The most important thing with any photo is its audience. A lot of people
forget that and some choose to ignore it. But to whom will the photo be
available? Will it be on the internet or your living room? Who will be able tosee it? Family, friends or everyone? Or only you? Or a publisher or a
competition jury? The audience, their expectations and their personality
define what picture to take and how to take them.
Imagine you take a walk in the forest with your toddler and come back with
photos. Your parents are probably much more interested in photos of the
child than photos of interesting insects. Unless they are entomologists, of
course. And even then…
If you take photos of the scene of an accident or a crime for legal purposes, it is important to get as much details as possible in focus. If you take a photo of a similar scene for artistic purposes, it is often better to focus on one striking thing in the foreground and leave the background in a mystic haze.
There are a number of different possible audiences and purposes. You decide who you want to take pictures for and for what purposes. Here are some possible places to put your photo:
● Pictures to keep on your hard disk for your own use only.
● Posts on social media to friends only.
● Posts on social media to the general public.
● Prints to put in a photo album.
● Pictures to frame and put on a wall.
● Photos for competitions.
● Illustrations for PowerPoint presentations.
Some possible purposes:
● Document your own life.
● Document someone else’s life.
● Document nature.
● Document society.
● Prove something.
● Show the beauty of the world.
● Shock.
● Give a political message.
● Give instructions.
● Apologise.
● Confuse.
● Sell.
● Anything else you fancy.
The lists are not there to suggest you take a pick. They are there to help you
find your own categories, so you know the purpose of the pictures you take
yourself. And they are there to inspire.
Once we have identified an audience, we can keep it in mind when taking the photos.
