Photographic Thriving

If we think that happiness (eudaimonia according to Aristotle) is legitimate (happiness as human thriving), perhaps our happiness as photographer-artists is “photographic thriving”.

This means:

  1. Extreme optimism, joy, and fun in making new photos
  2. Deep appreciation for your past photos
  3. Deep joy in all parts of the photographic process (walking, shooting, selecting, processing, and sharing your photos).

So the practical question:

How do we thrive as photographers?

1. Shoot it all!

All genres, forms, and approaches in photography are legitimate, fun, and worthy of you.

Shoot anything and everything which you witness which is beautiful in your eyes!

2. Prioritize your fun

Photograph in the spirit of a child. Photography is fun, a play thing! Don’t take photography too seriously.

3. Consume the work of the greats

You are what you eat. Eat and consume only great works of master photographers of the past who you admire. For me, my favorite photographer of all time is Josef Koudelka:

4. Think visual impact and energy

To me composition in photography is all about visual impact and energy. Photos which motivate you to move are good photos.

Often for fun I like to study mathematics and physics, to better visualize visual impact, movement, forms, shapes, and diagrams:

5. Simplify shapes and forms (calligraphy)

Zen Brush 2 app for iPhone or iPad: