Noticing Is What Matters
Most people think photography is about the camera. Or the lens. Or the settings.
All nonsense.
The single most important thing in photography is noticing.
Here’s why.
The world doesn’t care if you walk past something interesting.
It doesn’t wave flags at you. Everything is there every day, for everyone. Some people see it, some don’t.
Noticing is about looking at what’s in front of you and actually seeing it. Not what you expect to see. Not what you think you should see. What’s really there.
A cloud. The way light hits a wall. A look between two people. Most won’t even register it. You have to be awake to the moment. That’s half the job—and it’s the most important half.
All the technical stuff is just how you capture what you’ve already noticed. If you haven’t seen it, your photo will be ordinary. Pointless.
It’s like Sherlock Holmes says: people look, but they don’t really observe. In photography, it’s the same. The best photographers aren’t born with magic gear—they’re just more awake. They spot what others miss.
That’s noticing. And that’s why it matters more than anything else.