Breaking it Down

The Break Down step turns problems and their solutions into manageable bite-size pieces. One of the reasons people give up on a problem is because they become overwhelmed by it. But if you focus on smaller portions of the solution, little by little you will have built the knowledge to fix or improve anything.

My system works by building a knowledge database of the typical environments in which you work. For example, I’m a wedding photographer, so I do most of my photography inside hotels, hotel rooms, churches, urban streets, busy environments, open fields, parks, gardens, and private homes. For every one of these environments, I write down the physical characteristics and common objects normally found in such places.

For instance, inside hotel rooms, there is always artwork and mirrors. I created little exercises to explore the photographic possibilities of using only mirrors and the artwork decorating hotel rooms. After two or three practice sessions, limiting myself to just those two items, I will have pushed myself enough to discover many more ways to use these simple objects to create high-impact photographs.