This is the first post of the year of Thoughtfully, X, a new segment dedicated to providing the KIS community with a voice to convey their stories. This month, I interviewed a student who had a passion for photography. The student felt that photography was a misunderstood art and so, wanted to convey the truth about photography.

I suggest that you don’t try to guess who this student is, don’t give into judgement, just read.

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People say a photo is worth thousands of words for a reason. Behind every picture, there is always a special and unique story.

Many assume that the final photograph is the most important part. I don’t agree with that. At least, not completely. I value the creative process of getting that photograph. Some photos might not be as beautiful, but having a special connection gives it more value.

One wonderful thing about photography is you don’t need the best equipment to take a good photograph. What you need is an eye for beauty. Don’t let your surroundings or the landscape limit your imagination. You should always be looking to get a unique composition of your subject. No matter how cliche it sounds, there’s always beauty in everything. Sunsets might be one of the most beautiful lights but capturing cloudy skies at the right perspective can express an interesting mood. Capturing these moments are what I consider the beauty of photography.

You can’t expect every subject to look beautiful and perfect. It is up to us, the photographers, to see the beauty in them and express that into the photograph. Many times, people go to stunning terrains to capture the beauty of the Earth. Coming back from there, I would always see them having the same picture taken at the same place, at the same angle just like everyone else who’s ever been there. The problem was that there was no originality. In order to create an interesting photo, I hunt for different angles and perspectives none have captured before.

Last summer, I spent some of my vacation time in Italy. We were in the Italian Alps where stunning mountains covered our field of view. The panoramic view was so stunning, it took my breath away. However, I shifted my focus from the general landscape to something more subtle: a village.

This village sat between two gigantic mountains covered by the dolomite rocks. People often don’t pay attention to the small details especially when it comes to photography. It’s easy to snap photos of the obvious beauty. But when you conjoin the obvious with the unobvious, that’s when the magic happens. That’s when the photograph becomes unique.

One of the most common excuses I’ve heard about taking a terrible picture is that the camera or lens wasn’t “good” enough. Don’t make that excuse. Some of my best pictures were taken with the most basic lens. A great photographer will always take great photos, no matter their equipment. Excuses like that show how you lack experience and vision as a photographer. Now, don’t get me wrong, great tools can open up more opportunities, but I’ve learnt that my equipment (or lack of) shouldn’t limit my photography.

I wasn’t born with a talent for photography. You don’t need to be born with a talent to do photography. You need to be your own self to do it. I don’t care what other people see in my subject. It’s what I see that’s important, and what I see should be told through the photograph.

Thoughtfully,

X