The Most Important Question in Photography

Originals

Feb 6

We spend so much time talking about how to take a photo, the settings, the gear, the composition, that we often skip the most important question in the entire process: Why?

It sounds simple, maybe even a little philosophical, but asking yourself "Why am I pressing this button right now?" is the single fastest way to move from taking snapshots to creating intentional art. When you have a clear reason for the shot, every other technical decision starts to fall into place like a row of dominoes.

Think about it this way, if your "why" is that you want to capture the overwhelming scale of a city skyscraper, you’ve just made your lens choice for you you’re reaching for the wide angle. If your "why" is the quiet, lonely expression on a commuter’s face, you’ve just decided to crop in tight and probably open up your aperture to blur out the distractions of the crowd. Without that initial question, you’re just guessing.

In monochrome, the "why" becomes your North Star. Since we can't lean on a bright red door or a yellow taxi to tell the viewer where to look, our intent has to be twice as sharp. If you’re shooting because you love the harsh, aggressive contrast of a midday shadow, you know you need to expose for the highlights and let the blacks go deep and inky. If you're shooting because you want to evoke a sense of nostalgia, you might choose a softer focus or a grainier look.

The "why" even affects how you handle the "icebreakers" we talked about in a previous post. If your "why" is to document the grit and hard work of a local craftsman, your conversation with them will be naturally focused on their process and their hands. Your intent shapes the interaction, which in turn shapes the portrait.

Next time you feel that urge to click, just pause for a second. Ask yourself what it is that actually caught your eye. Is it the light? The geometry? The emotion? Once you can answer that, the "how" becomes easy. You aren't just capturing a scene anymore; you're communicating a specific point of view.