A Story About Taking vs. Making Photographs
I didn’t always know there was a difference.
Like most people, I picked up a camera—first a big one, then eventually an iPhone—and thought that the act of pressing the shutter was the act of photography.
Point. Tap. Done.
That was the job, right?
It took me decades—literally decades—to understand that there’s a chasm between taking a photograph and making one. And once I saw that difference, I never went back.
Let me tell you how it unfolded.
The Snapper Years
In my early years, with a big camera slung over my shoulder, I thought I was doing the real thing. Studio work. Travel gigs. Stock shoots. All the bells and whistles. I was a machine.
But the truth? I was often taking photos, not making them. Not always—but enough to see it now in hindsight.
I had assignments, deadlines, shot lists. The job was to check boxes. Find the product. Get the light right. Nail the exposure. Move on.
There were moments of magic, sure. But most of the time, I was reacting, not crafting. The subject dictated the frame. The client dictated the subject. I showed up, pointed the camera, and took what was in front of me.
And don’t get me wrong—I got paid. I got published. I got praised. But I didn’t always feel connected.
Enter: The iPhone
Then came the shift. The big shift.
I started carrying an iPhone everywhere. Not as a backup. Not as a toy. But as a serious camera. And something changed.
I was no longer tethered to assignments. No longer chasing deliverables. No longer checking off shot lists. I was alone with a small rectangle of glass and a hunger to see differently.
Suddenly, I started making photographs.
I’d walk into a field and wait for the wind to move the grass just right. I’d circle a cactus like it was a sculpture. I’d shoot shadows on the sidewalk at 6:17 pm because I knew that angle wouldn’t last more than a minute.
I wasn’t capturing—I was composing. I wasn’t reacting—I was creating.
I wasn’t taking—I was making.
It’s Not About the Subject. It’s About the Relationship.
You want to know the difference?
It’s not the subject. You can take a boring shot of a breathtaking view, and you can make a haunting photo of a bathroom sink.
The difference is your relationship to the scene. Are you just there? Or are you really there?
Are you rushing? Or are you noticing?
Are you holding your phone like a finger-triggered reflex? Or are you seeing through it like a painter sees their canvas?
Taking is about acquisition. It’s about possession.
Making is about connection. It’s about translation. It’s about expression.
The Airport Test
Let’s do a little test. Let’s say you’re stuck in an airport with 30 minutes to kill. You could take a picture of your gate number. Your overpriced sandwich. A blurry wing out the window.
You’ve seen this stuff on Instagram a thousand times. We all have. These are taken photos. They say, “Here I am.”
Now let’s shift it.
You wander to the window and notice the reflection of an elderly woman in the glass, light filtering through her newspaper. You crouch a little, line it up, wait for the airport cart to pass. You frame. You adjust. You breathe. You click.
You just made a photograph.
Same place. Same tool. Different intention. Different outcome.
Why It Matters
Look, I don’t care if you’re shooting with a Canon, a Sony, a $10K Hasselblad, or a four-year-old iPhone with a cracked screen. The gear doesn’t define this difference.
You do.
And if you’re here, reading this blog, you’re probably ready to start making.
Because this blog isn’t for snap-happy collectors of visual clutter, it’s not for people who want to scroll through 500 photos and hope one “sticks.”
It’s for people who want to shoot less, see more, and walk away with fewer images—but better ones.
I’m not here to shame you if you’re still in the “taking” phase. We’ve all been there. Hell, I still take a ton of throwaway shots. It’s part of the process. No guilt.
But I am here to challenge you. Are you making anything yet? And if not, what’s stopping you? How to Start Making
Here’s a trick I tell students all the time: next time you reach for your camera, pause. Ask yourself:
Why this moment?
What do I want this image to say? How can I wait for it to deepen? What can I remove from the frame?
Don’t just aim and tap. Design. Craft. Make. And most of all: feel it.
Because made photos carry emotional weight. They linger. They breathe. They outlast the scroll.
Final Thought
Photography isn’t magic. But making photographs can feel that way.
And once you feel it—really feel it—it ruins you (in the best way) for shallow snaps and fast likes. You start craving the richness. The slowness. The effort. The art.
So if you’re ready to shift from taking to making, stick around. We’re just getting started.
—Jack
iPhoneJack. I make photographs with a phone. And so can you.
