Something to think about: "The Inception of a Photograph" The steps in making a photograph may be simply outlined as follows: 1. NEED, or DESIRE, to photograph. This attitude is obviously essential. Sometimes just going out with the camera can excite perceptive interests and the desire to work. An assignment - a "purpose" - can be the greatest stimulus for functional or creative work. 2. DISCOVERY of the subject, or RECOGNITION of its essential aspects, will evoke the concept of the image. This leads to the "exploration" of the subject and the optimum point of view. 3. VISUALIZATION of the final picture is essential in whatever medium is used. The function of the photograph as well as the limitations of the equipment and of the process will naturally modify the visualization. The terms "seeing" can be used for visualization, but the latter term is more precise in that it relates to the final picture - its scale, composition, tonal and textural values, etc. Just as a musician "hears" notes and chords in his mind's ear, so can the trained photographer "see" certain values, textures, and arrangements in his mind's eye. The visualization of a photograph involves many extremely swift observations and evaluations, motivated and controlled by intuition and experience. With practice, the placement, adjustment and operation of the camera (and lens) are accomplished with instinctive facility, as are the elements of exposure determination. In fact, for the experienced photographer all of the factors discussed in 1, 2 and 3 above function more or less together as a perceptive-creative system" From: a Hasselblad booklet, Black and White Photography by Ansel Adams, 1980.
