Photography is a presentation medium. At its most basic definition, a photograph is simply a means to communicate an idea to an audience. Sometimes the idea is a memory or a moment, while other times it‘s an expression of a feeling or intention. You can argue that the way a message is presented affects the audience’s interpretation, but that has to do with the photographer’s overall storytelling intentions anyways.

I like to think of photography as a visual language. You must learn the basic building blocks of a language before you can fully communicate an idea. It’s only after you’re fluent (in at least the basics), that you can start communicating.

1. Be at the Right Place at the Right Time

For a photo like this, you really just need to show up at the right time. This photo would turn out great on a cameraphone.

It sounds simple enough. Sometimes, just showing up at the right place at the right time can allow you to create an amazing photograph. And just the same as any other skill, the more you prepare to get lucky, the luckier you will become.

How to improve: Understanding what qualifies as “the right place at the right time” is a good place to start. The hours right after sunrise, and right before sunset are considered the golden hour. Horizontal, directional light is more flattering on subjects than harsh, mid-day light (think harsh shadows caused at noon). Scouting and taking test shots is a good way to research locations. The more you shoot, the more times you are putting yourself in the position to be in the right place at the right time.

2. Know your Gear

If you come across a scene like this (via Step 1), at this point all you need to worry about is knowing how to use your equipment to actually capture what’s right in front of you.

Knowing how to use equipment should be a given, but there’s always room for improvement. When you show up to your location, at the right place at the right time, you need to be competent and confident with your gear. It breaks down a little bit more than just how to use all the features of the camera. Elements of art, and how to properly compose and execute a photo also fall into this category. Knowing how to edit and curate your work is just as important in the creation process.

How to improve: Read your camera’s manual. Learn how to properly use your flash or tripod, or any accessories you might be using with your camera. Watch YouTube tutorials about composition and lighting. Read books about photography history and theory. The more you shoot, the deeper you’ll understand how to master your equipment, processes, and style.

3. Find/Create a Story

This photo says nothing more than “nature is beautiful,” and “traveling is good.”

If photography is simply a method to tell a story, you would think the story itself would be the most important part. Time and again it’s overlooked. With Instagram it’s easy to blindly appraise every nature/city shot as beautiful, great photos. While they may be aesthetically pleasing, the story they tell is usually substantially lacking. The story is either “nature is beautiful,” or “travel is good.” Both of which are uninspired and overdone. I admit I still tell both. Not to say that there’s no place in the world for travel/architecture photography, but understand that the process to tell stories like this are pretty straight forward and easy to recreate if you have the time and resources.

‘Story’ is oftentimes baked into the first two steps. By deciding where to show up at the right place at the right time and deciding how to use your gear, you’re already telling a story of whatever it is you’re capturing. The three steps work in conjunction with each other. Each step is a slight prerequisite for the next.

On the left is a photo in which the story is ‘found,’ and on the right the story is ‘created.’

So the options are either finding a story, or creating a story. Photojournalism and documentary photography embody ‘finding a story.’ Much of advertising and conceptual photography embody ‘creating a story.’ Finding a story can be as easy as documenting a scene or event that you find in the middle of the street. Creating a story can be as easy as documenting a scene or event that you yourself have created.

On the left is a Weak Found Story. Everyone has access to the vantage point from which this photo was taken, which is why you might have seen this before. It’s easy to tell this story. On the right is a Strong(er) Found Story. It is much harder to find and catch a moment like this.

On the left is a Weak Created Story. It’s not that hard to create, and the idea behind it is rather familiar, which is why you’ve probably seen it before. On the right is a Strong(er) Created Story. Not many people would think of a story like this, which makes it unique.

How to improve: The story in your photo depends on your intentions as a photographer. Determine whether you’re telling a found story or a created story. In both of these categories, weak stories are those that everyone has access to, and are therefore easy to replicate. These stories are told over and over, and since we’ve all already become accustom to seeing this story, it’s hard to really stand out from the crowd. Strong stories are those that not everyone has access to, or not everyone even knows about.

If you can tell strong stories that no one else can by consistently finding original and awe-inspiring stories, you’ve made yourself invaluable. If you can tell strong stories no one else can by consistently creating new and exciting stories, you’ve also made yourself invaluable.