Many Photographers Neglect This Very Important Practice

Photographers focus a lot on the technical aspects surrounding their work, whether it's the gear they are using, finding the perfect settings for their images, or trying to capture every pixel. While those can be important in some situations, it leads to many of us neglecting this very simple practice that will have a larger impact on your final image.

Many people start practicing photography by taking photos and learning techniques yet neglect reviewing their work. One thing I continually notice is that many people don't want to spend a lot of time editing their images, which results in them not reviewing their work enough. While it is a privilege to be able to return to a location to photograph it again, there is no better way to improve your own work than to get your images back to a computer and figure out what worked and what didn't. Asking why a certain composition worked better than the rest or which moment of light induced the emotions you're hoping to express is always beneficial.

In this video, I detail multiple returns to the famous spot of Watkins Glenn, New York. I break down my entire thought process behind my compositional choices and specifically, how reviewing my images from previous days directly impact on the improvement of my final image. Something very interesting about this journey was that I started off thinking the shot simply made itself without a second thought. Yet, when I got my images back to my computer and spent time thinking about every little detail, I recognized my image could be improved.

Sometimes, things are not as simple as they appear, and you'll find that a single image I took within in journey can be told in multiple ways. I'd love to know what crop you'd choose for the final image and which one you think is strongest. It's these types of discussions and thought exercises that can improve our work no matter where we are on our photography journey.