I Photograph Not For the Many, But For You

eric kim photography wedding - black and white - ricoh gr ii-1
Garden Grove, 2016 #cindyproject

Dear friend,

It is hard to figure out who to photograph for.

Are you photographing for others, or are you photographing for yourself? Are you photographing to get a lot of ‘likes’ on social media — or are you trying to express your own soul?

When it comes to your photography, who are the few people you really want to impress?

My suggestion: photograph for just 1 other person.

Who is your “perfect viewer”?

I got this idea from writing. It is often hard to know who you’re writing for. But if you imagine one person in your life that you want to write for, you will become inspired. Because it is easy to write a letter to a friend. It is hard to write for a large audience of hundreds, or thousands.

That is why a lot of these blog posts are written as letters to you. Because I imagine you as my “perfect reader” — a close friend of mine, someone who I can share my deepest and darkest thoughts with, and someone who I can speak frankly with. This allows me to use plain and simple language, and also to make my writing more personal.

Similarly, try to photograph just for your “perfect viewer.” Who is that 1 person in your life that you want to photograph for?

Is that person your close friend? Your partner? Your mom? Your past self? Or just yourself?

Shooting for an audience of one

If you have nobody to show your photos to, just photograph for yourself. After all, that is the most important person to please.

Always,
Eric

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