THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOOKING AND SEEING- Why do we see something and still fail to really notice it?
I think we look all the time. We walk through streets, we sit in cafés, we pass buildings and windows, we see people, cars, walls, light. But how much do we actually notice? For me, that is the difference between looking and seeing.
01 – I see light everywhere
Since I started working with natural light, I notice things differently. Reflections. Light sources. Shadows. Small moments of light that appear on a wall for a few seconds and then disappear. A window throwing light onto a floor. A glass building suddenly becoming a giant reflector. A dark entrance with just one beautiful patch of light inside. For most people, it is simply a street. For me, it can suddenly become a photograph. And I still love that.
02 – How can nobody else see this?
I honestly think this quite often. Not because I think I see more than everyone else. More because I am fascinated by how differently we can look at exactly the same thing. I see it all the time during photo walks and mentoring sessions. We can stand in exactly the same place. Look at exactly the same street. Have exactly the same light in front of us. And still see completely different things. Sometimes I simply say: “Look over there.” And suddenly something changes. Not the location – not the light. Just the attention.
03 – Seeing is not about finding more
It is about noticing more. I don’t believe you need to travel somewhere extraordinary to make interesting photographs. Sometimes you simply need to start seeing your surroundings differently. An ordinary courtyard can suddenly become interesting. A parking lot. A wall. A car catching the afternoon light. A kitchen with light falling in from the side. A shadow crossing the ground. Nothing about these things is necessarily spectacular. Until you see them.
04 – Your eye can be trained
I strongly believe that seeing can be learned. The same way you eventually learn to recognize good images from weak ones, you can train yourself to notice light differently. At first, you might simply notice: „There is light.“ Then: „Where is it coming from?“ Then: „What is it reflecting? Where does it become harder? Where does it become soft? Where does the shadow begin?“ And eventually, you stop thinking about it consciously. You walk into a room and your eye automatically starts looking for possibilities.
05 – Photography changed the way I walk through the world
That might be one of the greatest things photography has given me. I don’t simply walk through a city anymore. I observe. I watch how light moves across a building. How people pass through a patch of sunlight. How a reflection changes when I take two steps to the side. How something completely ordinary can suddenly become extraordinary for just a few seconds. And sometimes I don’t even take the photograph. Because seeing it is enough.
06 – You don’t need to see what everyone else sees
Maybe that is even more important. You don’t have to photograph what everyone else photographs. You don’t need the same look. You don’t need the same style. And you don’t need to constantly check what is working for somebody else. You have to learn to trust your own eye. Because nobody else can give you your visual language. You find it by paying attention to what you find interesting. Again and again.
07 – See it before you shoot it
That is probably what photography is for me. Not the camera first. Not the lens first. Not the settings first. First: See. The light. The person. The space. The moment. And then decide what to do with it. Because a camera can record what is in front of you. But it can’t tell you what is worth seeing. That part is up to you.
08 – So don’t overthink it
Don’t spend your whole life looking at what everyone else is doing. Don’t wait for someone to tell you that your eye is good enough. Look. Notice. Trust yourself. And make your thing. Because you have to believe in your own vision first. Otherwise, why should anyone else?
