Think like a photographer

<p>Assuming it's accurate to suggest every profession has its unique way of thinking in order for its participants to fulfill their professional duties - think like an attorney, a politician, a drummer, a salesman - what attributes would "think like a photographer" entail? </p>

<p>Photography is a service-oriented business. It's necessary to "think like" someone would for any other service business. Other than that, I think it's more important to drink like a photographer.</p>

<p>I think a like philosopher and act like a photographer.</p>

<p>I'm not sure I want to pigeonhole a photographer's "way of thinking." Categorization sometimes invites stereotyping. Yet, I'd like to take a shot at the OP. In my opinion, since photographers often perceive potential subjects differently than non photographers, they bring to bear different ways of thinking about world - perhaps all at once in a given situation.</p>

<p>Fred - Don't sell yourself short. I think you both think and do photography like a philosopher.</p>

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<p><em>"Categorization sometimes invites stereotyping."</em></p>

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<p>I don't know that it's stereotyping so much as characteristics unique to a particular profession (or activity). <br>

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In the presence of a forest fire, a fireman might instinctively think about how to put it out; a reporter will want to report it; an attorney will think about liability; an environmentalist will give thought to the environmental impact of the fire, so there is likely a a hierarchy to which we place our emphasis based on our profession and training. </p>

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<p>In the presence of a forest fire...</p>

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I think about staying alive. I think pretty much everyone involved thinks about that.</p>

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<p>I think a like philosopher</p>

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Michael specifically talked about "professional..." I've never known a professional photographer who does his business by reading Hegel for breakfast to think right.</p>

<p>nm</p>

<p>I would never call myself a photographer, but since I got into photography as a hobby, I tend to think much more about the impact of light and look for a picture in everything. I also tend to notice little details in my surroundings that I hadn't noticed prior. Using the fire example, a photographer would probably think about how to frame the most interesting shot.</p>

>>> nm

 

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<p>Avedon studied philosophy and poetry at Columbia. Whether he ever actually quoted Kant or merely had a different slant on things as a result of his interests, I can't say. But it was and is relevant to some photographers.</p>

<p>Photography is primarily a form of communication. For a commercial or editorial photographer the assignment is to communicate the messages of the clients and publishers. Any discipline that enhances that ability to communicate is relevant.</p>

<p>OTOH, Avedon also said "In our age the photographer and not the philosopher is king". If he'd lived long enough to see the kings of photography deposed by the democratization (or anarchization) of photography, he might have revised his opinion of philosophy.</p>

<p>Is the question how to think like a photographer? Or is it how to think like a professional photographer who needs to sell images and/or services in order to eat and pay the rent? Those are two very different perspectives.</p>

<p><strong>Think like a photographer:</strong></p>

<p>- Be open to everything that you see as a possible subject, but be selective and use your camera only when you believe that you have a strong chance of capturing the results that you want to produce.<br>

- Know your style and make decisions that support it.<br>

- Think about light and composition.<br>

- Think about ways to develop, expand, and sharpen your technique.<br>

- Think creatively.<br>

Think about keeping up with current trends and practices.<br>

- Think about how to overcome limitations and how to use obstructions to inspire greater creativity.<br>

- Think about collaborators (models, subjects, subject owners/stewards, and other people who can help you make images).<br>

- Think about how to get the best out of every visual opportunity.</p>

<p><strong>Think like a pro whose livelihood depends on their photography:</strong></p>

<p>- Think carefully about what your customers want and expect.<br>

- Think of any possible thing that you can do to deliver what your customer wants in a way that exceeds their expectations.<br>

- Think about expenses versus revenues.<br>

- Think about the effectiveness and impact of your marketing and advertising.<br>

- Think about your reputation.<br>

- Think about permits and forms and insurance.<br>

- Think about assistants.<br>

- Think about taxes.<br>

- Think about keeping up with current trends and practices.<br>

- Think about backups and storage and organization.<br>

- Think about the safety of everyone involved in your business and in your shooting.</p>

 

<p>Look at the fall of light. Look at the subject and see the visual possibilities. Move around, look at the subject from different viewpoints. I remember once going to photograph an interior and it took me 45 minutes of walking around the building until I could see the best viewpoint. Then consider the best time of day to take the shot, even the best time of year.</p>

<p>Thinking about doing is what gets stuff done.</p>

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<p>Is the question how to think like a photographer? Or is it how to think like a professional photographer who needs to sell images and/or services in order to eat and pay the rent?</p>

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The comparison in the OP included lawyers and salesmen, so it would appear to be about professional activities. I thought that was clear from the start.</p>

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<p>The comparison in the OP included lawyers and salesmen</p>

 

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<p>The list also included drummers and politicians and I know plenty of amateurs in both of those categories.</p>

<p>According to two German photographers in the then-new <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sozialistischer_Realismus">DDR</a>, thinking about photography</p>

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<p><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Oskar+Nerlinger&num=100&newwindow=1&client=firefox-a&hs=dK0&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dhwnVJneBMizyATn84LwBg&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=1862&bih=1294">Oskar Nerlinger</a><br />We wish to build a road that will lead to a new, valid state of mind and to enlist all active artistic powers that can work with us on the cultural construction of our country.<br /><br />Carl Hofer<br />We find ourselves before the difficult task of clearing the field and cleansing it, before we sow and plant.</p>

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<p>Photography from this sort of view serves the cause of progressive social development.</p>

<p>"I think a like philosopher and act like a photographer "Fred.</p>

<p>A photographer, to my mind, thinks like a photographer. They are not philosophers, they are photographers, dealing in the real and their perception of the world of truth and reality.</p>

<p>They do not act as anything other than a photographer...they exist in their own special place; they are photographers...special folk with their own unique individual mindset.</p>

<p>They encompasses everything.... mold it all together...and then they call themselves photographers.</p>

<p>Observers and pulse feelers of the world, as it is, in all its glory good or bad...and they then add their own special take.</p>

<p>The Art of a Photographer.</p>

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<p>Lots of talk....but nice to have a photo.</p>

<p>Sort of me...walk by.</p>

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<p>Yes, the brush, the philosopher, the sculpture is the greater Art .The photographer is really about the common man. Common.</p>

<p>The lesser Art.</p>

<p>Methinks not...The greater Art.</p>

Methinks whether philosopher or photographer, i think like me. I never met the photographer-me and the philosopher-me as distinct from me-me. Nor do i have a switch that could put me from one mode into another one. It's all me with me.

<p>I definitely think like a photographer even when I'm without a camera. Although I'm not sure how other photographers think. When I look at magazines or picture books or even the news paper I wonder how a photo was made. When I watch a movie I think about the photography. I constantly say to myself "boy that would have made a great picture". Or maybe I'll comeback when I have my camera and take that picture. I constantly look for things to photograph when up and about... </p>

To be a successful street photographer you have to think a bit like a predatory animal. You sometimes need to stalk your prey, seeking the opportune position and moment to strike. Sometimes you wander over a fixed territory, as an animal would its hunting grounds, looking for suitable subject matter. I tend to look for small children as prey, as it's easier and more enjoyable to capture them than their parents.

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<a href=" title="Young Chess Player by Bill A, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3873/15176819050_0a09a9ba68_z.jpg" width="623" height="640" alt="Young Chess Player"></a><br>

Young Chess Player </center>

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<p>To be a successful street photographer you have to think a bit like a predatory animal.</p>

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<p>Strongly disagree. This is exactly the type of notion I would want to dispel. I think a big part of being a successful street photographer is empathetic and respectful immersion in the environment and people around you.</p>

 

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<p>I tend to look for small children as prey, as it's easier and more enjoyable to capture them than their parents.</p>

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<p>Please tell us you're not serious, Bill. I take this to be part of your theory of street photographer as predatory animal and not anything more sinister than that....but when you read it, it sounds horrific.</p>

<p>Back to the OP -- I think there is a distinction between thinking about photography in terms of how one can make money from it, and thinking about the act of photography as an act of creativity. To accomplish the former requires at least some thinking in business terms, but the latter cannot be stereotyped as there are probably as many different approaches to the creative act as there are photographers.</p>

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<p>Pro photographers are always thinking about how they're going to get their next customer. They probably think about photography very little.</p>

<p>Yesterday I stopped in a photo store that specialized in wedding photography to find out something about the building they were in. Nothing to do with photography. I wasn't there two minutes before he asked me if one of my kids was getting married soon. When I mentioned my daughter was married two years ago, he wanted to know the photographer and place she got married. when the discussion finally moved onto photography (I asked him if he used Lightroom), he griped that they had to buy a special software because LR doesn't allow access to the same photo from different machines in different locations.</p>

<p>Pro like him think about getting and running a business, not photography.</p>