THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S MOST IMPORTANT TOOL - Isn’t your camera it’s your eye
For me, the most important thing as a photographer is not the camera. It’s the ability to notice what matters. To see the small details. The light. The colours. The feeling in a room. The way a piece of clothing sits on someone. The space around a person. The right crop. The moment when everything suddenly feels balanced. I call it having an eye for aesthetics.
01 – Learning to see
I think I have always had this instinct.Even before photography, I was drawn to drawing, design and anything creative. I notice interiors. Fashion. Watches. Shop windows. Posters. Colours. The way a space is put together. When I walk through a city, I notice when a store looks particularly good. When an exhibition poster catches my attention. When a black and white portrait in a fashion campaign feels timeless rather than simply fashionable. I don’t necessarily analyse why it works. I just notice that it does. And that feeling has become a big part of how I photograph.
02 – More than just a good picture
Having an eye isn’t only about knowing what looks beautiful. It’s about recognising when things belong together. Light and skin. Clothing and location. Colours and surroundings. Expression and composition. The person and the mood. Sometimes the image needs almost nothing. Sometimes it needs a strong editorial composition with many elements working together. Both can be beautiful. Taste is subjective. What speaks to me might not speak to someone else. That’s completely fine. What matters is developing your own visual language. For me, that language is usually clear, reduced and intentional. Less is often more.
03 – The details create the feeling
A photograph can be technically perfect and still feel wrong. And sometimes a very simple photograph can feel incredibly expensive. That feeling often comes from details you don’t consciously notice. The quality of the light. The styling. The colour of a wall. The texture of the clothes. The distance between elements. The crop. A shadow falling in exactly the right place. None of these things necessarily screams for attention. But together, they create the feeling of the photograph. That’s what I look for.
04 – You can’t buy an eye
You can buy the newest camera. The most expensive lens. The latest lighting equipment. You can learn every technical setting. But none of that automatically gives you an aesthetic eye. You have to develop it by looking. At photographs. At films. At fashion. At architecture. At interiors. At magazines. At the world around you. And by asking yourself a simple question: „Do I like this?“ Not because someone told you it is good. Not because it has millions of likes. But because something about it speaks to you. Then ask yourself why. That is where your own visual language begins.
05 – The photographs I want to make
There are campaigns I look at and immediately think: „Yes. That’s it.“ For example, the simplicity of G-Star campaigns photographed by Anton Corbijn — the denim, the black and white, the rawness, the restraint. Nothing feels unnecessary. That’s the kind of visual confidence I admire. Not because every photograph has to look like that. But because the aesthetic is clear. You know what you are looking at. And you know why it works.
06 – Your most important tool
After more than twenty years of photography, I believe your most important tool is not something you carry in your camera bag. It’s your eye. Your ability to recognise beauty. To notice what others walk past. To understand when something feels right — and when it doesn’t. To remove what isn’t necessary. To make a photograph feel considered without making it feel complicated. The camera only records what you decide to see. So before you invest in better equipment, invest in looking. Look at more photographs. Look at fashion. Look at architecture. Look at people. Look at light. Look at everything that surrounds you. Train your taste. Because the better you see, the less you need. And ultimately, better equipment won’t make you a better photographer. Better eyes might.
