I recently had a conversation with an individual during one of my photowalks in Portland, Maine. The individual, let’s call her “Jane”, had been shooting photos for a while and had participated in a couple photo contests at a local camera club. I didn’t know Jane at very well, but it wasn’t the first of my photowalks she had attended either.  Our conversation started when she pulled me aside to ask why everybody seemed so thrilled with the light from the overcast sky. I pointed out the usefulness of the lack of harsh shadows and the great fill light bouncing off the snow, but Jane was still dubious.
“It all just looks flat and grey. I can’t get my camera to make it look good, like normal.” Jane said. “How do I make the pictures look interesting?”
I went on to explain the use of depth of field, composition, and subject matter and how it helps to try and tell a story or convey an emotion with a photograph, no matter the lighting conditions. I explained that an overcast day allowed greater flexibility in composition practices because the photographer would have a wider contrast ratio to work with and wouldn’t have to worry about losing data in the blacks or whites on the image file.
After I paused to hear her reaction to my explanation she responded with, “Where did you learn about this? Did you go to school for photography?”
“Honestly” I said, “though I did have to take a class in film photography for my degree, I learned most of what I know through books and practical application. That holds true particularly in regards to light theory.”
Jane responded with, “Oh, but I hate reading. I want someone to teach me photography.”
“Have you considered taking a class for photography?” I suggested, trying not to debate that she’d have to read sooner or later.
“I don’t want to pay anyone. Isn’t there any way I can just learn it for free? And don’t say ‘the internet’ because that doesn’t work.” She retorted.
Thankfully, I was saved from arguing my point with her as other photowalk attendees stopped to find out what we were looking at. Upon returning home I started thinking about what Jane had said and her attitude toward learning the traditional way. I came up with a simple formula regarding learning any creative topic of your own volition.
There are three factors involved in choosing a source for learning: 1. inexpensive, 2. widely available, and 3. worthwhile content. Of these three factors you can only obtain two from a singular source. How does this play out? Well, if Jane wants to learn photography for free then “inexpensive” becomes the given factor for her and the source is either widely available but not worthwhile, or the source is worthwhile but not widely available. In her case the most worthwhile source would be someone willing to train her, one on one, for free – not widely available but definitely the best method according to her wants. Alternatively, the most widely available free source of learning for Jane would be the library or internet, but her attitude towards these sources indicates she would perceive them as not worthwhile. What Jane would probably be better off searching for is the tutorship found in classes (I.e. worthwhile and widely available, but not inexpensive).
So, can photography be learned for free? Yes, absolutely, if the future photographer is willing to put in the time to find quality sources through their local library, the internet, friendly tutorship, or by working as an unpaid assistant.

One source I also find invaluable is podcasts like “This Week in Photo” and “Photofocus”.

If you have no-one in your network that can mentor you in your pursuit, consider joining a photo-club and discussing the desire to be an assistant to one of the pros. There’s usually someone who needs willing interns that want to learn.

If I had a nickle for every time someone told me they didn’t have an imagination, I’d be a billionaire. If I had another nickle for every time those same people turned around and did something rather imaginative the very next second, I’d be even richer. Everyone has an imagination. Not every imagination is encouraged to range freely. Some people associate not having a wild imagination with not having one at all, but they’re wrong. If they have ever held back a thought in conversation, they have imagined the outcome of the thought and determined it to be worth holding back. If they have ever seen something that they didn’t like, they have imagined the thing’s impact on their lives and thought of something they preferred instead. If they have ever listened to a new piece of music, then the parts they didn’t know, they imagined, to make the listening experience smoother. Those are just a few of the myriads of mundane examples in which the average person uses their imagination every day. There are a multitude of other more “creative” versions for defining imagination, but this just goes to prove that every sentient life-form has the capability for imagination (even if only in defining the term).

So, what is everyone complaining about? The common misconception or complaint about “not having an imagination” stems from the thought that imagination makes itself know through some sort of physical outpouring. Artists, inventors, musicians, and thinkers are all perceived by others as having a big “I” Imagination due to the physical form the ideas take. Whereas, the average person’s own imagination goes unrecognized due to its purely internal form. The key to seeing oneself as having an imagination is the act of cultivating current imaginings in a free range situation. Here is a simple example:

A person perceives a chair and judges it to be not of their liking. The first thought in their mind determines the course of their imagination. Why don’t they like that chair? Is it too big, too small, just right but the wrong color? The wrong size is this example’s reason. The choice of “wrong size” indicates that the “right size” is being imagined. The person is then shown the same chair in the size they desired, but then something odd happens in their brain. This new chair is the right size, but it is not exactly “right” for some reason. In a customer/client discussion the next question is nearly always the same, “What else is there?” This simple question is derived from the subconscious act of imagining the perfect image, feeling, position, function, etc that is wanted when sitting in the new chair.

I’m certain the point is clear. There is no action or inaction taken by humans that does not have some element of imagination powering it. Letting that imagination run wild is the “free range” of imagining needed to push the average imagination into the realm of perceived Imagination. Take the example of the chair as described above and think about your own perfect chair. As you think about it let your imagination go free. It may take some practice if you perceive yourself as un-imaginative (only because your own misconception of the term “imagination” is holding you back). Write down, or say, every element of the perfect chair that comes to mind. Somewhere down that list you’ll realize something new. You just described a chair that doesn’t exist, and is something that no one else would have described exactly like you just did. The next step towards the perceived Imagination is creating a physical representation of that chair. Make it, make a model of it, draw it in some medium, or describe it in detail in writing or audio recording.

The point here is simple. Everyone has an imagination. It’s what you do with it that counts.