At the heart of it, that really is all that I do – I see something, I think “ooh, that looks nice”, and I take a picture.

I think a lot of that other stuff, at least for me, happens on a subconscious level. Basically… years of being “the weird kid” and seeing things different from everyone else has somehow made me a good photographer.

I’ve found that many people simply want a bullet list of things that make a great photograph (as if it were that simple) and a recommendation of “the camera that takes the best photos”. The technical details can often be boiled down to a short list for starts, but most people (in the few times that I’ve been asked since I’m not a good photographer) find this unhelpful because this isn’t what’s holding them back. In terms of “the best camera”, I’ve always told people that a good photographer can take amazing photos with a cheap camera, though nicer cameras obviously make this process more efficient. The preconception of “expensive camera + list of technical strategies = good photographs” begins to fade away, and they’re on their way to becoming a better photographer. I think it’s mostly that people have the misconception that photography is easy (“all you have to do is aim and click the button”) and not much of an art form that holds them back.