Ch. 2 — Therapy by photography: Pressing the Shutter (or a non-conforming guide on how to take better pictures)
Photography and photos can mean a lot to someone. Both mean so much to me, as I nostalgically reminisced in our previous article. I strongly believe many of you feel the same as me. In time, I started to understand what type of photography fits me best. But here’s why I consider it a form of therapy and how I play with it, for my own satisfaction.
- You need to take the photo for yourself. Think of what you want to transmit through it. Capture what gives you the most visual pleasure. Sounds selfish? It is. But it’s just as selfish as doing what we love, because it makes us happy.
- Before you take the photo, take a deep breath. See the life around you. Appreciate it. And then, start to discover the world within the camera. Find your own flow. It will feel like meditating.
- Taking a picture is essentially closing an eye and disconnecting, so that you can find yourself outside the scenario, but still, in full control of recreating it. Like a lucid dream.
- When taking the photo, you are analyzing what’s the best angle to be captured, and while deciding, you find so many more details worth including in the photo.
- Some say that photography can be an obstacle for living in the present, but I feel it comes as a support for the current happiness. It’s because the feelings are enhanced while taking a snapshot. You see the scene in the frame for a moment, and then you see it 360 degrees and suddenly it starts to be more fascinating.
- When you go back to the world, it’s like a memento from the brain, saying: “Hey, you’re still here, now, living, before this becomes a memory. Right now, the reality is more beautiful than the photo.” And then, you see the context a little bit differently.
- Photography and experiencing the present go hand in hand. The more you appreciate the world, the better the photo will be. The better the photo you take is, the more intense the memory becomes.
- If you’re passionate about what you are doing, it is hard not wanting to capture everything, keep in mind that you ought to make it special. Decide what are the key moments and make them stay. Since photography is so accessible to anyone today, and the distance between taking a photo and seeing it has collapsed so much due to technology, it gets harder to make them be natural, especially when you are the subject. Most of the time, you take a photo to project some vibe you want to transmit.
Photography is a rather technical art form, of course, but do not let this take all the enjoyment out of it. You’re allowed to just be passionate about taking photos. Maybe not all of these points will match your energy exactly, and if so, you can find your own way of getting the best out of photography, or anything else that makes you happy. And that is the best result. If you want to read more of my thoughts on this, check out our next article.
