our photography should be driven by emotions
we make images when something makes us feel in a certain way
so beautiful everywhere
my heart is so happy right now
so pretty and so beautiful
this is a very tricky balance here, though
that we must be aware of, and that we must keep
on one hand, we need to feel those emotions in order to make those images
and on the other hand, we need to be careful not to attach those emotions to the images
we need to look at them for what they are
the photograph must be able to evoke those feelings in the viewer
otherwise, only you will understand the image
perhaps, not even you, once time has done its job of making everything fade away
today, we're gonna talk about why we attach feelings to our images
why and how to avoid it
and how to evoke emotions with our images, so that everyone can feel what we felt when we made them
maybe I don't look like it, but I'm very excited about it
I've been waiting for this moment for a long time
emotions drive us, they guide us
we have to chase those feelings
this is the only way to make good images, to make photographs that are meaningful to us
but we need to make sure that we create photographs
that recreate those emotions in those who were not there with us when we made them
the last thing we want is to leave people in different
art should touch and move the audience
the truth is that we look at our own work through a distorted lens
we might think that they work better than they actually do
we might think that they communicate emotions and feelings better than they actually do
there are a handful of common traps I've fallen into in the past
and I keep falling, that we should be aware of
the harder an image is to make, the more we have to go through to make it
the more connected we are going to feel to such photograph
an example is hiking
I love hiking, and I have plenty of videos of those adventures here in this channel
but you might have a harder time finding images from those hikes in my website
I usually like a lot... I usually love the images that I make during a hike
but I know from experience that they tend to age very bad
I mean, compared to other images
the reason is very simple: it's because they are harder to make
especially in challenging hikes
for someone who doesn't know what it took just to get there
I mean, from their point of view the image could have been made from a viewpoint
I might have driven there, for all they know
but I, as the photographer, am aware of how much work went into making them
and I might value them more than other images that
even though they might be better, they were easier to make
now, those images might still work very well with other people when we offer some context
for example, when I show images here in my channel, in my videos
you have the back story of those images
you came along with me and you saw how much work
how much effort was put into making those images
something very similar happens when we make the process of "image making" harder on purpose
for example, recently, I was listening to an interview with a well-known photographer
and they were making the case for tripods
they said that using a tripod for every one of your shots makes your photography
not just slower, but also more intentional
and I get it
I shot for almost two years exclusively on film, and using a tripod
so I know where this person is coming from
these things can make the process a little bit more tactile, more engaging
maybe more enjoyable and it might motivate us and inspires more to get out there and take photos
so by all means, please keep doing that if that helps you to get out and take some photos
the thing is that those images will, deservedly, feel more rewarding
and that can be a problem
we might attach feelings to them, thinking they are something that they are not
that's the case when I'm taking long exposures
and of course those images take more time, and more effort, and more work
than simple handheld shots
and, even though I want to look at them the same way I look at any of my photos
I end up treating them a little bit differently
I think twice, three times, or a dozen times before getting rid of them
even if they are really bad
that's because they were hard to make and it almost hurts to delete them
but again, my job as a photographer is to look at them from a distance
to look at them for what they are
and if they don't work, they don't work
as we saw, attaching feelings to our work is unavoidable
but we can do a few things to mitigate it a little bit
we should try to develop a sense of looking at our own work from the perspective of someone else
ask yourself: what would you think of this image if you didn't know anything about it?
about how it was made, where it was made, when it was made
we can also ask for feedback from other people, other photographers
in the end, though, only time will give us the required perspective
so we can look at our own work from a distance
so shoot often, shoot a lot, and let them rest for a little bit
don't look at them for a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years
once you get back to those images
you will find out that most of them won't speak to you the same way that they used to do
when they were fresh
that's okay, that's normal, that's part of the process, it happens to all of us
we are biased and we will always be to some degree
again, this is okay
the most important thing is to be aware that this is happening
and I want to clarify that, even though this applies especially
to those who want to share their work with other people
this applies also when we have an audience of just one, us
the reason is because our feelings will fade away with time, as well
so if we want to remember what we felt when we made those images
we might as well try to add those emotions to the photograph
so we don't forget
okay, so finally, let's see how we can capture emotions with our photography
and share them with other people, or with our future selves
when we are out and about taking photos and we see something
the first thing is to ask ourselves:
what is it about this place?
what is it about this subject?
what is it that first caught my eye?
how does it make me feel?
of course, this video and all the other videos in this channel
are from my perspective, and from my experience
I like to think that I don't photograph places or subjects
I photograph more... a mood, an atmosphere
that's why I chase conditions like fog, snow, storms, darkness or simply a sunrise
those moments make me feel alive
and they fill me with feelings that I want to share with others
I lean heavily on the conditions, I let nature do the heavy lifting for me
that's also why I like to photograph early in the morning, when everyone is still asleep
including nature
and everything is so peaceful and stillness is everywhere
this is not the most beautiful place in the world
the conditions are nothing to write home about
but
I feel at peace here
and while we can't photograph something that is invisible, we can hint it
we can use elements in the photograph, like snow or ice, to hint cold
if we do color photography, we can use warmer colors, or cooler colors
to communicate a feeling that way
something that is not visible but we can hint it, we can suggest it
this is something I like to do by hiding details in the shadows
there is a good reason why most scary scenes in horror movies happen at night
there is something about the darkness
perhaps it's the lack of light that makes us pay more attention, closer attention,
to our other senses
whatever it is, we can, and should,
use this natural response to the darkness in our photography
we can use it to create some mystery, and perhaps make the viewer a little bit uncomfortable
of course, we still need some kind of light in our photographs
otherwise, it'd be just dark
but isolated sources of light work wonders here
think of street lights, far away houses, or even the headlights of a car
if you are out in nature and there are no artificial lights around you
you can always use the full moon, or just photograph the stars
of course, we can and should use people and animals to create emotions
there is nothing like someone standing in the middle of nowhere,
in the vastness of the landscape
or someone facing something much bigger than themselves
feeling insignificant and very small
this can be done with familiar objects as well, like this house in the oregon coast
it is placed in a landscape that is much bigger than itself
a house that cannot do anything but surrender to the power of nature
or we can create the opposite feeling, by presenting the subject higher in the frame,
or bigger against a smaller landscape
long exposures can create stillness where there is chaos
I like to use low exposures to remove the ripples and the waves on water, for example
but they can also be used to create some drama
by showing the movement of otherwise static clouds in the sky
even black and white can be used to manipulate the feelings and emotions of an image
by getting rid of the colors, we are removing familiarity with what's pictured in the photograph
also a high contrast black and white image will feel louder than a lower contrast one
which will feel more subtle
by photographing old stuff, old houses, old cars, old furniture, decay in general
we can evoke nostalgia
a world that doesn't exist anymore, that maybe reminds us of our childhood,
or of our parents childhood
and finally, it can be as simple as capturing the beauty in the world
no mood, no drama, not in your face
just something beautiful to look at, to appreciate, to be grateful for
let's not forget about the way we can present and share our work
in a book, we can use captions and descriptions to frame the images in a very different way
and creating emotions that wouldn't be there otherwise without that extra information
in a video, we can show the images as the result of a long and complicated process
we can take the audience along with us in the journey
we can pair our images, we can group them
we can decide to share just contact sheets and not individual images at all
photography is much more than presenting a single image
it can be used along with other mediums, or in other mediums as well
and all of that is going to change the way the image is going to be perceived
and it's going to change the emotions the image can evoke in the viewer
I hope the video was helpful and it gave you some food for thought
of course, there is no right or wrong here
like anything in photography
this was just my opinion, the way I see it
but this is a topic that I'm very passionate about
I would love to have a conversation with you
so feel free to leave a comment down below and we can exchange ideas about about this topic
as usual, before letting you go,
I would like to thank all of my patreons for making this dream of mine possible
I would like to say welcome to the new ones
and just a reminder that we have a weekly live stream where we talk about all things photography
we expand on some of these topics a little bit more
we're going to be hosting another live stream tomorrow, monday the 28th of march
so stay tuned for that
and I would also like to highlight today the work of one of my patreons
in this case olaf aßman
I hope I pronounced that name right
but he's got beautiful work on his instagram account
I'm gonna leave the link in the description down below so you can check it out
and give him a follow because I think his work deserves it
that's all for today
thank you so much for watching, and see you in the next one!