Last year, I decided to get back into photography as a way to engage with nature and creativity. Whilst this has been one of the outcomes of revisiting this teenaged hobby of mine, it’s also given me new perspectives on life, provided me with an outlet and allowed me to have moments to myself.

In today’s article, I’m going to explore why I’m so drawn to photography and how it can be used for reflection, creative expression and social change.

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What makes photography an attractive hobby?

Photography can sometimes be seen as a lesser art, perhaps because it doesn’t require the same fine-tuned skills to snap a picture as painting a work of art. I don’t agree with this, obviously, as there are skills required to compose a picture well and to understand your camera settings. That being said, it’s still a very accessible form of art and expression. Here are some reasons I think photography is one of my favourite hobbies:

It’s accessible:
The vast majority of people own a phone with a camera. Whilst this isn’t how I take my ‘artistic’ shots most of the time – I love the physical action of using my Canon 2000D – it does allow people to experiment with shot composition and capturing interesting vistas and views. You don’t need fancy lenses – I shoot almost exclusively with the standard 18-55mm lens, sometimes experimenting with relatively inexpensive magnifying filters. I don’t use expensive software for post-processing – sometimes all I do is basic rotation, cropping and colour balance with built-in apps on my computer or phone.

It changes your perspective:
When you look through a camera lens, you’re literally looking at the world through a new lens. It can help you find beauty in the mundane things around us and notice things you may not have paid attention to before. It can help you reflect on why you find beauty in these things.

I often find myself ruminating on why I’m so entranced by gentle light on cobwebs or the iridescence on the wing of a fly and I think it may be a reflection of how I often feel invisible in life. I’m showing my appreciation to the oft-overlooked details in life and find joy in them because this is sometimes what I feel is missing in my personal life.

It encourages mindfulness:
You need to be aware of your surroundings in order to capture a shot. This forces you to slow down sometimes, scanning for potential subjects. At the same time, it can force you to act quickly to ensure you capture the shot before it’s gone. Slowing down whilst developing quick reactions encourages you to be mindful of everything around you.

It connects you to the world:
I’m a nature enthusiast, and that comprises the vast majority of the images I shoot. I’ve found a new appreciation for tiny creatures and details that I may not have had before. It doesn’t even have to be the natural world you connect with – you might find an interesting scene in urban environments or enjoy photographing portraits of people, machinery or architecture. Whatever your chosen subject, you become more connected to the things around you when you try to frame it in a photograph.

It lets you tell a story:
There’s a story behind every photograph – even if it’s just as simple as why you wanted to take it. The story could be a narrative about yourself or your subject, but I believe there’s a meaning in all of it. Sometimes these stories are obvious – you’ve captured a birthday celebration! Other times, they could be political – you’ve captured the aftermath of something. I remember realising that my photography could have an impact when watching ‘Sea of Hope’ on Disney Plus. In this documentary, in which National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry outlined the importance of photography for environmental reasons: “If we’re not careful it’ll slip through our fingers. It’ll go forever. And it can happen without anyone knowing it. That’s why we need to show them, because once they see it, they care.” In this context, Skerry was discussing recording an aquatic oasis; I think it can be applied to anything. Photography allows you to say something about anything you care about, and the visual medium can be more effective than just words.

Sometimes, I think you can find a story after the fact, when you sit down and reflect on why you felt compelled to capture something with your camera. What was it that drew you to that image in the first place?

I don’t think this is an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re the reasons I love photography and want to encourage other people to engage with it.

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Photography Challenges and Projects to Encourage Reflections

I originally resisted getting back into photography for logistical reasons, convinced that I couldn’t find any interesting subjects locally and would need to travel too far to find anything worth photographing. This changed when I developed a more mindful attitude to the world, and decided to focus on finding the magic in the mundane. I don’t go out with my camera with specific ideas and instead wander around aimlessly with my camera.

That being said, I think it can be useful to have some suggestions on photography projects that encourage reflection when you’re getting started, so I’ve decided to share some prompts to encourage you to use photography as a tool for reflection:

Hidden Worlds
Choose a location and search for small details. It could be fungi hidden in the grass, invertebrates scurrying under logs, patterns in rocks or under leaves. Consider why you find what you photograph interesting – is there something that resonates with you? What could this teach you about yourself or other people?

Seasonal Transitions
This is a longer project, but it’s a great one. I love to visit the same places multiple times per year and photograph them in different seasons. I think it’s incredible how much a place can change throughout the year and how each season brings something different to appreciate. Trees are an easy one to track changes on, but you can make this as complex or simple as you wish. Consider the changes the location has gone through – is there something to be said about resilience? Perhaps cycles of life can remind you that there will always be change. It may remind you that better things are coming. Which season do you enjoy most? Think about what it represents and why this might resonate with you.

Find the Alphabet
This isn’t an original idea at all – it was actually part of my AS Photography coursework. We were tasked with creating the alphabet from everyday objects – finding letters in flowers, in curled ironwork or cracks in bark. I think this task encourages you to focus on things because you really have to slow down and look for specific shapes. It forces you to get creative with your framing to make the letters pop.

Self-Portraits
Although this could be simplified down to a regular selfie, you could challenge yourself to set-dress and focus on different parts of your body and face. Play with lighting using a ring light and see what different parts of you come to light, express different emotions through props and facial expressions. Embrace your insecurities and celebrate the parts of yourself you love. Remember, you don’t need to share these images unless you want to, but it could be very freeing to make art out of something that makes you feel uncomfortable.

A Day in the Life
Take a series of photographs that capture your day – even the most mundane aspects. You could use this to track what you spend your day doing, how you are eating, if you are getting enough activity in. It can also be a chance to discover small moments of beauty in the everyday, encouraging you to see or create something artistic from something as normal as a bowl of porridge! You could even use these images as journal prompts – reflect on them and how they make you feel and why.

As always, these suggestions don’t have to be followed exactly – they’re just suggestions that are supposed to encourage you to find a path. You may be inspired by different elements of multiple suggested projects and choose to combine them; if so, I’d love to hear about the projects you’ve come up with!

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Photography, for me, was the perfect stepping stone to a more visual medium than I’m used to. It’s built my creative confidence and, in turn, encouraged me to explore more expressive mediums than I ever thought I could before. Whether you’re snapping food, landscapes or birds in flight, you have a story that’s worth telling and deserve to see the beauty the world can bring. I hope you feel inspired to look at the world through a new lens – or perhaps the one handily located on your phone.

I’m quite confident in my ability to capture beautiful images and tell a story with them, and I’ve taken the leap to share some prints for sale on my Etsy store. Every print comes with an artist’s note exploring my inspirations, my subjects, and the lessons learnt from nature in the image. As an alternative to the physical prints, I also have digital download versions available via Ko-Fi and Etsy.

If you’re interested in seeing more of my photography, I regularly share it on my Instagram and TikTok – I’d love to see you there! Feel free to drop links to your own portfolios, too.