Lens of Intent: shoot with purpose, not presets
If you can say your photograph in a sentence, you can build it with discipline. Intent is the cheapest upgrade a photographer can buy, because it costs thought, not money. The sentence is your thesis: what the frame should feel like and why it exists. Once it’s clear, you’ll choose focal length, angle, timing, light, color, and edit in one direction. Presets become polish, not a crutch, and your edit time drops because you’re selecting variations of one idea—not rescuing a bag of random attempts.
Write the sentence first
Try this template: “I’m making [subject] feel [adjective] by using [tool/approach], placed against [environment], for [audience].” Example: “I’m making the founder feel resilient by using low 35mm perspectives and short side light in a raw workshop for a B2B landing page.” That single sentence pushes you toward a 24–35mm lens, a lower stance for authority, subtractive lighting to add grit, and background choices that feel industrial, not polished office. Gear follows language.
Don’t worry about being perfect; aim to be specific. Specific sentences prevent contradiction on set: if your thesis says “quiet, contemplative,” you won’t chase jumping-in-the-air shots because they don’t serve the idea. When the client distracts with “can we try something fun,” you can say, “We can, but it will depart from the quiet tone we agreed to—want to lock this first” Intent protects the assignment and the photographer alike.
Make decisions once
Decide look variables in a preflight checklist and stick to them unless the story requires change:
- Focal range: commit to two lenses max. Wide/normal for involvement, short tele for intimacy without distortion.
- Height and distance: choose one “default” perspective so subjects feel consistent across frames.
- Lighting bias: backlit and airy vs. side-lit and sculpted. Both can be beautiful; mixing them at random kills cohesion.
- Color palette: wardrobe and background before post. If teal accents and warm skin are the goal, don’t park your subject beside a red bus stop.
- Motion strategy: frozen action for clarity or panned blur for energy. Pick one so your set doesn’t look indecisive.
When you commit, your brain frees up to direct people instead of toggling menus. Photographers appear confident when their choices look deliberate, and clients relax into direction they can understand.
Story beats, not shot lists
Shot lists are valuable, but story beats are better. A beat is a mini-moment with a goal: “hands setting up equipment,” “eyes off-camera thinking,” “a shared laugh with the assistant.” For each beat, pre-visualize the composition and light that best sells the feeling. Beats keep momentum on set because you’re chasing moments with purpose, not ticking boxes mechanically. They also make client review easier—beats map to use cases like hero banner, product detail, or social vertical.
Lens choice is language
Focal length is a voice, not a number. A 28mm draws the viewer in and exaggerates near/far relationships; it feels energetic and present. A 50mm reads as honest and invisible—what many people think their eyes see. An 85–105mm isolates and flatters, ideal for authority and clean backgrounds. When your sentence says “energetic,” you know a 28–35mm is likely the right call. When it says “calm authority,” the short tele glow is your friend. Decide once and keep it consistent for the set; your final grid will sing in one key.
Directing with verbs
Presets can’t direct people; photographers can. Use verbs. Instead of “look natural,” ask for “shift weight to your back foot, inhale, then look toward the window.” Instead of “smile,” try “think about the first customer who believed in you.” Verbs give the body something to do and the mind something to recall; the face follows. Match your verbs to intent: for quiet, ask for slower movements and long exhales. For energy, ask for quick steps and a repeatable action like “spin the stool half turn.” Intent shapes direction and direction shapes expression.
Edit by thesis
After the shoot, put your sentence at the top of the grid. Cull fast using it as a judge: does the frame serve the thesis If not, pass—even if it looks cool. Group selects by beat, then synchronize baseline corrections across sets to maintain consistency. Reserve local adjustments for true heroes. When you measure your edit against intent, your gallery feels like a campaign, not a collection of unrelated wins. Clients notice. They hire photographers who can deliver a story, not just an image.
A quick field routine
- Write your one-sentence thesis.
- Pick focal length pair, lighting bias, and palette.
- Define three story beats and one safety portrait.
- Block your first setup to match the thesis; move humans before gear.
- Edit with the sentence visible; reject cool-but-off-message frames.
Intent is leverage. It filters options and accelerates decisions so you can spend your energy where it matters—on people, timing, and light. That’s how a photographer stops chasing looks and starts making pictures that look like they belong to them.