by Steve Gosling
Photographer
Over the next 18 months, I’ll be sharing a series of blog posts for SIGMA exploring my thoughts and views on photography – what drives me, what inspires me, and how I approach image-making. To start, I want to address a fundamental question: who do I take photographs for? The answer is simple – myself.”
When we start taking our photography seriously it’s easy to get overly concerned about the reactions of others. Will they like our work? If they don’t, will they harshly criticise it or us? And social media has accentuated this problem. Our work is out there for the world to see and to comment on (for better or worse). We invest so much of ourselves in our photographs that any negative comments can cut to the core. It’s a natural response but is it a reasonable one?
Of course, people can like or dislike an image but the only person who can judge whether any image is successful or not is the photographer who took it. For only they know their intent at the time of pressing the shutter.
Everyone else is responding at a personal level based on their likes/dislikes, personal experiences, their knowledge or understanding of photography or art or whether they’ve had a bad day at work etc etc All things we have no control over so I don’t think we should be influenced by them.
A few years ago I came across a great quote from French photographer, Jeanloup Sieffe who said, “first and foremost I take photographs for me. If anyone else likes them then that is just too bad”. It is a refreshing philosophy and one that is quite liberating.
For to be constantly worrying about pleasing others prevents us from developing our own artistic voice with the danger that our photographs stay ‘safe’ and ‘acceptable’. Our images then end up as clones of photographs that the world has seen before.
That is very boring! And those of you who have read my Sigma interview will know I have no interest in being boring!
At the time of pressing the shutter I give no thought or have no concern as to whether someone else might like my photographs or not. I’m not trying to please an audience, real or imagined – I’m taking photographs simply to please me. Not through arrogance but because if I want my work to be authentic and meaningful then realistically, I have no other choice.
As photographers we must make a decision:
If it is the former, then we should spend our life photographing sunsets or our pets! We will undoubtedly end up with thousands of followers who are only too happy to spend a few seconds (if that) looking at our photos before moving on to the next post on their Facebook feed. Social media likes are more indicative of immediate impact than the true value of a photograph.
Conversely, we must learn to accept that the more complex our images and the more metaphorical they are the smaller our audience is likely to be.
Brooks Jensen, in his book ‘Single Exposures’ says:
“Being true to your heart is the only way to make really interesting and significant artwork . . . there is almost no correlation between popularity and creativity.
Being true to our self is essential. Our photographs must be taken with integrity – an attempt to truly reflect who we are, our life experiences and the way in which they have shaped how we see the world. If we do that, regardless of others reactions, then our work will be more evocative, thought provoking and ultimately unique.
ABOUT
STEVE GOSLING
Photographer
Steve, a passionate photographer since childhood, finds joy in black & white landscape and travel photography but refuses to be confined to any single genre. Constantly challenging himself, he brings his unique vision to diverse subjects, always striving to grow as an artist. His work has been published globally in books, magazines, and exhibitions, earning numerous awards. However, his greatest pride comes from 28 years of inspiring and mentoring photographers worldwide through his writing and workshops.
EQUIPMENT USED
ART
85mm F1.4 DG DN
ART
85mm F1.4 DG DN
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