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Photography as a Form of Personal Therapy

Chris Gampat
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05/01/2016
2 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Tamron 85mm f1.8 Di VC extra sample images dumbo (4 of 6)ISO 4001-200 sec at f - 1.8

Last Updated on 05/01/2016 by Chris Gampat

Many of us have found ourselves in photography as a way of coping with the tough times. Why? It’s a distraction and helps us get time to process some of the more difficult things in life. Like all forms of art though, it takes concentration, dedication to a craft, and most importantly can serve as a way for you to creatively express your feelings.

Afterall, photography is an art form; and art is a way of expressing oneself.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Zeiss 85mm f1.4 Milvus review portrait extras (6 of 6)ISO 4001-500 sec at f - 2.2

So how do you use it as therapy? One way that I did it was to write down feelings I had. They don’t need to be cohesive sentences, just jot down ideas and think clearly. The thought process is part of how you’ll learn to channel what you’re feeling. When you get these words down, start word associations to link these feelings or ideas to tangible things in the real world.

Then go photograph these things: and don’t put limits on yourself. When you put limits on yourself you limit how the message is conveyed and interpreted. It’s not good for your art as art is expressive and free. Doing this is best when you’re still fresh in these rough times: it’s a way to channel the negative energy that you’re experiencing and turn it into something positive not only for your art, but for you.

Does this sound crazy to you? Lots of photographers do it. Many found themselves in photography as a therapy or a way to express themselves. The Phoblographer features many surreal photographers and they always feel like it’s the best way for them to express themselves.

It’s not only the end result that’s important though: for many photographers it’s about the process. The process of shooting film and forcing your mind to pay attention to all the important aspects of an image will also help translate this energy.

All of this comes with a creative vision: and the free word association helps you build one. A pinhole photographer can get into a fight with a family member, go out and shoot, and while trying to concentrate hard on capturing a scene that they’ve got in their head, also get involved with the process to express themselves creatively by creating the scene.

 

 

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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.