(Editor’s note: Author, educator and photographer Matt Kloskowski sent us some thoughts on vision, photography and what makes a good picture. It is really worth sharing. So we have.)

For me, Vision is the main idea that separates a technically proficient photographer from someone who can truly communicate with their photos. How does a landscape scene “feel”? Does that matter? To me, it’s ALL that matters.

I want to make photos that move people and elicit something from them.

Photographs vs. technically right on

You’ve all probably met (or maybe you are) that person from your photography club that can speak in f-stops, can calculate shutter speeds in their heads, and tell you every technical detail about photography. But their photos are missing something and they don’t have the vision to take them further. this is TOTALLY normal. 

Why?

Because the technical is quantitative. It can be measured. You either know what an aperture is, or you don’t. It’s easier to learn about the processes than to learn the creative part. Until now…

See… once you learn the technical stuff, it’s fairly easy to go out and document what’s in front of you. To capture a scene as it looks. 

Is reality important?

What about how the scene actually feels? Does that matter? To me, it’s ALL that matters.

I want to make photos that move people and elicit something from them.

Am I creating reality? Maybe not, but find me a definition of photography that says “the photo captured must resemble reality”. Go ahead… I challenge you to take a minute and Google photography’s definition. You won’t find one that says it’s about capturing reality. Sure… photographic purists have made their own descriptions, but if you’re willing to explore with me, you’ll see there’s so much more. 

Exploring with Matt

Matt has a new video that shares his thinking and some great techniques about landscapes and editing them. It’s worth a look.