Photography is a joke.

That got your attention, didn’t it?

Well funnily enough I’m obviously not here to bash photography, but instead reveal one of the many beauties there is to it.

To do that though I first need to challenge how a lot of people currently engage with the craft - or at least see it online.

Open Reels/Tiktok at the moment and chances are within a few minutes you’ll be watching a POV video of someone explaining the shot they’re about to take, often with buzzwords like ‘leading lines’, ‘foreground’, or ‘symmetry’.

Firstly, understanding these principles is of course important. Drumming them into your subconscious will be instrumental in becoming a ‘good’ photographer.

However being the cynic I am, I can’t help but feel this standardised approach to photography is all a bit bland and setting us down the wrong path.

A photo isn’t good because it manages to tick off a list of principles, it’s good because it evokes a positive response and emotions from the person viewing it.

We don’t watch a comedian and base their performance off of setups, metaphors, and call backs, we simply look back on how much we laughed.

So if there’s any lesson here; it’s simply to stop overthinking, shoot what feels right, and to bring a bit of magic back into photography.