How do you express yourself through photography?

Question:I love photography, and some tell me I'm really good at it. I feel like I am able to capture a situation well, but I don't necessarily feel like I am expressing myself through it as one would do with drawing or painting. I feel like photography is something that I may consider one of my strengths, but I need tips on how I should go about further expressing myself through it instead of simply capturing a moment. I want the photos to have a part of me in them(not necessarily physically speaking). I don't want to simply feel like I am hiding behind the camera.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I love photography, and some tell me I'm really good at it. I feel like I am able to capture a situation well, but I don't necessarily feel like I am expressing myself through it as one would do with drawing or painting. I feel like photography is something that I may consider one of my strengths, but I need tips on how I should go about further expressing myself through it instead of simply capturing a moment. I want the photos to have a part of me in them(not necessarily physically speaking). I don't want to simply feel like I am hiding behind the camera.

expressing your self is not just about taking a good image it is about showing a side to the imag showing people how feel about the subject. you could take a photo in a very cold day but show the sun coming up over a calm sea giving the impression it is warm. you are taking elements from the day to give an impression of the day.
you could shoot a flower next to a road but if the road is not in the shot and the flower looks like it is on its own in the countryside you are expressing the Beauty
of the flower and not a flower at the side of a road. you are showing what you see, but the way only you see it. That is expressing your self
Good luck

perhaps express it through ur expressions or the background of ur photograph. alos u could try different lightings etc

I'm proud of you. I don't know how and where to start. I would like to go through your work first.

I can certainly relate to what you describe. As a photographer you capture images if you happen to be at the right place at the right time. Artists who draw and/or paint seem to have more expression at their disposal than a good or great photographer. As I drive or walk outside I often come across a scene and I might say to myself that would make a good picture. When I see a great picture I say to myself, wow, that photo really captures what happened at that moment. I have learned that if you get in the habit of deleting 50 pictures for every 100 shots you take people will naturally think you're a great photographer. Just my two cents...

You already are expressing yourself, the choice of subject, the viewpoint, what drew your eye, are all expressions of you. Somebody else would not create the same portfolio of a place or person as you would.

The opposite is more difficult, trying to get the subjects thoughts, feelings, moods is far trickier. In a portrait shoot I keep asking myself what viewpoint, angle expression does my model want, it's called empathy and really colours your view of them.

Try shooting somebody you Love or Respect and compare your results with a subject that bores or angers you to see what I mean. Or go to a location you know well when you have just broken up with a girlfriend, or you are freshly in Love to see what I mean.

Some of the best shot's have nothing of the photographer in them they're all about the subject, which is how it should be, they are the important thing, not you.

Chris

I express myself by seeing what others don't see. I'm constantly looking for abstract patterns of reflections in disturbed water or patterns in old tree trunks or in gnarled vines or in tall grass that has been beaten down by wind and rain.

I express myself by using a macro lens to get up close and personal with small flowers or bees or butterflys or dragonflys. In the Spring I look for emerging shoots of plants that were cut back. Using the macro allows me to show a flowering plant's first buds before they're fully open.

I express myself by getting out in the snow and cold and getting photos of scenes that many people never see because they're inside.

I express myself by doing in-camera double and multiple exposures. A flower superimposed over a rough stone takes on a new meaning. Clouds photographed with first a red filter, then a green filter and then a blue filter creates an interesting (to me) landscape.

I express myself by being out in the pre-dawn to capture the first light illuminating a grove of trees in full bloom. Early morning can also be a good time to find a single ray of light on a small clump of flowers.

I express myself by photographing my grandchildren.