In a recent article discussing creativity I wrote this line: “The way to true creativity is through self-expression. Anyone can repeat a technique, no one else but you can replicate your vision and express your own voice. You are what is truly unique.” A reader commented that he agreed, but admitted that he found the concept of self-expression “nebulous and hard to pin down,” asking what he is self-expressing when he captures a quiet scene that drew his attention. He is not alone in his questioning. For a long time I too pondered the concept of self-expression in photography. If expressive images are those that are not of things, but about things, as Guy Tal states in his book More Than a Rock, then what are my images about?
My workshops are centered around the topic of self-expression in photography and the rewards that come with it. I introduce the idea that photographs can do much more than record the outward appearance of things and can be used as a tool of creative and personal expression, to make images that reflect our thoughts, feelings, and sensibilities. In short, rather than outward representation I look for subjective interpretation of the subject matter. It brings to mind the famous Minor White quote, “One should photograph objects, not for what they are, but what else they are,” the “else” coming from the subjective mind and imagination of the photographer. I think where people get tripped up is in the idea that self-expressive images must be about something, or more specifically the definition of “about.” I looked at my own images and had no idea what many were about. Some were obvious metaphors for life or an emotion, but most were not, or at least not that I was aware. We often hear about story-telling with our photos, but what does that really mean? There is no narrative, no story behind most of my photos, at least not that I’m aware. I simply saw and felt and went with my instinct. Did that not make them self-expressive? I wasn’t sure.
In time I came to realize I was defining the idea of “about” much too literally. Simply put, self-expressive images ultimately are about you, not the object in front of the lens. Objects and location are secondary, at best. Self-expressive images are about your way of seeing, your relationship with the subject matter, your way of feeling and experiencing it, all of which is manifested in how you compose the scene, the choice of framing and perspective, as well as edits performed in processing. With my own photographs I ask myself, would another photographer have noticed the subject matter or composed the image like I did? Would they have processed it the way I did? If I feel I can answer no fairly confidently then to me that means I saw and experienced something according to my own sensibilities, hence the image is “self-expressive.” The image is a reflection of me and my voice, of how I see the world. After all, isn’t that what art is, a creative expression of ourselves?
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