A few months back I said to a friend “…I feel like all the learning I’ve done is now hindering me from freely thinking…” and what I mean by that is now I’m always trying to think what will make the technically perfect picture, making me miss the perfect moment or causing me to be stuck in a creative rut.

STOP TAKING PERFECT PICTURES –> Free your mind from those technicalities. Last week I was doing some research for an upcoming video project when I ran across a few photos that were super powerful, they captured an emotion so well that I instantly felt a part of that photo and that emotion. Isn’t that what photography and video are really about – connecting the viewer with that moment, emotion, story, etc?

ARE YOU SERIOUS? —> Yup. Stop taking “perfect” pictures. Openness and vulnerability is what it takes to capture photos in this way. Here’s a few things that might happen if you decide to go beyond technicalities.

• The subject of the photograph could feel misused, misunderstood or imperfect, because who wants to look “bad” in a photo?

• The Photographer could be criticized for their “bad” job at following photography “rules,” or you name it.

SO YES —> Stop thinking about what you’ve learned, forget almost everything you’ve ever learned about photography and go back to the real reason for taking pictures. When I first started mobile photography I felt like I saw things totally different. I forgot about the ways I was trained to look at photography and was free to take a picture in the way that best communicated that moment.

Below are a few photos from recent shoots that I feel captured personality.

Always be on the lookout for candid photos, you’ll often get the best photos just before or after the subject thinks you’re done, like this one below.

I’d like to challenge you to forget about the rules and get creative. Will you share a picture with me that captures something special about that person? Share your photo on our Facebook page here.