Photography as a Tool of Empowerment

To feel more control and autonomy in our lives — what better solution than to make photos?

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Self empowerment: a feeling that you have inner power and inner control over your surroundings and how you live your life.

Ways we feel disempowered : lack of control in our lives (job controlling us, rather than us controlling our jobs). Lack of purpose or drive in life. Lack of a reason to wake up in the morning.

Solution: to wake up every morning, excited, and empowered to actually know that you can control your life.

How can photography help?

Yellow red eye

Photography: the camera as a tool to capture and create our own visual reality. Having the power to control what is inside the frame. Having the power of a sculptor — you decide which parts of reality to keep, which parts to chisel away, and how to frame your own reality.

Excitement in life: the excitement of exploring the world, with your camera in hand. The excitement of seeing new and novel things. The excitement of rearranging reality in new and novel and innovative ways (innovative compositions). After all, composition is just how you arrange visual elements in a frame. Kind of how a composer arranges notes and melodies to make great music. Or consider the composition of your food — how are the elements of the nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen arranged in your food?

You’re on the right path.

Embrace failure. Spread from MASTERS

Self empowerment in photography is also having self-confidence in yourself, and having confidence in your own photos.

For example, look at your own pictures and ask yourself,

Do I like my own photos?

If yes, then consider yourself on a very good path. Consider that there are many master photographers who make really good photos, but they don’t like their own photos. They are the most tormented.

Have fun in your photographic process

Do not define yourself /. Spread from MASTERS by HAPTICPRESS

To be frank, I’d rather be a childlike photographer, making “bad” photos, but having fun in the process, instead of being the pro photographer who makes good photos but feels miserable in the process.

I think there is this false notion of the “suffering artist”— that somehow to be a fully realized artist, you need to be sad and miserable. I disagree.

I think you — you as a visual artist and photographer — you need to feel strong, empowered, and self-confident. You need to have huge inner power, a huge chest and shoulders to carry any burden. You have muscles abounding, both physically and also visual muscles. Your pictures and art as a verification of the beauty and joy of life. Your pictures encourage others to feel empowered.