# Why I Photograph

> What is photography, and what should we photograph? An exploration of painting, technique, observation, expression, curiosity, and the reasons we choose to pick up a camera.

- Language: en
- Published: 2020-01-01
- Author: GuoJing
- Category: Post
- Canonical: https://afterimage.photography/post/en/why-we-choose-photography

Whenever someone asks why I photograph, I think carefully about the question. I believe that everyone who picks up a camera will eventually ask, after photographing for a while, “What is photography?” and “What should I photograph?” These questions resemble the three questions of life that people often mention jokingly: “Who are you?”, “Where do you come from?”, and “Where are you going?” There seems to be no standard answer.

By now, I have taken roughly thirty to forty thousand photographs. Some were made seriously, while others were casual snapshots. I have gone through one period of self-doubt after another, and I have climbed out of each low point. Whenever I emerge, I see a new landscape and feel that my earlier concerns were hardly worth dwelling on. What is photography, and why did I choose it?

## 01 — Painting and Photography

People who know me are probably aware that, several years ago, I was more deeply involved in painting. I mainly studied painting as a child as well. Although I did not follow that path professionally, I have always approached painting and art as an observer and a student. Many people unconsciously regard “painting” as a higher form of art and imagine that being an artist is impressive. In reality, art has long since moved away from making things look lifelike and toward self-expression. Opinions differ. Some people believe contemporary art now pursues innovation for its own sake and that tradition still offers much to learn. But looking at the world more broadly, the explosive innovation of art has become difficult to stop from any perspective.

Throughout its history of more than a century, photography has remained entangled with painting—or, more accurately, with traditional art. Some people regard photography as crude, carelessly produced, and infinitely reproducible, while considering painting the only refined, valuable, and unique form of art. From this perspective, photography seems to have no defense. Given its lower barrier to entry, and the longer study and more complex training required to complete a painting, photography may indeed appear less valuable than painting as a craft or an art. Why, then, choose photography?

![Painting and photography](https://afterimage-images.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/duidui/2026/08/01-painting-and-photography-12e2ec429752.jpg)

For me, photography is a freer and fairer way of observing the world. Although I have a foundation in painting and can use it to create, I prefer photography because it lowers the technical barrier while raising the demands of expression.

With the emergence of Dada, Fluxus, and postmodernism, art moved from the skill of making a faithful likeness toward a basis for self-expression. Artistic groups also began to reflect on the idea that art should not be a special product reserved for the wealthy and the ruling class. Art, instead, should be available to ordinary people.

![Art and expression](https://afterimage-images.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/duidui/2026/08/02-art-and-expression-547f68a0e1fb.jpg)

Many people assume that the spread of cameras and the development of smartphones mean everyone can become a photographer. But a good image requires a strong foundation in observing the world. Without it, photography becomes little more than superficial “ornate language,” eventually forgotten with time.

## 02 — How to Photograph

![How to photograph](https://afterimage-images.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/duidui/2026/08/03-how-to-photograph-e6e8bdd2179a.jpg)

When people begin learning photography, they tend to focus on the camera itself. I went through this stage as well. Their attention then shifts to blur and sharpness, crushed shadows and blown highlights. Following this path, however, one quickly reaches its end and enters the dead end of having “nothing left to photograph.”

> My advice to photographers is to get out there in the field and take photographs. But also, if they are students, to finish their course, learn as many languages as possible, go to movies, read books, visit museums, broaden your mind.
>
> — Martine Franck

If you ask what advice I would give a new photographer, I would say that “training yourself to observe the world” can sometimes be more useful than wandering around aimlessly with a camera. The moment of pressing the shutter should not be the product of “luck.” It should be an experiment that brings together “foundations,” “culture,” “an understanding of art,” and “observation of the world.”

## 03 — Stay Curious

Photography remains fresh only when we stay curious about the world.

![Stay curious](https://afterimage-images.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/duidui/2026/08/04-stay-curious-0a4f4e7cae53.jpg)

Photography today should not—and was never meant to—be a gathering of techniques. It should instead be a meeting of ideas. For adults, the hardest thing is to regain a fresh way of seeing. By staying curious and leaving room for imagination in everything, photography can remain “alive.” Otherwise, the image is “dead.”

Treat photography as a tool, and let expression come first.

> Try everything. Photojournalism, fashion, portraiture, nudes, whatever. You won’t know what kind of photographer you are until you try it.
>
> — Alec Soth