Vision Driven Photography is something I believe in more and more. The idea that we wield in our hands, with our cameras, powerful means of expression for the things we think and feel about the world around us, implies that being more aware of those thoughts and feelings – our vision or intent – will result in stronger photographs. Combined with a growing ability in our craft, our images can become echoes of the things we most want to express in our photography. So this is one last crack at discussing vision, why we need it, and most importantly, some steps we can take to become more aware of that vision, especially when we’re new at this, or when we begin to feel we’ve lost sight of that vision.

The Vision Driven Photographer is a mix of my usual teaching style, combined with a collection of exercises to help uncover or re-discover our vision, first personally, then photographically. It’s also another crack at urging the geek in all of us to reconsider how pragmatic vision really is. This is not academic navel-gazing, it’s the identification of the things we want to say so we’re better able when we pick up the tools of our expression – our cameras – to bring all our craft to bear and create photographs that move others, but most importantly say what we want to say.

After this one I’m giving my focus on the role of vision/intent a break for a while, and beginning to move on to the goal of this all – expression. Specifically, I want to begin teaching about the grammar of the photograph, the visual language that is the means by which we communicate our intent. But this is one last kick at the can because the recent months have found me wrestling with these same things, and if I’m still wrestling with them after 25 years, I know many of you are still looking, still refining, still discovering.

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