Take care of your photographic eye

I guess we are all familiar with the expression “photographic eye” or more especifically, “to have a photographic eye”.

Well, everyone of us has their own and personal way of seeing things. Seeing the world that sorrounds us and being capable to capture it with a camera in a unique way that involves some degree of skill and creativity is part of what defines us as photographers. Everyone can operate a camera but not everyone becomes a photographer.

If you ask 10 photographers to take a photo of a street in your city at a specific time, with all certainty each one of them will produce a completely different image. Different perspectives, compositional arrangements, the choice of subjects, use of different techniques… you name it.
They all have their own photographic eye just as much as you have your own. But here’s the caveat: You have to take care of it.

Sometimes we’re so submerged in social media, in the work of others, in what is trendy, in what seems to attract more likes and whatnot… that we just drown in it. It’s easy to get carried away. But if you’re like me, you’ll want to stand out from the crowd and not blend in. Create something of your own.
Because surfing the latest trends you’ll have yourself photographing anything in any possible style but you’ll lack the focus to develop your own.

In the beginning, I also tried everything. It’s just human nature. But the great photographers are the ones that are able to stabilise and become masters of their craft as opposed to Jacks of all trade.

Now, it may seem difficult at first but the only thing you have to do to cultivate and take care of your photographic eye is to spend some good old quality time with it.

Here’s my take on it:

Go out there and shoot

Spend as much time as possible taking photographs without checking on the work of other peers. Do it and do it again. It’s the only way to start seeing tendencies and patterns of what you like and understand what works for you.
If you are able to forget about trends and invest in you, in understanding why you are prone to shoot the things you shoot and why you do it like that, you are halfway there. You’ll gain confidence in your particular vision, too.

Feed it with the right influences

Once you get to know more about your vision and style, go look for other photographers with similar styles. Analise their work, look for similarities, understand the differences and reflect on them.  Try to shoot like them, let their style permeate yours. 
That’s an excellent way of growing your style without damaging it, adding influences that already resonate with your photographic eye. 

Experiment

Let’s say that you’ve reached a certain level of satisfaction with what you do. Keep experimenting. Spice things up a little bit from time to time.
Now that you know what you like, you can trespass a little bit, go off-limits and see if you can include some novelty to your work. Most of the times, you’ll just come back empty handed. But other times you’ll grab something that will enrich your style without really distorting it.

Now, some photographers are more talented than others. What’s easy for them may not be easy for you, but it doesn’t matter. Work beats talent every time. Just keep working, keep focused, keep experimenting, keep learning. In six months time you’re gonna look back and you’re gonna go nuts with your improvement. Guaranteed.

Just remember: Be kind to your photographic eye.