Sketching and Photography

For many years I considered myself one of those people left behind by a natural inclination to draw and for drawing skills. As I’ve become more serious about my photography though I have realized that one of the most important things I can do to improve my photographs is to learn more about composition.

Composition isn’t something which can be learned overnight, nor is it exclusive to photography. It is something that can be found in any art form with a visual aspect. This has led me to take up drawing and sketching in particular. I’m have not always been one for hyper realistic artwork outside of photography much preferring to lean on painters like Monet and Picasso in the past. However, I have fallen pretty hard for Bierstadt, and his landscapes which are great studies for photographers!

So I have taken to drawing and sketching out photographs of my own and others. Sketching is about exploration. There is no right or wrong here. All you need to do is pick up a pencil or crayon or charcoal, and get going. I love that I can sit down and learn about the shape and shade of a lizard or a tree, and how these things are put together.

Rather than looking at “becoming serious” about any of this, I think the act of creating and exploring is something that we lose when we focus too much on the work of “content creation.” I enjoy making videos and photos available on social media, but I also recognize the trap inherent in this. If something is valuable to me (or to someone else) that is all that matters. Not making it or creating a legacy.

And in this roundabout way I’ve discovered drawing and sketching as a way to improve my composition skills, but also as a way to remember that art is about the act and creating itself.