While teaching photography I am often asked, “What do you think about when you take a picture?” This can be a hard question to answer. I'm not bragging when I say I've been shooting for 20 years and the art of creating images has become more reflex than quantifiable thought process. I don't think a whole lost when shooting.
This is the most common reason for most images to be taken. The scene in front of us is pretty and we want to capture it, preserve it or share it. The problem here is not every pretty scene makes a great or even good photo.
Because it evokes emotion, here now is a great reason to take a photo. If you feel stirred inside with any emotion, chances are the viewers of your image will be too.
Because it tells a story, sometimes the space inside a frame has a whole story coming to life. Action, suspense, a life well lived. Any theme is fair game and the greatest photojournalists of out time have been masters at finding those stories.
When it comes to holding a camera in your hands and looking around at what you would want to point your camera towards...well why? Why are you taking this picture? What does it envoke in you, possibly in others?