Someone asked me recently about what is the correct distance to shoot a photograph. I was a first taken back by the question because it seemed a little strange to me. After digging a little, it was apparent that the photographer was interested in making sharp photographs. So we talked depth of field and subject distance impacts as options. However, the topic got me thinking more and more about distance as it relates to intimacy in photography. 

In my experiences, one of the most significant indicators of a great photograph is the level of intimacy between the photographer and subject/subject matter. You can feel it when you looked at a picture when the photographer was really connected to the work. As we continue to find ways to see the difference in the world, I feel that we strongly desire a connection to people and place. In our photographs, if we can find a way to make more intimate relationships to the objects on the other side of the lens, we might just see that our true intimacy comes from building real ties to those people, places, and things. Even in a fleeting moment, we can find respect and harmony and trust through the lens. So in this week’s podcast, we take a dive into what intimacy might do for our work. 

I have always been amazed by people who are willing to share their imaginations with others. The more fantastic the story, the better. For me personally, I think we all have those stories in us, but for some reason, many of us don’t share them. In this week’s podcast, we are going all in on the importance of imagination in our photography. 

This doesn’t mean that you are doing compositing or making crazy sets to photograph, but it is about really allowing your storytelling to be about the worlds you live in and imagine every day. Sharing the fantastic of what you experience. In the podcast, I talk about how imagination in my cats to kids all showcase how everyday things become amazing, but we as adults often forget how to allow that to escape. Or even worse, we treat it as crazy. At the end of the podcast, I give you a couple of ideas to help you connect with your inner imagination and hopefully find a way to let it out through the camera. 

In this week’s podcast, we focus on how at the core essence of photography is two things: light and time. Without either of those, there is no photograph. Yet, most photographers know that there is more to a photograph than those two elements. One of the most significant aspects of talking about and reading a picture that often gets overlooked is ambiguity in the photograph. This ambiguity of time, content and context are also crucial to our understanding of the photograph. 

Much like our memory, a photograph is only a fragmented representation of what happened in front of the camera. So, if we are to understand what makes a good photograph or how to create a good photograph, how do we deal with ambiguity and issues of time when looking at and creating work.