You’re focusing on the wrong thing?

When you think about what we need to focus on, money, our health, family, rent, debt, what camera to use, how to get clients the list can go on forever before even looking at the fundamental elements all photographers need to focus on. Your audience.

Who are your photographs for? Not why you created them, but who are they created for? What is their function?

Forget lighting, software, focal length, camera brands. Start with the fundamentals, what is this photograph for? Where is this photograph going? Knowing this dictates your entire process and helps you focus on what’s important to get the job done. Who cares about getting the perfect paper stock if your main platform for displaying your photographs is on social-media. Who cares about symbolic metaphors in composition if you’re just shooting a clear-cut toothbrush for an online website. Start with the fundamentals.

What are the fundamentals one needs to focus on?

function – noun
• The kind of action or activity fit to a person, thing, or institution; the purpose for which something is designed or exists; role.

audience – noun
• the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theatre or gallery:
• a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following.

delivery – noun
• the carrying and turning over of letters, goods, etc., to a designated recipient or recipients.
• the act or manner of giving or sending forth.

Knowing what you want your photographs to communicate & how you want your viewer to act is something many artists strive for unknowingly. Getting your audience to buy, understand, convey an emotion or become inspired is the main battle. Knowing how to deliver this to your audience is everything. Knowing who your viewers are and how they will see your work, helps dictate how your photographs need to function. When you understand these three fundamentals you will have a tool you can focus on that is stronger than any modern camera. And more powerful than money can buy.