Spiritual Insights from Street Photography

I never liked shooting photos in a studio. There’s too much gear involved, setting up strobes is a hassle, reflectors and softboxes are cumbersome and require constant fiddling. It’s a lot of work to imitate what already exists in nature.

You can control the studio environment completely. But this comes at a cost of authenticity. After all your effort, you are ultimately left with an artificial reality.

Shooting in natural light has its limitations. The light changes throughout the day, with only a brief “golden hour” in the evening. The weather is unpredictable. And pedestrians, construction, and mobile dumpsters conspire to interfere with your location.

But there is a beauty to working with what already exists. Wrestling with the changing environment becomes a game of its own. The challenge of reframing the ordinary--of showing that life is already beautiful--is immensely rewarding.

Lesson 1: Flexibility
Going into a photoshoot with a hard-set goal in mind will likely leave you discouraged. After days of planning, there’s a good chance the location will be rainy, overcast, windy, or blocked entirely by a parked truck. You can try to fight this, and eventually give up. Or you can use the unexpected to shoot more creative photos. The photographer who surrenders his idea of perfection will often be rewarded with something greater.

In photography, flexibility is a helpful quality. In the spiritual life, it’s downright essential: You need to leave some room for the Holy Spirit to work. Going into prayer with firm expectations is unlikely to be met with success. Meetings with my spiritual director rarely go as I expect. The conversation usually veers from my prepared talking points. But the resulting graces are better than expected, revealing hidden areas for growth.

Lesson 2: No Bad Days
With photography, there are no bad days. Stormy weather might not seem ideal for that summer beach shoot, but the ominous sky, dark waves, and soft, cloudy lighting lend themselves to dramatic landscapes and dynamic portraits. It may take some fortitude to get outside on a 26°F winter morning, but having a backdrop of frosted tallgrass and snowy branches backlit by the sunrise is worth it.

Similarly, times of spiritual desolation, dryness in prayer, or boredom are not enjoyable. But they are temporary. They add variety to our growing relationship with Christ, and keep spiritual life from becoming monotonous. Bring all moments of your life to prayer--happiness, sorrow, anger, and frustration--not just the times you’re feeling pious. God is a great photographer, good enough to reframe every moment into something beautiful.

 Lesson 3: Learn to See
Photography is learning to see something special in the ordinary--through different perspectives and in the right light, the commonplace becomes photo-worthy. Where most people walk past a dirty alley between office buildings without a second glance, the photographer sees beautiful light beams pouring through the dusty haze, a textured brick wall backdrop on one side, and a white wall serving as the perfect reflector to soften shadows on the other.

Similarly, we must develop our “supernatural outlook.” With practice, we begin to notice signs of God’s involvement in our life. We learn to see what we’d otherwise miss; God at work in the smallest parts of our day--a conversation with a friend, an encouraging comment, some fortunate timing, or other “coincidences.” God is always walking with us and watching over us.

Compared to the studio photographer, a street photographer sees the imperfections of life as worth celebrating. They are attracted to the gritty and messy. They seek out imperfection because it’s what makes the photograph real.

It is this reality which we hope to capture and preserve. Yet a photograph remains an imperfect tool.  We are never able to record the full moment – life is always more rich than we can describe. We can document and share, but ultimately this desire to preserve is a reminder that this life is temporary, and that an eternal reality awaits us.

Mr. Korzan is a First Pre-Theology seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington.