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Organic Photography

Organic. It is one of those words that has been so overused it has become trite and clichéd. When a corporation talks about "organic growth", they are saying they are not spending money on advertising. When a grocery store talks about organic products, they mean they haven't added a lot of chemicals into the products themselves. But sometimes, organic is exactly the right word to describe something. In the case of my style of photography, it is EXACTLY the right word. It is about using whatever is around me to find the best shot.

Organic photography is not about shooting nature and plants, though I do that on occasion. It is a mindset and philosophy that guides the approach to photography. It is about not exerting control to force a shot to come out. It is about using what is around you and within you to find the beauty. It is about the photography being natural and relaxed.

Let me explain it this way. Some photographers prefer to shoot in a studio because they have control over everything. They control the lights, they control the set, they control the props, and to a great degree, they can control the model. They come into a session with a vision and they will force everything to make their vision a reality. They are very rigid about what they want. For many, this works very well and many great and beautiful photographic works have been created through this method.

Organic photography is about using what is around you to create your images. That does not mean you don't use a set and you don't use props and you don't use backdrops and artificial lights. I can and will use all of those. Instead, it is about following the natural flow of creative energy that is swirling around. Organic photographers walk into a session with a few ideas in mind about what they want to achieve, but as the session progresses, they adapt and change. Because a photographer does not lock himself into a single vision, he can see possibilities he never imagined.

Rigid photographers get on a main road and stay on it until they reach their destination. Noting else matters.

Organic photographers have the same destination in mind, to create beautiful photos, and they may start out on the main road, but they are not afraid to stray from it. If something is working, the organic photographer will let that guide him as the session progresses. The danger is getting on a path that takes you in the wrong direction and staying with it. The benefit is in seeing the things that you may not have even considered.  There are always those wildflowers that do not grow on the main road, those moments when all comes to together and when something unexpected and wonderful occurs. 

A rigid photographer is like an engineer dealing with round holes and square pegs, always working to make them fit together. An organic photographer is like a cook walking into a kitchen full of ingredients. He sees what he has to work with and says "this is what we can make." 

An organic photographer is always seeing and hearing and feeling. He adapts to his environment rather than adapting the environment to him. Metaphorically speaking, if an organic photographer comes to a river, he does not build a bridge, he jumps in and swims across. Sure he might be washed downstream somewhat, but he still gets to the other side.

I am, most definitely, an organic photographer.