what motivates you as a photographer?

At some point in my career, after I had begun to master some of the technical aspects of the medium and had seen my work published in a few places, there came a bit of a road block. It happens to all creative people. At some point the ideas just don’t seem to be coming and creativity takes an unannounced vacation. I’ll admit that still happens on occasion. But, as a professional, I’m not allowed to cancel a shoot just because I may not be “feelin’ it” on a particular day. So how to overcome these road blocks?

There’s no universal answer. It works differently for each of us. For me, personally, I had to dig pretty deep to figure out what motivates me as a photographer. It’s easy (and accurate) for many of us to say “photography is my passion, it’s not just what I do, it’s who I am”. I can buy that. But why did it become my particular passion? I think it’s because photography satisfies my curiosity in ways nothing else can. The camera has been my greatest learning tool.

When photographing people I genuinely want to know something about them. Some primitive cultures believe that photographing a person steals their soul. While that seems an overstatement, I do feel it’s a privilege to be allowed to photograph someone. In return I feel obligated to give them something of equal or greater value. This approach to sharing the experience seems especially important in our current culture, where the pace of life has us blurring by one another. Photography allows wonderful opportunities to connect and share moments with people.

Photography also allows a closer look at the world. The camera strips scenes of smell, sound, touch, feel and depth, producing an image of just two dimensions, a distilled version of the complex world we live in. And though I seek to understand the complexities of the world, it is toward the goal of achieving greater simplicity. Photography helps me to do this.

What motivates you as a photographer? Why are you drawn to the medium? Once you’re able to easily answer that question the road blocks become much more manageable.