How do you make better photos? Make photos that you would like to look at.

Scratch your own itch

I’ve been thinking a lot about business, marketing, branding, creativity and all that jazz. Honestly, nobody knows what will work or what won’t work.

However one practical tip is this: create what you would like to consume.

For example, when I started this blog, I couldn’t find any information on how to shoot street photography. Therefore I started to blog about street photography tips, techniques, and ideas to scratch my own itch.

I was always drawn to faces of people on the streets. Yet there weren’t many street photographers who shot “street portraits.” I also couldn’t find much information on how to shoot street portraits. Therefore I experimented, followed my curiosity, and shared my findings in my free ebook: “The Street Portrait Manual.”

Many successful businesses and endeavors happen because the creator wants to create something they would like in their lives.

For example, the creators of AirBNB wanted some extra cash and had an extra air mattress lying around. They decided to rent the mattress, serve their guest breakfast, and boom— they created “AirBnb.”

When it comes to making unique photos— take photos that you yourself would like to look at. Only take photos that you like, because everytime you take a photo trying to hope to please others— you’re just prostituting your creative abilities.

I believe all of us have our own unique voices, visions, and sources of inspiration. None of it is “right” or “wrong” — they’re just different and unique.

I also do believe that all of us are put on this earth to help serve others, to help inspire others, and help empower others.

If you take photos that you yourself don’t like to look at— why do you take these photos?

Share your thoughts

Whenever it comes to writing and blogging, I try to write what I would like to read.

After I’ve written over 1,000+ articles on street photography, I started to realize nobody wrote many articles on the philosophy of photography— why shoot photos. I also started to feel a bit lost with my photography, so I dusted off some old philosophy books, started to study, and shared some of my thoughts and findings on this blog.

I realized that photography should be personal— and bring us personal satisfaction and joy. The more personal we make our work, the more our work can relate with others. Therefore a small breakthrough happened: I realized that “personal photography” is a concept I deeply identified with. And now I am trying to share some of the concepts of “personal photography” with a larger audience.

Don’t photograph what you don’t like looking at

We all have our different tastes in photography. Sometimes we go to art museums and love the photos there, sometimes we hate the photos there.

We know the photos we hate more than the photos we love. So as a rule, just don’t take photos that you don’t like looking at.

For example, I’m not a big fan of conceptual or “modern art” (when it is too abstract or confusing, and needs 5 paragraphs to explain what it is). For a long time, I was also bored by pretty landscapes and typical “travel photography” of portraits of “exotic” people. But rather than complaining and hating on the work of others, I simply try to avoid taking those photos myself— and trying my best to make unique photos that bring me joy.

The same happened when I was in Saigon. I tried to avoid taking the typical cliche touristy photos of people in rice patty hats. It was tough, but I made some photos that I was happy and proud of.

Meet your own standards

Sorry I got a big wordy in this article, but once again— take photos you would like to look at, create art that you would like to consume, and use your own inner-barometer whether the work is good or not.

Seek to please yourself, and you will find that your enthusiasm and passion will infect others.

Always,
Eric