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Howzit everyone!

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Have you ever stood next to another photographer, shooting the same scene, and got two radically different results? Often, when you look at their image and wonder how they created something special, your photo seems just 'o.k.'?
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The Main Frame:

Not long ago, a member of the TPE Tribe asked for feedback on his photos. Again and again, people told him: “Your images need more focus.”

At first, he thought they meant sharpness. You know — the technical kind of focus. But the feedback wasn’t about whether his lens was locked on properly. It was about something harder to pin down: clarity of purpose.

And that distinction is one many photographers struggle with. I know I did. In the early days, I thought that if I pointed my camera at something beautiful, the photo would automatically be beautiful too. But as most of us eventually discover, it doesn’t work like that.

To explain this, let’s borrow an image from the stage.

• Technical focus is like the lights, the scenery, and the costumes. You need them for the performance to happen.
• Creative focus is the script. It’s what gives the actors direction.

Without that script, you might have everything sharp and clear, but the play is just people wandering around aimlessly. And photographs can be the same.

Let me show you what I mean.

Same Place, Different Photographs

Take Cambridge, just down the road from me. It’s full of world-famous views — the backs of the colleges, the bridges, the punts drifting down the river. Thousands of photographers stand in the same spots every year. Yet the photos they walk away with can feel radically different.

Here’s one example. In the first photograph, you see a bridge placed neatly in the center, leading lines pulling you in, and some pleasant light streaming through the trees. On paper, it checks a lot of boxes: symmetry, composition, strong shapes.

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And yet… it feels a bit empty. Technically fine, but lacking something deeper. There’s no clear sense of what the image is about. The bridge is there, yes, but it doesn’t feel like it has anything to say.

Now, compare it to another photograph taken from the exact same spot. This time, there’s a single punt gliding across the river. That one choice changes everything. Suddenly, the empty water becomes a stage for stillness and solitude. The river isn’t just blank space anymore — it carries the weight of the mood. The bridge leads you in gently, and your eye meanders through the frame, supported by details that all whisper the same message: calm, quiet, serenity.
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Same place. Same bridge. Almost the same frame. Yet one image feels flat while the other feels alive. Why? Because in the second, the photographer made a decision: this is what the photograph is about.
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How to Test Your Own Photos

So how do you know if your photos have this kind of focus?

Here’s a simple test I use:
👉 After you take a photo, ask yourself: “Can I describe what this picture is about in one sentence — without mentioning camera settings?”

If you can say, “This is about the serenity of the river” or “This is about the busy energy of the punts,” then your photo has direction. If you find yourself hesitating or saying, “Well, it’s just everything in the frame,” then maybe the image is missing that clarity.

You can also try the finger-point test: show the photo to someone else and ask them, “What’s the most important thing here?” If they all point to the same spot, you’re on track. If their fingers scatter in different directions, the image might lack focus.

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The Big Lesson

Sharp focus makes a photo clear to the eye. Creative focus makes it clear to the mind.​
And when you have both, that’s when your images move beyond the postcard-pretty and begin to carry weight, mood, and meaning.

So next time you’re out with your camera, don’t just ask yourself: “Is this sharp?” Ask: “What’s this really about?”​
Because that one choice — deciding the purpose of your photograph — can turn an ordinary picture into something brilliant.
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Inspiring Me This Week:

Michael Kenna
​https://www.michaelkenna.com/​
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Michael Kenna is a photographer who understands this idea better than most. He has spent decades revisiting the same landscapes — bridges, trees, rivers, industrial sites — and yet each photograph feels different. The difference isn’t the location. It’s the decision behind the image.

One photo might be about stillness, another about form, another about shadow. Kenna shows us that clarity of focus isn’t about where you stand, but what you choose to see.

Inside the Tribe:

Here is an in-depth chat we had about this topic last Wednesday in the Tribe
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When you next head out with your camera, remember: sharpness will make your photo clear to the eye, but creative focus will make it clear to the mind. Decide what your picture is about — and suddenly even the most familiar scenes can come alive in new ways.
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Thanks for being here this week
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Alex
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P.S
If you’d like to dig deeper into ideas like this, share your own photos, and get feedback that helps you grow, that’s exactly what we do inside the TPE Tribe. It’s our space for photographers who want more than likes — a community where you can develop your vision and your voice. Join us here​