Most Photography Happens Before The Photo

People who don’t take photos often think photography is all about the camera.

The settings. The lens. The moment you press the shutter.

But the longer I’ve been doing this, the more I’ve realised that the actual photo is only a small part of the process.

Most photography is walking around without finding anything.

It’s taking the long route home because the light looks interesting. It’s standing on a street corner for ten minutes waiting for someone to walk into the frame. It’s noticing a reflection that everyone else walks past. Sometimes it’s leaving the house with a camera and coming back with nothing at all.

And honestly, that’s a pretty normal day.

I think that’s what surprises people the most. Good photos don’t happen every time you go out. Most of the time, you’re just paying attention and hoping something catches your eye.

That’s also why photography can be frustrating. You can spend hours walking, waiting, and looking, only to come home with a handful of images. Sometimes not even one. On paper, it sounds like a waste of time.

But I’ve started looking at it differently.

The value isn’t always in the photos you bring back. Sometimes it’s in the fact that photography gives you a reason to slow down. To notice things. To spend an hour somewhere you would have normally rushed through.

The camera gets most of the attention because it’s the visible part.

What people don’t see is everything that happened before it. The waiting. The observing. The wandering around with no real plan. That’s where most photography actually happens.

And if I’m being honest, that’s probably the part I enjoy the most.