The Biggest Lie We Tell Ourselves About Photography

Do you need Iceland or an exotic location to take great photographs?

It is a common misconception in the photography world that exotic locations will allow you to make great photographs. In its own right, there is some truth to the idea that great locations create great pictures, but only in our minds. The notion that we get the best photographs when we travel is that these are new locations, which creates more of a wow factor, leading to the thought that all our photos are great. You don’t need exotic places—you need a better way of seeing. Every mundane location can be extraordinary if you take a few steps to look a little deeper.

Why the Ordinary Matters

Photography is not about exotic locations; it's about observation. Learning to be a better observer will open up a whole new world with your photography. Being a better observer, you start to notice how extraordinary the ordinary can be. If you think you have to go to these far-off, exotic lands, you wouldn’t be photographing much unless you're a millionaire with the time and money to travel to these locations. Truth be told, the ordinary is what we will photograph. I am a firm believer that if you can create great photographs from the ordinary, you can make great photographs in any situation. We want viewers to connect with the work we produce. Not everyone can connect with exotic locations, as it is not normal for them. When I am photographing local destinations throughout the Midwest, people have a stronger connection to my work. This is because these locations are relatable to them, as they are part of their everyday norm.

If you look at the work of William Eggleston and Vivian Maier, both had commonplace subjects. William Eggleston became a pioneer in color photography, known for his vibrant images of everyday scenes and places. These places were usually deemed “ugly,” yet Eggleston, with his distinctive style, created striking images of everyday, familiar places. Taking a look at the work of Vivian Maier, a previously unknown street photographer and nanny from Chicago, who has recently gained recognition for her work—she documented the everyday life of her subjects. She photographed herself through self-portraits of reflections in store windows, and her work shared unique perspectives of the everyday life of her subjects.

These two photographers demonstrated that one can and does create images of the mundane, allowing viewers to connect with them by taking the ordinary and transforming it into extraordinary images with the subjects around them. They did not travel to far-off places in search of their next photograph, and you don’t have to as well.

Shifting Your Mindset

 

The first step you can take to transform an ordinary scene into a photograph worth taking is to change how you see it. Most photographers are waiting for an exciting moment to happen: a foggy morning, golden light, or a big road trip. However, some moments go far beyond those exciting photographs right in front of them every day. Start looking at the world in light, shapes, and meaning. Study how light is being cast through a window on a dinner table left with remnants of the last dinner or reflections in a puddle of rain. These are the everyday moments that are there to be photographed if we change the way we see and look for these moments.

Treat every scene like it matters, because it does. When you're out there waiting for a “worthy” subject, you’ll miss ninety-nine of the opportunities that exist. I started taking the time to focus on these moments while in ordinary places, such as the way light hit a glass of water in a restaurant or the light coming through the blinds of a dealership while I was waiting for an oil change on my truck. The more I did this, the more interest I found in everyday moments, and I started asking myself, if I had my camera, how would I create a photograph? I was practicing visualizing images that I knew I would not make, and in the long run, this helped me when I was out with the camera, as I found interesting things and moments to photograph. This ultimately led to my newest project, The Last Town Over. I explore and look for these moments in Iowa towns where the population hits 500 or less.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of photo envy. We doom-scroll through images of Icelandic waterfalls and cities across the world, instantly thinking we need to be in these locations to create great photos, as we see our world as dull and uninteresting. This happens because we are so accustomed to our everyday life and locations that we no longer see them as exotic and interesting places. By chasing these trends and comparing ourselves and the work we create, we strip the joy and honesty of our work. Your best work comes from what you love to photograph, not what the algorithm loves.

Techniques for Finding Magic in the Mundane

• Lighting Is Everything: Start to study lighting in everyday moments, like I had mentioned before. Study light and learn how it creates and shapes your image.
• Observation: Take a moment to sit and observe the scene, thinking about how you could create a photograph from what you see. Look for moments that are happening and study the colors, shapes, and compositions within the scene. Observing closely is a great way to take better photographs. You're not focused on the camera's settings. You are focusing on the shapes, color, and composition.
• Details Over Drama: Isolate elements in your image into small moments (coffee on the table next to a window with the glow of warm morning light). Find these little narratives in everyday life and tell the story.

The Towns No One Asked Me to Photograph

Over the years, while photographing the Midwest, I often get asked, “Where did you take this photo?” I’ll tell them where I took the photo, and occasionally, I get the response, “Really? I drive by there all the time and have never noticed that.” In 2020, I was looking for something to do, as many people were. The question was raised yet again through a Facebook message, and I asked myself the question, “Why do people miss what is clearly in front of them?” The project Pop 500 was born, and five years later, it has morphed into The Last Town Over after a brief pause, and I started to think more about the project. I took a break because I felt it didn’t have a clear direction. Like many things in my work, a thought occurred to me one day, and I finally had the clarity I had been seeking.

The Last Town Over is a quiet look at Iowa’s smallest towns, with fewer than 500 people, full of stillness, resilience, and the stories left behind when the world moves on. In the simplest terms, it’s small-town Iowa and the everyday moments that are often overlooked. I have a strong belief that as photographers, we photograph the environment in which we were raised, and eventually, we leave that behind. The project has helped me capture the everyday moments that we often overlook as mundane and should not be ignored.

I want the project to show that small towns still matter in Iowa. Even though they may be perceived as run down and not worthy of a second look, there is still a story to tell, and not to overlook the everyday moments that make up our lives. No one asked me to photograph these towns, and no one will ask you to photograph the everyday moments. By doing so, you will be able to capture the moments in any situation that many people overlook, thereby expanding your ability to tell a story with your camera. I find the details and locations that are often overlooked; these are the scenes I have always been drawn to.

Why This Matters More Than Ever 

Everyday life is fleeting, and the “boring” becomes tomorrow's history. These moments are the memories we remember in our lives. We may not forget these exotic trips and locations, but in the end, we often find ourselves discussing the mundane aspects of life most of the time. If they were truly boring, we wouldn’t talk about them; our lives are made up of moments, not just the crazy locations. As photographers, we document the stories of our own lives as well as those of others, capturing moments in time that we will reflect on; these are the everyday moments—the moments that bring us the greatest happiness.

Exercises to Practice

• The “10-foot Rule”: Take 10 photos within 10 feet of your door.

• Limit yourself and use one lens to photograph your daily routine.

• Photograph one object five different ways.

• Practice just observing, no camera.

In the End

When you think there's nothing to photograph, look again. There are numerous everyday moments that you can capture and photograph. Remember that these are the moments that can yield extraordinary images, if you let them happen. Challenging? Yes, it's not always easy to take a moment that occurs every day and create a great photograph. Pause, and take another look; these moments are the most incredible stories you can tell. A final thought: art isn’t what you see, it's how you see it. It is not always about the subject itself but how you interpret it.