Photography is an art form with a dizzying array of choices at every turn, from the basics of which camera or lens to use to deciding how to compose or edit your images. It seems that every step has multiple options – options which can quickly become distractions.
Here’s my sixty-second tip for helping to block out some of that white noise.
Simplify your photography
Simplifying is a discipline that has to be instilled over time – maybe even a lifetime – but I have found that doing so has helped me concentrate on the key issue: taking photographs.
Marie Kondo has been in a hit recently advocating the KonMari method of organisation: keeping only possessions that “spark joy”. Now this might not be wholly applicable to my own theory of simplification (and I’m not suggesting you throw out all but one of your lenses!) but the core message is the same: reduce the clutter.
So how do you simplify your photography?
Simplify your equipment. Carry as little gear as possible to get the job done and be comfortable using fewer lenses.
Simplify your compositions. Remove unnecessary elements, fill the frame, and try to ensure that everything present has a purpose being there.
Simplify the message. If you can’t describe the message of your own image in a few words then don’t expect others to be able to.
Simplify your editing. Whether it’s straight from your phone to Instagram or from camera to computer to website, develop a workflow that reduces the stages.
Simplify your workspace. I’ve been working on this recently by creating a dedicated space in my home from which I can edit, read and write and I have never felt more productive and focused.
Do you have any tips of your own for simplifying your photography? Comment below!