The Importance of Removing Preconceived Notions in Street Photography

The Problem with Preconceived Ideas

Having a preconceived idea about what a place may be like kills creative vitality. If you go to a certain location expecting something in return, with an attachment to an outcome, you will suffer.

Liberation Through Detachment

When you’re detached from any preconceived ideas of what you will find or what you will photograph, you liberate yourself and enter a flow state.

Knowing Too Much About Photography

One particular idea I have about preconceived notions in street photography is that we know too much about photography. We carry ideas in our head of what a photograph should look like or what we want to create. But when you remove that from your mind and let your photograph come from your heart, then you truly begin.

The Limits of Expectation

When you hold onto the image of a book you’ve seen or a photograph you want to replicate, you become limited by that perception of what your photographs can become.