One question that I get on my workshops is: how do you know what to photograph? I’ve thought about this recently, because I’ve gotten the question more this year than in past years, and I’ve been able to simplify it down to one concept:

• Photograph what you think is cool.

Seriously, it’s that simple. When I head out to photograph, I’m always looking for what I think looks the coolest. Besides looking for the coolest thing, I’m always looking for something specific. I’m looking for the coolest shape, line, pattern, texture or color. That’s the key to what I do. I look for the coolest shape, line, pattern, texture or color. And, when you start looking for the coolest shape, line, pattern, texture or color, you’ll have no problem finding something to photograph.

• Shapes: It’s easiest to find geometric shapes, such as circles, squares, triangles, but any cool shape will do. Keep in mind that shape of the photo creates a rectangle and that you can use the photos edges to create shapes.
• Lines: Lines are simply positive or negative lines that lead into or across the image.
• Patterns: Patterns are cool things that repeat.
• Textures: Are the things that you can feel. Does something look smooth, bumpy, jagged, etc.?
• Colors: What cool colors stand out that you could use to make a shot?

After you think about shapes, lines, patterns, textures and colors, all you need to do is find a cool one on the shore. The best approach that I’ve found and the easiest to learn is to find one cool thing and then simplify your scene to make that one cool thing the focus of your image.

For example, when I took this photo of an icy slot leading into Lake Superior I wasn’t thinking about how cool it would be to find a neat icy scene to photography, I was thinking that I need to find a cool shape, line, pattern, texture or color. I ran across the cool negative space line of water that runs up the slot, jogs to the left and then leads out to the lake. I set up my composition so make that one line the focus of my shot. You can see the line I drew in the image to the left.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Find that one cool thing and make it the focus of your shot.

Give this a go and let me know what you think.

As a bonus exercise: can you find all the triangles and the one rectangle in my image? I used the triangles to balance the shot and the rectangle to work as a contrast to all the triangles.