Discovery vs Planned Photography

In creative photography (outside of a studio or controlled environment), there are two approaches one can take in their process of making photographs: the path of discovery and the path of planning your photography beforehand.

Planning involves setting specific destinations for photography, thus leaving you with a high expectation of what you will achieve by going out to make photographs. This could be tourist destinations, specific pins on a map you've created, or somewhere someone else has recommended you to go. Anything that is specific and preconceived in your mind qualifies. Give examples of how I used to use this strategy and why I feel it was not as successful or self-expressive. Thousands of other people have gone to the same place to try and replicate the same photograph over and over again. That doesn't say anything about who you are as a person and thus I believe does not constitute a "good" or meaningful and emotionally driven photograph.

This is an example of a photograph I made with planning. I noticed a lot of posts on Instagram about this location in West Philadelphia where you can get a great view of the sunrise at 46th Street Station and make a photograph there. Although I chose to shoot it a bit differently than I saw before, it still doesn’t come off as authentic to me.

Discovery involves no planning. You go out with no expectation of what you're going to get from making photographs and just enjoy the pleasure of the activity in itself. This yields a result that is more original and true to yourself. You follow your intuition.

This is an example of a photograph I made without any planning - I simply saw this McDonald’s on Grays Ferry Ave in South Philadelphia and wanted to juxtapose it with the power plant smokestacks in the background. I’m happier with this photo because I did it with the intention of telling a story and making a negative statement about fast food.

The process of discovery-oriented photography looks something like this: I'll be driving on the road/highway, see something I'd like to make a photograph of, and I make the photograph. If I feel satisfied once I’ve seen the photograph on my laptop or developed on a film scan in all its glory, then I’ll call it there, but sometimes I’m actually not satisfied and I’ll return to that location and keep attempting the photograph until it’s as close as I can get to how I envisioned it in my brain.

I believe human intuition is an extremely powerful source of creative energy that we can all tap into. Your intuition is influenced by the subconscious mind being pre-programmed with all of the thoughts and ideas that you choose to expose yourself to. This contains the fuel you need for all the ideas that will bring the visions in your head to fruition, to express your inner thoughts and feelings and portray them authentically to other human beings. If you find that your intuition is leading you to the wrong place, or it doesn’t lead you anywhere at all, then you ought to give some thought to what kind of media you expose yourself to on a regular basis. This includes the people you choose to associate with, the movies you choose to watch, the music that you listen to, the job that you work, and just about every other facet of informational consumption in your life that you can possibly think of. See the video clip below of Todd Hido talking about how he prefers to just ‘get in the car and drive’ as a process for making his photographs.

Personally, I prefer a combination of both planning and discovery, leaning towards the discovery. When I feel like I want to go out and make photographs, I usually have an idea of a rough geographical area of where I’d like to make those photographs. Less often, I will have an absolute specific location in mind where I tell myself I’m going to drive to this place, set up my camera, and make a photograph. One practice I employ often is to use my camera to take ‘photo notes’ of places I see that would be better with a different lighting or weather condition, then return to those areas at a later date - similar to a painting sketch. You can create a separate section in your lightroom catalog and rate these photos with a lower star or flag them with a specific color to organize them into your sketch ideas to make it easy for you to return to them.

Here’s another example of a photograph I made without any planning whatsoever. I was driving down Christopher Columbus Blvd. in South Philadelphia, and decided to pull over because I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to photograph a cool vintage car on the side of the road, parked next to some trucks. I then noticed the planes flying overhead and saw an opportunity to make another photograph with the repetition of the three light posts.

Now that many of us have a smartphone with a powerful digital camera attached and an internet connection to share our photos, we have an outlet to express our own unique ideas. Thus, I’d like to encourage all photographers to tune into their intuition more. To be a leader and not a follower. To find your own path and bring your own ideas to life. All you have is your own self-expression, and it is our unique ability as human beings to express our true authentic selves as well as our experienced emotions to other humans in the form of art. Photography should be no exception.