3 Tips for Establishing a Photographic Strategy and Improving Your Photographs

Whether you are an amateur or professional photographer, you need to establish a photographic strategy to create your photos.

You may think that your photographic activity rests upon the definition of a strong strategic approach and creativity. Do not make this mistake.

To create photos that will be appreciated, recognized, interesting and meaningful, you need a reliable process to improve the quality of your photos.

This process is defined by the photographic strategy. It is a new tool to improve and strengthen your photographic approach. I place it on the same level as the photographic why.

This article will help you understand how to implement a new tool in your photography toolbox. By implementing it, you will make your photos even more interesting and instill in them true meaning.

Conceptual photo taken at the surface of water from a floating blind.
Conceptual photo taken at the surface of water from a floating blind.
 

The Story Behind This Article

After the publication of my column about developing photographic intelligence to improve the quality of a photographic approach, I received several phone calls from readers of my blog.

As a result of the various discussions, I have had with my readers, I have realized that even though the questions were a little different in form, they all had the same substance.

The recurring question from most of my interlocutors was about their photographic why and how to set it up. The other underlying question was about the definition of their photographic vision.

Rather than provide answers to these questions, I asked them what their reasons were for practicing photography and how they managed their photographic projects. None of them were able to give me clear and precise reasons.

I explained to all of them that without a clear goal and especially without a long-term strategy, they would have the greatest difficulty in defining a strong photographic why and an associated approach.

I advised them first to develop a photographic strategy.

I thought that if a few people were experiencing this problem, there must be others. That is why I am writing this column. I hope it will give you some answers to your questions.

4 tips to Develop Your Photographic Intelligence to Create Different Photos
 

The Truth: We Take Pictures to Be Appreciated by Others

You and I create photos for several reasons:

  • To please yourself.
  • To create something meaningful.
  • To discover other horizons while photographing.
  • Etc.

The list of reasons is long. I am sure that you can think of more.

But the main reason is that we crave appreciation and validation from other people. At least for me it is particularly important. I am not saying that we want to be liked and appreciated by everyone. I am just saying that we want to have an audience that finds our pictures beautiful and interesting. To feel alone in this world can destroy our motivation for doing things, thus it makes perfect sense that we find motivation through others' encouragement and support.

We want our photographic activity to be recognized. We want to receive compliments and praise. We cannot help it. We are human beings.

If you do not agree or if you are not convinced, I invite you to look at Maslow's pyramid. Abraham Maslow is an American psychologist who developed a theory of motivation called the "Hierarchy of Needs".

His theory states that we have different levels of needs that must be met: physiological, security, belonging, love, and self-esteem. Once each of these needs is met, we enter the last hierarchy: the need for self-actualization.

When we create pictures, we inevitably enter this last bracket which is the top of the pyramid of needs. We need to be recognized by others and to be appreciated.

But to be recognized, you and I must be different. We must create photographs that do not look like others. If we want our photography to appeal to others, we must focus on developing a photographic strategy that appeals to us.

In the rest of this article, I will give you some tips on how to do this.

Taking Pictures Is Always Telling your Truth
 

The Definition of the Word "Strategy"

The word "strategy" does not only have a military or marketing connotation. I really appreciate this definition which can be applied to everyday life.

Strategy is the art of coordinating actions, of maneuvering skillfully to achieve a goal.

 

Application to Photography

If I apply this definition to the photographic activity, I can say that a photographic strategy consists in setting up actions to reach a goal.

This goal can be an exhibition, a contest, a book, publications in magazines, a slide show, or simply photos that you show to friends or relatives.

I think that in photography, as in most creative fields, it is essential to define goals. I always say that if you do not know where you want to go, you will never get there.

But be careful, the end is not always the goal. The important thing in the journey is not the goal, but the steps you will take. For example, if your goal is to organize an exhibition with your photos, the goal is to show them printed on paper. But the most important steps are the definition of the project, the editing phase, the choice of color or black and white, the choice of the size of the photos, the choice of the paper. In my opinion, these phases can be just as exciting as the outcome.

Defining your photographic strategy for a photo project is defining your photographic how. You will define the means to achieve a goal.

I did specify that this tool is part of a photo project. You can use it as part of your overall photography strategy, but I do not recommend it: it's too broad.

This tool may seem a bit theoretical to you. But you can trust me. Its impact is measurable in the field when shooting and developing.

A good photographic strategy allows your photo to:

  • Be well composed.
  • Be well Framed.
  • Have designated points of view.
  • Incorporate proper development tools.

I hope you realize the importance of this tool in the photographic approach.

 

Tip #1: Define the Target of Your Photos

The first tip I will give you to define your photographic strategy for a photo project is to define what goal you want to achieve.

Here are some ideas:

  • Perhaps you want to participate in a photo contest. In this case, I advise you to read the rules and regulations carefully and to analyze the results of previous editions. You will then form an idea of the kind of pictures you wish to take.
  • If you are creating a photo exhibition, make sure your photos are consistent with each other. Do not vary the framing or your viewers will be lost in the reading. Choose color or black and white, but not both.
  • If you want to be published in a magazine, be sure to ask the art director what kind of photos he or she is looking for. Look at past issues for examples of framing and composition.
  • If you want to create a slide show to show at your photo club or to share with your friends, focus on telling a story with a beginning, a development, and an end. Do not be too long; 10 minutes at maximum. Be careful with the choice of music..

Whatever your goal for a photo project, prepare it carefully. Do not leave anything to chance. Even if you plan, nothing ever goes as you think it well. In preparing well, you can avoid the most common pitfalls.

Create a Photographic Vision to Find Inspiration for your Photos
 

Tip #2: Strengthen Your Photographic Intelligence

In the previous paragraph, I wrote that nothing ever goes according to plan when doing a photo project. This is the reality. This is where your photographic intelligence must come in. You must adapt constantly. Do not take anything for granted. Every situation, every shot will have to be considered as part of your photo project.

For example, perhaps you have decided to conduct a wildlife photography project for an exhibition with wide shots to show ambiences. You use a fixed blind. Unfortunately, during several sessions, the animals are too far away. You have a choice: use a focal length multiplier or crop in post-production. This is a simple example, but it shows you that you must be adaptable, and it helps you recognize the moment where you should have included a focal length multiplier. These adjustments can benefit you when you are planning your next strategy for a project.

Developing your photographic intelligence is part of your photographic strategy.

4 tips to Develop Your Photographic Intelligence to Create Different Photos
 

Tip #3: Find the Balance in Your Photographic Compromise

Ah, the photographic compromise! It is a long-running story. You create photos for yourself. You want to express yourself. You want to show your emotions and transmit messages that are personal to you.

But then you must remember your audience or your viewers. These are the people who will look at your photos. You need to please them too by creating photos for them. If you just create photos for yourself without thinking about your audience, you will quickly reduce your fan base, because you are not creating connections.

You must make a compromise between your choices and those that drive your audience. Finding the balance is not easy. Yet you must do it.

If you do not think about your audience, it will slowly disappear. You will be disappointed because nobody will appreciate your photos. You will stop taking pictures.

If you only think about your audience, you will be appreciated. But you will not express yourself the way you want to. Eventually, you will be frustrated. You will stop taking pictures.

In both cases, the result will be the same. It will be the end of your photographic activity. To remedy this, you must make a photographic compromise.

Your photographic strategy must take this trade-off into account.

 

Finally

I hope this article has helped you understand that to make good photos for a given project, it is necessary to adopt a photographic strategy. You need to plan and think about what you want to achieve.

Without strategy, there are no good photos. It is as simple as that.

You will have to make compromises, but that is what life is all about. That is okay.

Never forget that we are making pictures for a given audience, we need recognition. Feeling validated is a human need. Photography strategy is one of the tools you can use to receive that recognition we all seek in our photography business.

Be humble, patient, constant, persevering, and persistent because the road to excellence is long.

4 Tips for Developing Your Own Unique Photographic Intelligence

You have probably realized that it is not easy to create interesting and meaningful photos.

Perhaps you focus on technique. You read magazines, books, and blogs. You consult websites to master your hardware and software. That is great, but it is not enough to thrive. Your pictures will likely not gain much attention from other people.

I suggest you understand the concept of photographic intelligence to create different and impactful photos.

This article will help you understand how to implement a new tool in your photography toolbox. By implementing it, you will make your photos even more interesting and instill in them true meaning.

Landscape in black and white of Great Sand Dunes in Colorado in United States.
Landscape in black and white of Great Sand Dunes in Colorado in United States.

The Story Behind This Article

Several weeks ago, I discovered a novel that captivated me: "Einstein Enigma" by Jose Rodrigues de Santos. I did not come out unscathed from reading this book. Several of the chapters I even reread several times to understand the hidden meaning of the text.

In the days following this reading, I wondered what impact this might have on my work as a professional photographer. How could I use some of the concepts in the book to improve my work and make my photos even more interesting?

I returned to my journal. I detailed several avenues of research. All were inconclusive. I abandoned them.

Yet one of them caught my attention. I dug deeper into the subject. I ended up developing the idea that I needed to develop my photographic intelligence. The result was remarkably interesting in my case.

I decided to share with you an idea regarding the secret to creating interesting, meaningful, and photos with that "wow" factor. The secret is simple: it is necessary to develop a strong photographic intelligence well before the actual photo projects begin.

The Purpose of Your Photographic Activity

Before developing the idea, I had to improve my photographic approach, and it is important to clarify why we do photography.

You are certainly like me in many ways. The goal of your photographic activity is to create photos that have meaning, that translate your emotions and transmit messages to your audiences. You probably want to create photos that look like you.

The goal you want to achieve is to make photos that hold the attention of your audience.

With this concept of photo intelligence, you will have an additional tool that can help create interesting photos for your audience.

Now that I have established one of the premises of our photographic activity (you and me), I will explain why you cannot create photos like in the "good old days" anymore.

You Cannot Create Photos Like Before

I prefer to warn you against a behavior that has become obsolete. Looking at, analyzing, and judging other photographers' pictures is necessary, but it has become insufficient nowadays.

This behavior was still valid until the years 2005-2010. But since the advent of the digital society and social networks, everything has changed. For better and for worse. This change is inexorable. It will become even more pronounced in the coming years. This is a fact. Neither you nor I will be able to change the behavior of most human beings.

Personally, I am sure that if you just look at the photographs made by others and then reproduce them, you will not create interesting pictures. The pictures you show will have already been seen. You will only be copying the work of another.

Today, our society moves at lightning speed. Most of us do not look anymore: we just scan. This behavior is valid for screens, but also for paper. 95% of people scan without analyzing deeply. They do not even read anymore. Reading seems like just a method of deciphering letters and words with little reliance on critical thinking. Many people only take the time to read or look carefully when a detail catches their attention.

Another equally crucial factor is the concentration time is getting shorter and shorter. Remember this figure because it speaks for itself. The average "long concentration time" of a human being is now 8 seconds. You read that right. This is only an average, but when I read this figure in a paper on human concentration, I was very afraid. We have lost our persistence and willingness to be intentional with our time.

In trying to take a step back from my behavior, I realized that I was often acting in scanner mode. In the morning, for example, when I read three digital newspapers to which I subscribe, I scan the headlines without going any further. Since my realization, I have changed my behavior. I try to concentrate for several minutes by reading the articles in an analytical way.

If your audience scans photos they have already seen, they will not stop. They will not take the time to look at them, analyze them, or understand them. That is why you must surprise them. You must think about how to be different.

I hope that this analysis, even if it is brief, has convinced you. Now, I will share with you one of the new ways I use to create my photos.

Why are you taking pictures?

Definition of Intelligence

This idea is called photographic intelligence.

Before continuing, it is important to define the word intelligence. I found two definitions of intelligence in the dictionary.

"The ability of a human being to adapt to a situation, to choose means of action according to the circumstances."

"A quality of someone who shows in a given field a concern to understand, to think, to know, and who easily adapts his behavior to these purposes."

In these two definitions, having intelligence allows a human being to adapt to a situation.

Application to Photography

To apply these definitions of intelligence to the world of photography, I simply said to myself that to create attention-grabbing photos, I had to adapt to my audience's behavior. I had to understand what they wanted and needed. I had to adapt to a new situation, which is the lack of concentration and the increasingly short attention span.

To create my photographs, I had to put in place principles and methods to develop my photographic intelligence.

It appeared to me that photographic intelligence has a meaning. The strange thing is that no one has ever considered this artistic and creative activity in this light.

I now define photographic intelligence as the qualities you develop to adapt the creation of your photos to the expectations of your audience.

However, it is a simple method that allows you to make deeply interesting photos.

Tip #1: Do Not Be Ashamed to Seek Out Intelligence for Yourself

I have notice that some words are increasingly being banned, such as artistic use of the words intelligence, intellectual, cultured, etc. For most people, these words have an elitist connotation. Many people do not dare use them when referring to themselves because they feel ashamed.

This is a mistake. Why feel ashamed of being different? Being different does not mean being superior to others or being part of an elite ring. Personally, I do not hesitate to call myself a photographic artist. It is a function. In no way is it a state that would place me above my fellow human beings.

An artist is just a person who uses creative techniques to interpret the world around them. An artist brings their passions and zeal for life and presents it to others in hopes that they can share in their emotions and feelings.

I suffered many attacks when I posted my status. At first, I was often hurt. With time and experience, I learned that the people who made these attacks did not know what they were talking about. On the other hand, they were jealous, because they could not justify this state. Why should we always be like the others. Why be average? For me, being average is not enough. I do everything to be different from others. I want to be myself.

The word intelligence has the same effect as the word artist.

Many people do not dare to use the word intelligence for themselves. This is a pity when you know the definition of this term.

You need to develop your photographic intelligence if you want to create meaningful and different photos. You must claim it, or you will not develop the tools you need to make photos that will please your audience.

Remember that you are not creating photos just for yourself. You are bringing satisfaction and pleasure to others. You need to equip yourself with the necessary tools to achieve this goal.

Tip #2: Develop Your Photographic Awareness

If you want to develop your photographic intelligence, you must first develop photographic awareness.

Your photographic awareness allows you to situate yourself in relation to other photographers.

It allows you to develop your photographic personality, your signature, and your photographic approach.

Why and How: Developing a Photographic Consciousness

Tip #3: Define Your Photographic Identity

Another essential element for your photographic intelligence is your photographic identity.

It will give you an existence in photography. It allows you to be unique and to assert your artistic individuality.

Why You Should Define Your Photographic Identity

Tip #4: Get Out of Your Photographic Comfort Zone

I am the first to cower in my photographic comfort zone. My job as a professional photographer is stressful and difficult. I must produce new fine art photos all the time, search for new clients, create advertising campaigns, manage my company, etc. In short, when I can take a break, I do not hesitate. But it is not always a desirable choice. We are all the same. We are lazy. That is the nature of being human.

Your photographic comfort zone can be compared to a cocoon in which you live sheltered from the real world. You are comfortable there because you know where you are going.

Symptoms that show what you are in your photographic comfort zone are as follows:

  • Everything is planned, quiet. No event can disrupt the order of things.
  • As soon as you are in your comfort zone, you feel at ease.
  • You can maintain control over your actions and your emotions. You do not feel any stress or anxiety.

Living in your photographic comfort zone means living in a neutral position where all ideas are shaped by others. A person who lives in their comfort zone is content to follow.

In today's world, feeling strong emotions and living in one's comfort zone is done by reading trendy magazines, listening to the radio, watching television, getting information from the mass media which all broadcast the same information, because it comes from the same source.

To live in your comfort zone is to live your daily life in a world of illusions where the real world has no purpose or meaning.

If you want to write your photographs in an interesting, original way with strong emotions and high impact messages, you need to step out of your comfort zone and rub shoulders with the reality of the real world. This is what makes you different.

Why and How You Must Stepping Out of Your Photographic Comfort Zone to Create Interesting Photos

Actions You Can Take to Develop Photographic Intelligence

After the different points I have just explained, you are probably asking what actions you can take to develop your photographic intelligence.

The key word is adaptation. Be imaginative. Be different from others. Challenge yourself through your actions and decisions.

I would advise you to develop the following points:

  • Study photographic writing to better tell your photographic stories.
  • Learn to understand photographic semiology to know the factors that make a photo fascinating.
  • Study the world around you, attempt to understand how people see your photos.
  • Dare to explore new creative avenues. Do not copy.

Above all, do not forget that the world has changed. We do not create pictures like we did 20 years ago. The society of men circles around faster and faster. Few people take the time to seek out excellence. Show that you are different and interesting to generate interest in your audience.

Be humble, patient, constant, persevering, and persistent because the road to excellence is long.

  1. 4 Tips for Successful Moody Wildlife Photographs in Wetlands from a Floating Blind
  2. Defining Your Photographic Testament to Refine and Strengthen Your Photographic Approach
  3. 2 Ways to Photograph the Bluethroat: Artistic and Illustrative
  4. Using Low Key in Wildlife Photography

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