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There are a lot of photographers who seem obsessed with gear and creating “correct” images. I keep seeing posts on blogs, in forums and social media, talking about the importance of creating what I would call text-book photographs. Here’s what I think: L-glass and grey cards will not make you a good photographer. Correct exposure is no guarantee for beauty.

Obsessing about technical details takes focus away from what really matters: Creating compelling images. I would dare to venture that the photographer concentrating on visual stimulance will create better work, than one whose attention is on technicalities.

Understanding what goes into a correctly exposed, color balanced image is important. Every photographer needs to know about color space, histograms, how to treat RAW files, how lenses work etc. But knowing the theory is not the same as setting it in stone. Learn the rules, so you can break them knowingly and to your advantage.

Once you understand the possibilities and limitations of your medium, you can do what you want within those parameters. Even push them. There really is no right or wrong. If you think your image looks better with a tungsten tint or extreme contrasts, by all means, go there! It doesn’t matter if the image is technically outside the norm or even flawed, if its subject matter and how you chose to portray it is strong enough.

At the UGCX conference, I listened in on a panel where stock photography guru Jack Hollingsworth said something, which really stuck with me: Good enough is good enough.

This is not an encouragement to cut corners or create sloppy work. It’s about knowing what matters, how to apply your knowledge and when to stop. And this applies to all aspects of photography, from what gear you invest in to the amount of post processing you do.

I believe that the most important ability in photography (not to be confused with knowledge), is to trust your eyes. If it looks good, it is. Of course we’re often bound by the limitations of client spec, agency standards and so on, which is another good reason we need to know the basics, but if you really want to push your work and put your personal touch on it, you have to look beyond the technical aspects. Only then will you develop a personal style to set you apart from the sea of other photographers out there.

If you have the budget for it, by all means knock yourself out with the latest and coolest gear. Take classes and go to workshops, and pick up all the theory you need. Just remember that none of that will take the pictures for you. Your eyes and hands do that, and they don’t care if your tool is a full frame DSLR or a Holga.

A favorite tip, I picked up in photography school, and which might help some, is to try and create specific mistakes on purpose (wrong exposure, “accidentally” shooting at high ISO, wrong white balance etc). By making conscious “mistakes”, you learn how to avoid them as well as how to use them to your advantage, for those occasions where alternative thinking will actually make your photograph stronger.

Photo credit: Me!

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