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The Process of Being a Photographer – Fine Art Photography with Huntington Witherill

In this video, fine art photographer Huntington Witherill explains the process behind his fine art photography work.  We get insight in how a well known fine art photographer works as well as how they got to this point in their career.

On the Marc Silber show, Witherill  shares tips about photography and his views on the process as a whole.

“He reminds us that it is important to focus on the process of being the photographer rather than constantly looking to get the next photograph or image.

A passion for the medium is one of the most important components—being engaged and passionate about anything takes a lot of patience, persistence and hard work. Huntington also advises people to get rid of preconceptions when going out to a location to shoot photos.

It’s easy to carry a preconceived idea when you’re going to a specific place, but you might happen upon something completely different that creates an amazing photo.”

Let the photograph find me

Witherill’s explanation of how one finds photographs along the way and being open to photographs that appear along a journey rings true with me.  When I leave the house to photograph a specific area, I’ll often have a certain location in mind, say a covered bridge.  But I know I might get distracted along the way by other photographs and my day will not be just about that one spot.

Even with vacations, I might have in mind that I’ll be aimed towards say Angel’s Landing in Zion but there will be many, many great photographs along the journey to that one iconic spot.

Composition is Inherent but can be learned

Photography is nothing more than shapes, lines and forms and the light that bounces off them.  You can learn composition by studying design.  Good photography includes good lighting, well balanced compositions and technical skills that don’t disrupt the image.  Composition becomes second nature as one spends time with their work and with years of learning to see and observe.

Genius is mostly a lot of hard work

Persistence is the most important thing when it comes to getting better at your passion.  Anyone can do anything if they spend enough time at it.  Like anything you want to get good at, practice, practice, practice and years of work is the key to getting better.