A few weeks ago, I caught a segment with Jimmy Kimmel. His guest was Gordon Ramsey, renowned chef and restaurant owner. Jimmy asked him how he teaches new chefs and his reply was he first teaches them how to taste. He didn't say he teaches them a complicated cooking technique like how to sous vide a duck leg. He says to be a good chef you have to know how to taste.

The same is true with photography. You have to learn how to see. What a minute...I've been seeing all my life. Yes, you've also been tasting too, but for a chef it's different kind of tasting, and for photographers it's a different kind of seeing. Let's breakdown a shot of mine, and how I saw it.

I was out this past weekend during the Spring Snow, and I spotted these flowers planted by the mailbox in front of a house. It's a classic shot of contrasting colors, seasons, temperature, and textures. So, I had to turn around and shoot it. I knew I wanted a blurred background so I set a wide aperture on my lens. I was only interested in isolating one of the bloom clusters, and a cluster of an odd number is more pleasing than even ones so I picked a cluster of three. I created a subtle diagonal line with the in focus bloom and the out of focus ones in the background to help move you thru the image. Overall, its a pleasing image.

This is seeing with a photographer's eye. First, you see. Then, you decide what settings to use on the camera to recreate what you saw, and how you want to present it to the viewer.

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Troy is a Landscape and Portrait Photographer. He lives in Lancaster, PA with his wife and cats. He is a member of the Professional Photographers Association. He can be reached at tsniderphotography@icloud.com or 717-808-2384