Getting back to the joy of photography

I have been thinking recently about how easy it is to make photography more complicated than it needs to be.

Not the technical side, although there is plenty of opportunity to make that complicated too. I mean the whole business of planning photography. Planning projects. Planning shoots. Planning themes. Planning locations. Planning lighting setups. Planning what the final image might look like before I have even picked the camera up.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Planning has its place. A well-planned shoot can be brilliant. It can save time, help you focus, and give you a clear direction. If you are working with a model, a family, a client, or even just trying to create a particular style of image, then some planning is needed.

But there is a trap hiding in there.

If you are not careful, the planning becomes the photography.

You spend hours thinking about the project, making notes, looking at ideas, watching videos, saving inspiration, thinking about gear, lighting, locations, poses, colours, editing styles and all the rest of it. By the end of it, you feel as if you have done photography for the day.

Except you haven’t.

You have thought about photography. You have organised photography. You have prepared for photography. But you have not actually taken any pictures. (a trap I have fallen into a few times)

That is where it can start to become a problem.

Because the more complicated we make photography, the easier it becomes to put it off. We start telling ourselves we need the right location, the right light, the right model, the right weather, the right lens, the right background, the right mood, or the right amount of energy.

Before long, something that used to bring us joy starts to feel like another job waiting to be done properly.

And that can be quietly demotivating.

For me, photography started with the simple pleasure of seeing something and wanting to capture it. A landscape. A face. A bit of light. A family moment. A scene that said something. A flower in the garden. A passing expression. Something ordinary that, for a second, felt worth noticing.

That is still where the heart of photography lives.

Not in the settings. Not in the planning document. Not in whether the image fits a project. Not in whether it will win anything. Not in whether it is good enough for social media.

Just in the simple act of noticing something and making a picture of it.

I think sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to go back to that.

• To take pictures without a grand plan.

• To use simple settings.

• To photograph things around us.

• To stop waiting until we have a perfect idea.

• To stop treating every image as if it has to become part of a portfolio, a blog post, a competition entry, a YouTube video, or some big creative statement.

• Sometimes a photograph can just be a photograph.

It can be a record of a walk. A moment in the garden. A cup of tea in good light. A family member laughing. A dog looking daft. A street corner. A shadow on a wall. A quiet morning. A place you might forget if you did not take the picture.

That matters.

Photography is not only about producing impressive images. It is also about saving moments. It is about remembering where we were, what we noticed, who we were with, and what life felt like at the time.

There is joy in taking pictures.

There is joy in sharing pictures.

There is joy in printing pictures and holding them in your hand instead of leaving them buried on a hard drive.

There is joy in looking back and thinking, “I’m glad I took that.”

That, for me, is the bit I do not want to lose.

Captured moments of joy and sharing

It is easy to get caught up in trying to improve, trying to create better work, trying to be more organised, trying to make projects happen. There is nothing wrong with any of that. Growth matters. Learning matters. Ambition matters.

But if all of that gets in the way of actually picking up the camera, then something has gone wrong.

Photography should not become so serious that it stops being enjoyable.

So perhaps getting back to basics is not about going backwards. Maybe it is about reconnecting with the reason we started in the first place.

• The joy of seeing.

• The joy of capturing.

• The joy of remembering.

• The joy of sharing.

• The joy of making pictures just because something caught our eye.

That feels like something worth protecting.

A few simple ways to rediscover the joy of photography

1. Go for a short walk with one camera and one lens

   No project, no pressure, no big expectations. Just look for anything that catches your eye and take the picture.

2. Make a small set of everyday images

   Photograph five simple things from your day: morning light, your garden, your lunch, the dog, a favourite chair, or anything that tells the story of ordinary life.

3. Print one photograph each week

   It does not need to be perfect. Choose one image that means something, print it, and put it somewhere you can see it.

4. Share a picture with a short personal note

   Instead of worrying about captions, competitions, or reactions, share one image and explain why you took it or what it reminds you of.

5. Have a no-rules photography session with yourself

   Give yourself half an hour where the only aim is to enjoy making pictures. No judging, no deleting, no planning the next big thing. Just take photographs.

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