Photography Advice I Wish Someone Told Me Sooner
Photography is a very nuanced craft.
There are many different types of photography and there are many different ways to go about it.
And it’s often when we think about learning photography, we focus on the orienting of our camera, the settings, the editing, but never our own psychology.
5 years into my journey and I now understand how deep of a role things like “mindset” play into the craft.
If I knew and understood these things in Year 1, it would have made my progression much easier.
Today I’m going to share these with you, because I wish someone had told me sooner.
Your Photography Improves When You Stop Trying to Get Good
A very counter-intuitive thing about photography was the harder I tried to get good the less I felt like I was getting good.
I used to think intention and wanting something drove improvement, but they don’t.
They only drive action, which in turn drives improvement.
But technically I can want something, anything, so badly that it’ll kill me if I don’t have it - but it wont determine whether I get it or not.
Say for example I want the Fujifilm x100vi really really bad.
It’s sold out everywhere, resale prices are insane, but I want it.
Me wanting it, isn’t going to get me it.
However, me wanting it, saving up the money, and then buying it, is going to get me the camera.
Does that make sense?
The same applies towards getting better.
Wanting to get better is only useful in the sense that it leads you to take action.
But besides that it just makes you feel insufficient and beats yourself up for no reason.
Stop focusing on “getting good” and instead focus on the actions that will lead you to improve - like taking and editing more photos.
Do that enough times and you will get better.
Plus, your images will be much more natural, less forced, and you’ll be able to capture moments better.
In other words, your photography improves when you stop trying to get good.
Invest Less Money in Gear and More in Time Taking Photos
This one should sound shockingly obvious, but for many beginners it’s hard to actually apply.
Because a big part of the reason why we got into photography in the first place was because of the cameras.
We’d see all these cool cameras that other people are using, and we’d want that for ourselves.
Plus, a lot of social media posts where people are actually showing their photography are filled with comments asking, “Yo bro, what camera or lens are you using?”
Therefore, even though we know that the gear only makes up part of the picture, we still seek it as the solution for our creative problems.
But the sooner you apply this mindset of:
“I’m just going to take photos with what I have”,
The sooner you can learn more about photography, learn what gear actually suits you, and spend your money smartly.
So spend less money on gear, spend more time taking photos, and you’ll benefit greatly in the long run.
Your Photos Will Look Good to Some and Crap to Others
In my obsession to take nice looking photos, I realized something important.
There are many ways to take a nice photo.
There are many different appealing color grades, aesthetics, styles, placements, etc.
And none is superior to the other because art is all apples to oranges.
What that means is that your photos will look good to some people and look like garbage to others.
And that’s okay.
That’s simply how things work.
If you know and acknowledge that, it means that you can focus on your aesthetic, the aesthetic you want to have, or the one you naturally gravitate towards.
And in doing so, you’ll find yourself much more at peace with photography.
It’s no longer about finding what “looks the best”.
It’s about finding what “looks good to me”.
You’ll Be Changing Your Mind All the Time
I think myself and many others are constrained by things we’ve said in the past.
Meaning, we’ve had a previous belief about what we liked or didn’t like and now we’re committed to liking that thing for the rest of our lives because we used to like it so much.
This could apply to photography, a food or drink, or just anything in life.
But over time one of the things I realized was: my mind changes all the time.
Certain things remain consistent, but I flip flop on a lot of things as well.
Some days I’m sure this is what I want to do, other days I wonder if I took the right path.
Some days I enjoy photography, other days I really don’t feel like it.
From the big picture like why you’re doing this, to the little things like your preferred settings, your mind changes all the time.
And instead of trying to find the right or perfect solution, just be flexible.
Be adaptable to your current preferences at the time.
And don’t try to hang on to any fixed idea or belief.
Because that’ll only hold you back.
It’s okay to change your mind.
Every Photographer is Different
A big thing I wish I realized sooner was that every photographer is different.
Now this sounds obvious but there’s a difference between knowing the statement and understanding and applying it to your own life.
I knew people were different, but I used to still worry about whether or not the photos I was taking were worth taking.
There were moments when I’d compare myself to others subconsciously, even though the comparisons themselves made no sense.
And if you’d dropped me in the same situations with the same cameras, there’s no telling what kind of photos I’d get.
So I’d do things for example like: take a random photo of a nice sunset when I’m on a trip.
And then I’d look back at it later and think things like “Well it’s no Ansel Adams photo.”
“Well it’s not some special street photo that others will look at and be captured by.”
You know, silly things that my mind was telling itself subconsciously in an effort to devalue what I was doing.
Looking at the photo for what it wasn’t rather than what it was.
And as time passed, I learned to ignore this comparison.
Because logically, I knew it was silly.
Why would I compare two completely different photos as if they were comparable?
Why would I look towards other photographers as the foundation for what I should be doing?
It was stupid.
Every photographer is different, every photographer takes photos for different reasons.
Meaning, do your thing, take the photos you want to take, and stop fussing about whether it’s good to begin with.
Seek to create and find your photography specifically.
And just focus on making your version of photography better and better.
And don’t trip about what it isn’t, because one photo can’t be everything.
Got it?
Stop Justifying Your Photos to Others
An issue I used to have with photography, and still occasionally have, is that I always felt like I needed to justify my photos.
I always felt like I needed to explain what I was doing, why I was doing it, and why it was worth doing.
Perhaps part of me didn’t want to be misunderstood; the other felt insecure about what I was creating.
Even when making my photography zine “The Sinking Sun”, although it was a project I’d been working on and really wanted to make, I still had to justify to myself why it was a project worth making.
And I’d do this over and over from photography, to YouTube videos, to other creative projects.
When in reality, I should have just not worried about it and made whatever I wanted to make.
I find this to be a common struggle for artists.
Because a lot of our stuff is subject to the outside opinion of others, it’s easy to look at your own work and do all these mental gymnastics around the “purpose”.
When the purpose itself could be as simple as: “Because I want to.”
I made this thing because I wanted to make this thing.
I took a pointless random photo of a box on the street because.
Just because.
And there needs to be no reason other than that.
You can do something simply because you want to or for the sake of making it.
And you don’t need to explain yourself to others or even judge yourself for it.
It’s life.
Just do stuff.
Photography is A Battle With Yourself
If I had to give myself from the past only one tip about photography, this would be up there.
I can’t quite say it’s the best tip, because there are so many other important aspects of photography.
But this specifically, is something I think about often.
Photography (and creativity) is a battle with yourself.
It first starts with struggling to get the basics down, like settings, framing, editing, compositions, etc.
This can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to really feel and understand photography.
Once those no longer become limiters on your photography, you move to the next hurdle.
That being: your personal limiters which are created by what you believe and how you think.
If I’m feeling particularly unassertive, I wont approach a subject and get a good shot.
If I’m being lazy that day, I won’t go outside and take photos even if the lighting and colors are great.
And even if I’ve just came back from a trip and took all these amazing photos, if I don’t set aside time to sort and edit them, I wont.
So from all the little things like habits that preventing us from taking better photos, to the bigger things like building and creating larger projects, it all comes back to you.
You are the biggest limiter to your creativity.
Your work ethics, your bad habits, your sloppy routine, your procrastination, your psychology.
And both photography and creativity as a whole is a battle with yourself.
Learn to overcome these barriers one by one, make them smaller, or get on their good side.
If you can understand yourself, why you do and don’t do things, you can optimize your actions and habits to getting more done, making things easier, and creativity will ensue.
View Photography Over the Course of Your Lifetime
Photography is a lifelong adventure.
Early in my journey I wanted to get good, take good photos, make good stuff.
And don’t get me wrong, I still do.
But I have a better approach about it now.
After reading and studying biographies of people like Leonardo da Vinci, the common thread of many largely successful people is: their journeys are lifelong.
Meaning, you have to view your own journey as lifelong as well.
And this doesn’t just apply for photography.
Zoom out for a minute and look at the timeline of your life.
See the progression of yourself as you move through different stages of life like high school, college, jobs, maybe getting married, whatever.
And pay close attention to how your perspective and mindset shifted as time passed.
Then look at the future years of your life, the things you want to do, the next few stages.
It could be different trips to different places, different projects of different things, having kids or grandkids.
When you’re done, zoom back in and look at the stage of your life right now.
Who are you and where are you along this timeline?
Based on these things, does it not make sense for you to be where you are currently?
When I do this exercise I find myself with a newfound sense of clarity.
I’m not as worried about the future because I understand where I am along my timeline.
I may be struggling now, but in the bigger picture things will work out.
And this applies 100% to art and photography as well.
Learn to view the craft as something you’re developing over the course of your lifetime.
It’s not about getting good now - it’s about taking photos and living life, and eventually 10 years later you’ll be pretty good and have taken many photos you can be proud of.
So a long term perspective not only for life but photography as well can change the way you approach things, move in the world, and lower the rush you feel.
Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously
This may sound contradictory to many of the other things I talk about.
We often mention how to be more productive, creative, and improve in all areas of life.
But a constant nagging reminder I give myself is to not take myself so seriously.
I think this is a much needed buffer to counter the intensity of how I live my life.
Because obviously I have stuff I wanna do, things I wanna experience, and a certain life I wanna live.
And adding that bit of urgency and importance to our lives can help us get stuff done but can also put a lot of pressure on us.
It’s important to remind ourselves that we are not the only people living in this world.
Although our goals and our paths seem like the most important thing, because they are to us, they make up a very small insignificant portion of the human experience that is happening right now.
Everyone is the main character of their worlds, but their worlds only.
And we are all the side character of everyone else’s world.
Meaning, your problems and the things you’re dealing with may seem big to you but are insignificant to someone else dealing with a bigger problem.
You’ve got creative struggles, someone else is dealing with cancer.
Stuff like that.
So remind yourself every now and then:
“Don’t take yourself so seriously. You are just a monkey with a plan.” - Naval
Let’s bring this all together.
9 things about photography I know in Year 5 that I wish I knew in Year 1:
Your photography improves when you stop trying to get good
It’s counter-intuitive, but don’t focus on “getting good”, focus on taking action and you’ll get good as a by-product.
Less money in gear, more time taking photos
Pretty self-explanatory.
Your photos will look good to some, crap to others
So don’t try to appeal to everyone, just make what you think looks good.
You’ll be changing your mind all the time
We’re humans, it’s normal.
Don’t feel the need to stick with the same opinions you had about creativity many years ago.
Every photographer is different
Stop looking at what your photos aren’t and just focus on making your version of photography better.
Stop justifying your photos to others
Don’t worry or fuss about whether or not it’s a project worth making.
If there’s something you wanna make, make it.
Photography is a battle with yourself
You are the greatest limiter on your creativity.
Figure yourself out and all other things will result.
View photography over the course of your lifetime
Don’t try to get good fast.
Creative disciplines take time and it’s better to see your path as a long journey.
One where you’re exactly where you should be right now.
Don’t take yourself so seriously
You’ve got goals and dreams and ambitions, great.
Take action, go for them, but remember: you’re just one person.
And the rest of the world doesn’t care.
So chill out and live your stupid life.
I hope this helped.
If you wanna learn more about photography, check out “Photography Essentials” - it’s free.
If you want to help support me, check out my latest photography zine “The Sinking Sun”.
Thanks as always…bye.