Find Your Photography Style by Joel Meyerowitz [Video]
Joel Meyerowitz, a luminary in the realm of photography, brings to life the unseen moments and subtle intricacies of the everyday through his lens. Known for his pioneering work in color photography, Meyerowitz has significantly influenced the fields of documentary and street photography with his unique perspective and profound understanding of light and color.
In this series, I put together the inspiring and educational words of renowned photographers. Each episode is a curated collection of quotes that offer a glimpse into the creative minds behind the camera. My goal is to provide viewers with a source of motivation and insight, weaving together the wisdom of photography's greatest artists.
Photographs may look like just pictures, but they're really about your ideas. Everyone is a photographer now, and each of us is capable of making a work of art. There are no rules. An interesting frame is what you have to make interesting to you and to look at.
Photography is all about paying attention. If you're not paying attention, then you don't see these things. I think of photography as having moments of consciousness where suddenly I feel alert and awake because the world is showing me some invisible gift, only visible to me at that moment because I'm willing to observe it in that way. When I go out on the street, I'm not looking at my phone and walking; I'm not distracted. I'm looking at everything. I'm hungry. The unexpected is part of the gift of photography that in a fraction of a second, you can write this whole little story.
Everyone is a photographer now, and each of us is capable of making a work of art. All you have to do is find out who you are and what appeals to you, and you will discover yourself.
Street life is chaos, and the photography feels good being in that chaos because the surprises are an enrichment. Every time you press the button on the camera, you're saying yes to life. And then when you collect a row full of yeses, you begin to see that the line of yeses you've made over time begins to show a picture of who you are. That's how you connect to your identity, and bit by bit, these identity points in your work create a body of work, a through line that shows you again and again your particular way of looking at the world.
Clear your mind of all of your projections and desires; just go out and be.
Basically, I'm photographing my own curiosity. What I'm curious about is what I take pictures of, and I don't know what I'm curious about until I get a photograph.
