I voted for #3. Typically when i shoot, i have a specific "theme" in mind, but since joining TPF I have found myself challenged to get back to #1, and just shoot what looks good, trying different "themes" if you will. It's more like educational shooting, and broadening my focus has only improved my eye and photographic skills. So when I do switch over to #3 mode, my captures will hopefully be much more improved, or I may even find I am better at and enjoy a different "theme" altogether.