My Photography Manifesto

Why and how I shoot.

Inspired by Matt Parker’s Photographic Manifesto, here are the values, beliefs, and preferences that motivate me as a photographer.

Why do I make photographs? ^[1]

I try to think about each photograph in terms of the three different roles it can play:

To represent or show a person, place, or thing more or less as it is or was. This is a utilitarian motivation rather than an emotional one, so it’s not a particularly satisfying way to approach photography. But it has its place.
To remember or to remind myself of a moment, an event, or a trip. To be able to return in my mind to that place and time and feel a little of what I felt there and then. Photos don’t need to be “good” to fill this need; they just need to exist.
To reveal something that was previously unknown or hidden from view. This is an artistic approach, and one that I’ve yet to master.

There’s also one more reason, and it’s the most important one:

Because I enjoy it. It’s fun to take photos. It’s fun to develop technical proficiency. It’s fun to get home after an outing, sort through my pics, and find something that works.

These are the things that I gravitate toward in my photography—my style, I suppose.

I like shooting square format, or 1:1 aspect ratio. I just like how it looks. It has the virtue of being relatively uncommon, and it saves me from having to rotate the camera. It also helps my creativity by imposing a stylistic constraint.
I like to make photos that have high contrast and high color saturation, sort of like Ektar or Ektachrome 100 film. I lean on FujiFilm film recipes to achieve results SOOC. I don’t like to spend a lot of time on post-processing.
Another stylistic constraint that I frequently self-impose is the use of Prime lenses. I read somewhere once that “your feet are the best zoom lens.” I’m not sure that’s true, but I like the added intentionality that primes force me to have. When traveling, though, I tend to favor my XF 16–80 f/4 zoom.

Be purposeful. I try to decide (or at least be aware of) why I’m taking this particular photograph.
Get the shot. I try not to miss an opportunity, to get the poorly composed or poorly exposed frame into the camera, just in case. The obvious, banal, crappy, shot might be the only one I get. Then, if there’s still time, I use it.
Shoot B-role. I try to get pictures that set up context for other photos—the wide shot of a crowded square, for example. These are easy to forget but can be very important to the overall narrative.
Photograph my companions. This comes naturally for a lot of people, but not to me. Sometimes I get back from a trip and realize I don’t have pictures of the people I spent all that time with (or myself). There’s a reason those folks are with me so I want to commemorate our time together.
Appreciate the gear on hand. The iPhone camera is a pretty decent walking around camera. I try not to waste time monkeying around with a mirrorless to get a picture that my iPhone can easily get in one tap. I try use the mirrorless for what it’s good at and can’t easily be done with the phone.
Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. This is really hard for me because it does not come naturally, especially at home or around my own neighborhood. So I need to constantly work at it.

Square format. I like how it looks, it’s not too common, and it saves me from having to turn the camera on its side.
High color, high contrast. I like to make photos that have dark darks that contrast with the lights, and high color saturation, sort of like Ektar or Ektachrome 100 film.
Composition. I don’t have a formula here, nor do I have any particular gifts. I try to remember the basics (rule of thirds, drawing the eye, isolate the subject, etc.) but I really just follow my gut here. Sometimes it means shooting wide open to blur the background, sometimes it’s just an “f/8 and be there” kind of thing.
Prime lenses. I like the constraint and artistic challenge of being out in the field with only one focal length. This can get me into trouble though.
Perspectives. I like to look for different perspectives. I’ve been known to lie on the ground to get a pic. Photos from eye level can be quite boring.
Look for color. I try to look for color, although it does not always come easily to me. I am in awe of those photographers who make color really pop.
Black & white? I’m not a skilled B&W shooter, but sometimes I just say to myself, hey this would look good in black and white. Sometimes it does.

Little to no post-processing. I don’t have the time or the patience these days. I like to pull my photos onto my Mac or iPad, pick the good frames, and post ‘em. Am I lazy?
Film simulation recipes. Because I don’t like to spend too much time in post, I’ve come to rely heavily on film simulation recipes for my Fuji X cameras. I experiment with new ones now and then, but I have a few standbys that I use often.
Adobe Lightroom ~is~ my primary tool for archiving and managing my pics. I maintain separate libraries for each calendar year. For day to day and casual editing, I use Apple Photos too.

Some people argue that photographs are made and not taken. I tend to believe that either can be true and I use both terms, but that’s probably a whole other blog post. ↩︎