From Looking to Seeing: the Transformative Power of Perception in Photography

Do you remember the scene from the 1992 comedy "White Men Can't Jump," where Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson's characters argued about hearing vs. listening when it came to Jimi Hendrix?

The scene is funny and clever, but it's truthful in many ways beyond the jokes. Being a former musician/guitar player, I know of the influence Hendrix had on just about anyone who's picked up a guitar, so being able to "hear Jimi" resonates differently with me than just listening since I learned to play the guitar through his music. So how does this relate to your modeling and the pictures you take?

Belief Influences Behavior

Looking vs. Seeing. Suppose a person can't see in their mind what the aspects of a good image are. The limits of their understanding would influence decisions, affect the type of images they create, and impact their brand. How can one possibly grow and get better if the perception of a good picture doesn't align with the standards of their end goal? How someone sees will influence what they look for in a photographer and ultimately decide what good and bad photography are. Imagine someone's perception is off due to a lack of knowledge and uninformed advice. In that case, it will be challenging to recognize the opportunities to take advantage of and detect the ones to let pass, let alone have accurate expectations of a final image's outcome.

Pictured is a 17-year-old Cameron Diaz in one of her first modeling jobs. Not long after this shoot, she lost focus, listened to bad advice, and produced terrible conceptual work that didn't align with her long-term goals. Her actions came back to haunt her later down the line when she had to sue the unethical photographer during her rise to superstardom as an actress.

Put another way, think back to when you were a teen or adolescent, and you had a favorite music artist. At the time, no one could tell you that the person you idolized wasn't the best in the world, yet as you got older, you began to realize that your tastes have changed as you've gained more culture through experience and education. What you loved as a kid will always be within you, but the perception is now different due to your increased knowledge and understanding.

It is essential to become a student of the industry you are a part of when designing a future outcome you see for yourself or your brand. Whether it's for modeling, a brand campaign, or color schemes for your family pictures, understanding the basics will help define the goals you have before a photoshoot. It will give you a level of clarity that cancels out all the noise and enables you to SEE what it is you want and don't want, empowering you to take a step back and look at the whole picture with a sense of direction.

Everything Matters

This article isn't here to provide you with a technical list of what makes up good photography; that is a self-discovery you will have to go through on your own based on personal goals and individual project details. However, I will say that the most talented and successful people I have worked with all had heightened sensibilities to see, not only with lighting, texture, tonality, etc. But with what they wanted and their desire to not settle for anything less. With a slight shift in focus and attention to detail, anyone can produce results that creatively take themselves to the next level.