What do I mean by this F.O.C.U.S?  It is an acronym for the process I think one should take as an artist/photographer.  F.O. C. is for, “figure out clearly.”  Figure out your gear, your tools.  You can’t really concentrate on what you are trying to say, trying to communicate, if you are worried about the exposure.  You really need to know what your camera is capable of.  I have no problem with using Program Mode.  You more or less can set it and forget it.  Until you… fill in the blank.  What happens if you have your subject in front of a brightly lit window?   Sure you like silhouettes but you might also want to see your subjects face.  You need to know that your camera will be fooled in Program and you have to open up a stop or two to expose for the face.  Or you can use on camera flash to expose for the face and let the background burn in.   These are all choices you can make if you understand what Program can and cannot do.

“U” is for understand.  Did you ever take a photo 101 class?  Did you ever assemble a portfolio based on the assignments you were given in a photo class?  Did your portfolio look like everyone else’s in class?  Of course it did….at first.  You were all given the same assignments: depth of field, panning, flash on bulb, self portrait, etc.  These are all useful, and informative.  However, they don’t develop your style, your voice, only you can do that.  So take the assignments you are given in class or that you give yourself.  Understand what they are trying to teach you.  Do you need a wrench or screwdriver for the job?  Do you want to use a long lens to make the background soft and compress the space, make your foreground subject pop?  Do you want to use a super wide lens? Have everything sharp?  Obscure the perspective?  These exercises should be like practicing an instrument or your jump shot.  You need to know your gear inside out.  You need to know what tool to choose to get the job done.  But all of this is just the beginning.  You are laying the foundation for your work.  It doesn’t matter if you shoot Nikon or Canon, if you are PC or MAC.  What matters is what you do with them. The hardest part is seeing.

“S” is for See.  What do you want to say?  What is important to you and why?  How do you see the world?  You can start by asking yourself, what do you like to look at?  What moves you?  What photos do you like and why?  What is great about them?  Do they capture a moment?  Are they quiet and beautiful?  Are they graphic and architectural?   Is it the human elements or the natural ones that inspire you?  I heard a wonderful talk given by Joe Buissink, http://www.joebuissink.com/.  He said the first picture that started it all for him was one of his son breastfeeding.  He said it was the first picture that looked back at him.  I had never heard it said that way before.  I realized that is all I care about in a photo.  What I care about is the person looking back at me…and in the meantime, maybe I was able to say something about how I saw them and felt about what they were projecting to the world.  When people ask me what I photograph I say, “I will shoot anything that breathes.”  That really sums it up for me.  It is all about the human condition.  That is how I see it.