(WARNING: I am too young and too inexperienced to truly speak about this topic, but that's never stopped me before has it? :D )
Vision is the quality that separates photography from photographic documentation. We sometimes commend it by saying "Good eye for [insert descriptive here]," or sometimes "Well seen." It's the part that takes the science and knowledge and turns it into art. For most of my life, I've sought to acquire and make this part of my brain better by looking at pictures, and studying what parts of them make them great. I pored over National Geographic, studied blog posts and books. I consume around 120 photos per day on flickr, asking myself the same question. "Why did I click on this thumbnail?" I want to know what draws the human eye. I'm going to try and break this idea down into different parts, and address different aspects of this in the next few posts. Feel free to chime in in the comments if you have some input or a good story.
Firstly: Using a film camera, a medium format, shooting blurry lurid street scenes with a holga, blasting out color in an HDR, or dropping photoshop actions like it's acid in the 70s does *NOT* constitute vision. I'm not dissing the use of any of these techniques or technologies. I know amaziing photographers that drop my jaw every time I see their work who shoot exclusively on Medium Format, B&W, and Holga. I don't hate HDR or photoshop actions. I hate using them so much that you dull the part of your brain that allows you to create something new.
I'm falling into that trap myself. I developed a nice little aperture setting that can make a dull photo look quite nice. And while I like the effect, I've been trying to avoid using it *all* the time. Not because I don't want to develop a set style, but because I don't want to prevent myself from discovering something that is equally or more fascinating.
And that's just in post pro.
I know I'm not qualified to speak on this topic. I'm a young shooter, my first pic was taken with a point and shoot on 11/29/04, only five years ago. I am told I have some sort of style/eye/sense of vision, and I've been working on it ever since. For me, much of the learning process is breaking down what makes my previous work successful, destroying it, and reincorporating the idea in a new way. Whether it's composition, post pro, subject matter, lighting... the beauty of digital is constant experimentation is free. Find a rule you have followed in your work, and break it on your next shoot. Deliberately do something you have never done before, and see where it takes you. You may be surprised.
