Anyone who has taught writing or has taken a writing class in the last 20 years will know exactly what is meant by the question, “Who is your audience?” Understand the needs and wants of the people who will be reading your work and it will be more effective and successful, right? Makes perfect sense.
Last night I was listening to a podcast by landscape photographer Alain Briot, and he asked the same question to photographers. “Who is your audience? Who is going to look at your pictures?” I was startled! An audience for my pictures? Well, me of course, maybe my flickr contacts?
Suddenly the question seemed a lot harder to answer. And if I couldn’t answer it, how could I make photos that would be effective and understood? And what is it exactly that I’m trying to do with photography?
That’s a lot of questions. And I found a wonderful answer in week two of the The Artist’s Rule. She starts with Thomas Moore’s definition of religion as being in service to the mysteries of life: birth, love, suffering, work and death. He concludes:
The arts serve this kind of religion by giving us strong images for contemplation, for reflecting on the life-defining mysteries, and for educating ourselves so we can live them out more creatively. (Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life)
So, who is my audience? Seekers. Not just “religious” people, not just Christians, but people who are seeking. How will that change what I produce?
Have you thought about this question? Who is your audience?
Oooh, very intriguing post, Jessica. You’ve asked some good questions. I always think about my audience when writing blog posts, and I generally think about my audience when posting photos on Flickr (to a lesser extent, when I’m actually taking the photos). The conclusion I’ve been coming to as of late, though, is that my audience doesn’t matter all that much. A bit startling , isn’t it? And it goes against all that marketers and “experts” tell us. For months and months now, I’ve spent a good part of my mornings praying the Rosary and the daily readings in Magnificat. It has definitely changed me for the better, and one change I’ve noticed is that I’m becoming more comfortable with humility, more comfortable shrugging off the need for affirmation from others. I’m less manic about posting my photos to as many groups as possible, less hurt when I get no comments on my blogs or photos. I’m also becoming less apologetic about who I really am. I’ve always been incredibly concerned about “what will so-and-so think if I post this?” Little by little, those concerns are falling away, and I’m becoming content. It’s a journey, and I like the direction in which I’m heading. There are a few scattered days in which I feel like I’m taking a step or two backwards, but thankfully, they are few and far between.