“When you go out with your camera, tell yourself: ‘Today I am a photographer’”

Let’s start with learning. Say I’ve just got my first ‘proper’ camera. What should I do?

Take lots of pictures! Learning photography is like learning to play a musical instrument. You’ll only get better if you do it a lot – like practising your instrument. Sometimes you have to do it even when you don’t feel like it. Make a schedule. Say it’s Sunday – tell yourself you have to take your camera wherever you go. The best way to get better is to take pictures every single day. Some people are motivated by travel and take pictures of that. Or if you have another hobby, like a sport, take your camera there. The important thing is to take pictures.

Some people feel a little self-conscious with a camera at first, don’t they?

It’s a huge challenge. Everyone has a phone these days, but not many people walk around with a big camera. I find the best way to approach this is turn it on its head and tell yourself, “I have a camera, today I am a photographer”. And that’s the great thing about photography – anyone can be a photographer. I always tell my students at the university, before they even start, “From today, you are a photographer”. And it’s kind of a joke but it’s also deadly serious. It’s a wonderful thing to wander round with a camera – embrace it! Always ask permission to take pictures and most of the time people are fine with it.

What if people are stuck in a rut, taking the same pictures again and again?

The best thing to do is find other people to be with, because it’s very difficult to become unstuck on your own. Meeting people online is good but there’s no substitute for meeting others interested in photography in person. Show each other your pictures, talk about photography, join a club, surround yourself with people who are just as crazy about photography as you are! Everyone needs encouragement. If we all give that to each other we all win. My students learn more from each other than they learn from me. My job is to create the space where they can do that. They can make mistakes, they can experiment, they can inspire each other.

Is pushing yourself into different genres helpful?

Completely. That’s the beauty of photography. There are so many ways to express yourself. I want people to explore all these different kinds of photography and then find the corner of that world that suits them best. Find what motivates you and be open to other fields in photography because there will be things to learn from them that you can translate into your area.

How important is the gear?

We have a saying in my classes: “It’s not the camera, it’s the photographer”. You can have a full frame, crop sensor, budget or pro-level. You can have one lens or a lot of lenses. Doesn’t matter. The important thing is that you have good quality gear, you understand it, you enjoy being with it and it gets you results you like. And the best way to get to know your gear inside out is by experimenting with it. The main thing is there is no right and wrong, which can be confusing for some at the start, but it’s a wonderful, freeing thing. It creates a space where you can say, “I can try things. I can’t do anything wrong”. You must be able to make mistakes, otherwise you will lose the joy of doing it.

Christoph’s top tips for improving your photography

1. “I have total respect for any photographer in any genre who does it with intensity. You cannot do it halfway. And that’s whether you get paid or whether you are a keen amateur. Intensity counts.”
   
   
2. Use different camera modes. “My big secret is that when I was covering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the New York Times I always shot in Programme mode. Colleagues thought I was mad – they all shot in full Manual and were proud of it. I photographed everything with autofocus and P mode and those pictures won awards.”
   
   
3. Like your gear. “If you’re a musician, you have to understand your instrument, but you also have to like it. The same is true for photography. Find quality gear you feel comfortable with and learn how to have complete control over it. The important thing is that your gear does not get in the way of your creative vision.”
   
   
4. There are no rules. “If you want to shoot portraits with a 35mm lens, and you love it, go for it. If you want to shoot with modes, do that – I did. Play with crops. Try unusual image ratios. I never question anything my students do with their cameras. If you’re happy with the outcome and you get a good exposure, it’s fine.”
   
   
5. Take pictures. “It’s not just that you will get better the more pictures you take, it will also help keep your love of photography alive.”
   
   
6. Connect with others. “There are photography clubs all over Europe – Nikon School offers great classes and workshops where you can learn a lot and meet other people.”

What’s it like to go on a Fotobus trip?

We go behind the scenes with students Paul Geiersbach and Carlotta Steinkamp

What made you want to apply to Fotobus?

Paul: I learned about it when I was applying to university. At that time I was still at school and there was no one around me who was as interested in photography as I was. I thought it would be great to have such a large community supporting each other, sharing their ideas and stories and being really curious about photography in general.

What trips did you go on?

Paul: I’ve been on five. My first was in the spring of 2023 to Bad Münder, then in 2024 I visited Leipzig, Bad Münder again, Arles and Paris.

Carlotta: I’ve been on many since 2019, but the one that sticks out the most was the Rencontres d’Arles, an international festival of photography, in 2024.

How was the experience?

Paul: Really amazing. You get to meet so many new young people who are as interested in photography as you are. I’ve had so many fascinating conversations with others about photography that I would really miss if I wasn’t there.

Carlotta: Arles is like a reunion for photographers every year! During the opening week the bus itself is parked in the courtyard of a photography school, where we display photo books on folding tables, hold artist talks with well-known photographers and organise a party together with the school. No matter where the Fotobus is parked it’s always a central point of contact when you are out and about in the city.

What was your favourite moment of the Arles trip?

Peter: Riding our folding bikes around the city. It’s really cool because the bus has almost 100 bikes and they’re going around the city and every time you see someone on a bike you say hello even if you don’t know them. Then in the evening you come together and eat the food that people have cooked for everyone.

Carlotta: My best moment last year was lots of Fotobus students attending a small exhibition I did with a few other photography students in a little gallery at Arles.

How did the trip improve your photography?

Carlotta: You get so much inspiration from the exhibitions of great photographers and hearing them talk about their work, which always helps me to reflect and improve my own photographic methods.

Peter: Yes, seeing these amazing projects has given me a lot of visual influences. Also, the talks that people give on the bus are so interesting. It’s great to hear how people like Alec Soth, Gregory Halpern, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, Rafał Milach, Sabiha Çimen and many others developed their projects. Learning through listening and sharing has helped me a lot in creating my own photographic stories and looking at my own images. I’ve had opportunities that I would never have imagined as a normal photo student.

How important was the element of collaboration and learning from each other?

Peter: For me, it’s a really important element, maybe the most important. Sometimes it’s not even about photography, it’s just about life in general. But even if someone organises a small workshop about something to share their skills, it’s a low-threshold opportunity to learn.

Carlotta: Exactly. Fotobus is kind of a DIY project for the students. If there are struggles during the trip, there will always be people to figure it out. Each day, we form taskforces for the current to-dos, where people can also decide to do what they are best at or what interests them the most.

For more information on Fotobus read more here.