6 Practical Philosophies for Better Photography
Many people don’t realize it but philosophy is something that heavily dictates your photography.
It influences not only the type of photos you take but also the cameras you use.
Your personal philosophy is the way you think and the way you live.
Now, the straight up definition means “lover of wisdom” but we’ll talk about it in the common cultural context.
Philosophy has been foundational in shaping not only how I take my photos but how I live my life.
It runs so deep that philosophy even dictates the projects I work on.
I didn’t realize it at first but even “The Sinking Sun”, my recent photography zine, is centered around my own philosophies about time and life.
The idea that our time on earth is very limited, the clock is ticking, and that to make the most of our lives we need to start now.
That’s not only what the book revolves around but also what my current life revolves around.
So that’s one way philosophy can impact the work you create.
But the philosophies we’re going to talk about today are guiding frameworks to help improve your photography.
Some of these may change over time but there are a few consistently recurring ones that I use when I do creative stuff.
They help me simplify and improve my creative process - and I think they’ll be quite helpful to you as well.
Lets get started.
1% a Day
The first philosophy we’re going to start with is something called “1% a day”.
It’s a very simply framework that will allow you to adopt a long term mindset with photography.
I believe that if you can understand and focus on this, you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead in just a few months.
You see the problem with many beginner creatives is that they want to improve fast and they want to improve now.
They look at many other photographers taking amazing photos and they subconsciously compare themselves to them.
But by doing so, it becomes easy to get frustrated with the process.
Feelings like:
“You’re so far away…”
“you’ll never get there…”
“What’s the point…?”
The reality of the situation is, no matter how badly we want something, it doesn’t change whether or not it’s gonna come.
Meaning, I can want to be a super good photographer now, but in reality it’s going to take years and years of consistent effort and work.
If we try to rush this process it can lead to unsustainability and burnout.
Meaning: our sole focus when it comes to improvement is to simply get 1% better each and every day.
It doesn’t matter what’s happening around us, it doesn’t matter what your peers are doing, it doesn’t matter how you feel.
Just focus on getting 1% better every day.
The reason why this works is because 1% is a manageable number.
If we try to get 10% better every day we can easily become overwhelmed or disappointed when we fall short of our mark.
But 1%.
1% we can do in our sleep.
1% we can do reliably without overburdening ourselves.
1% is sustainable.
And 1% still compounds.
If we stack 1% every day over the course of many days, it becomes a massive ladder of improvement.
Because 1% tomorrow will be slightly more than 1% today.
And in 100 days, you’ll be more than just 2x better.
So you can see how powerful adopting this mindset is.
Little by little we can move the needle until we eventually get to where we want to do.
I use this for both good and bad days.
When things are good, I say, “I only needed to move 1% today and I think we did way more than that!”
When things are bad, I say, “All I gotta do today is just 1%. That’s it.”
This is a framework that helps keep me going every day in this long game of creativity.
Try it out, I think it’ll help.
Less Talk, More Work
This is a personal favorite mantra of mine.
I’ve been using this since I first started making YouTube videos many many years ago.
And it still guides my creative work whether it be photography or content.
“Less talk, more work” means exactly that: less talk, more work.
You see, the common problem many creatives have is that they are big dreamers.
Being a big dreamer isn’t a bad thing but dreaming and fantasizing can distract you from the work itself.
For example, say you have this great new idea for a photography project you want to work on.
The first impulse you might have is tell everyone about it.
You’ll go to a coffee shop and tell your friends, your family, even the barista.
And then by talking about your dreams and future creative projects you’ll get this sense of accomplishment similar to doing the thing itself.
Except for one big problem: the thing hasn’t been done.
So your current state or situation remains the same, you’ve just talked someone’s head off and now feel accomplished as a byproduct.
I can’t remember who said it, but there’s a great quote that captures this:
And that’s exactly it.
Now this doesn’t mean you can’t share your goals, dreams, and accomplishments.
I myself have been trying to share more of what excites me.
But as creatives we must be very careful about how much of this we do.
And we must make sure that our “talking about it” doesn’t get in the way of our “doing it”.
Because if we spend too much time talking about what we are going to do, we risk not doing any of it.
The consequence being: the work doesn’t get done and we feel a little silly telling our peers about our grand plan that we didn’t follow through with.
So if you can remember anything, remember this:
Less talk, more work.
The Blank Slate
The “blank slate” is a philosophy I adopted from Rick Rubin’s book The Creative Act.
It’s not only a great framework to create from but a good way of thinking in general.
You can think of the blank slate like an empty canvas.
It’s freeing your mind of all the knowledge you’ve accumulated, all the advice you’ve been given, and all the hubris or pride you might have.
It’s discarding everything you think you know and pretending like you know nothing.
And then creating from that blank slate.
But why would we want to do that?
We want to do this because the skills and knowledge that once helped us become successful in our creative journey can later hold us back.
When our minds are filled with advice from over here, something you heard in a podcast over there, something you read in a book over here, your problem becomes not a lack of information - but too much of it.
You can’t think clearly and therefore can’t create freely because you are in a state of information overload.
This hurts your creativity.
How can we be creative when there is a hurricane going on in our minds?
Take 5 seconds to stop.
Take a few long slow deep breaths.
Forget everything you think you know.
Forget everything you think you should do.
Forget everything you’re proud of - because even pride can hold you back.
And then, look at the work you are doing, and become a beginner again.
Create from a blank slate.
When you first began photography or any creative endeavor, you may have lacked skill but you were innovative.
You didn’t think you had to take a photo a certain way because you didn’t know any better.
Which may have led to interesting and innovate solutions.
That’s the benefit of creating like a beginner.
So the irony you’ll see is that many advanced artists try to emulate this beginner state again.
To get back to that mindset of knowing nothing - because that’s when they can create the most freely.
So although we may have a nice little toolkit of skills and knowledge right now, sometimes we must pretend it doesn’t exist to be more creative.
A practical way I do this in my photography is by covering all my bases as soon as possible.
I take photos of my standard go-to shots, that I know have worked before.
Then, I let my mind try anything it wants because I’m no longer worried about getting a good photo.
I let everything I know about photography go and try to create freely from a blank slate, like a beginner.
Create More Than You Consume
“Create more than you consume” is another favorite mantra of mine - you’ve probably heard me talk about it before.
I’m not the first to say this but I’ve taken it and ran with it.
Unlike “less talk more work”, the problem doesn’t lie in talking, but rather in consumption of other people’s stuff.
Whether that be on social media, in podcasts, or books, it’s easy to consume, consume, consume.
It’s to the point that we’ll even justify consumption as “studying” or “searching for inspiration”.
But looking at everyone else’s stuff can lead to you making unfair comparisons between yourself and others.
Which is an easy way to feel bad about what you’re creating.
Now, it’s normal to be a fan of other people’s work.
People do cool things that we like and are inspired by.
But looking at other people’s stuff isn’t the same as working on our own stuff.
There’s a time and place for both.
Consuming takes time, attention, and energy away from our own creative projects.
And at the end of the day, our work just needs doing - and no one’s gonna do it for us.
Nowadays, I don’t look at anyone else’s work.
I don’t scroll on social media, I don’t consume photography related things.
Not because I don’t believe I can’t learn from them, but because the negative drawbacks of it are more risky for me than the positives.
Of course I believe we can learn by studying, but I also believe we learn more by doing.
So I try to keep “doing” as the most important, everything else is supplementary.
Create more than you consume.
Know Thyself
“Know thyself” is a famous saying from the ancient Stoic philosopher Socrates.
It’s a phrasing that has been taken and interpreted in many different ways over the centuries.
The way I like to think of it is: know who you are, know who you are not, and know why you are doing this.
You see, the thing about humans is that we know who we are deep down but we aren’t always honest with ourselves.
We spend a lot of time fighting with who we are instead of embracing our quirks, weaknesses, and deficiencies.
But the sooner we accept and acknowledge them, the sooner we can get to working on them.
Some of this is environmentally based.
We want to appear a certain way and we care about how others think of us - that much is normal.
But internal peace and satisfaction does not come from external means.
So we’ll never be happy by people pleasing.
And then to do that thing relentlessly and unapologetically.
You can tie this back into the whole concept of playing our own games.
I mentioned this in another video but if we know and understand the game we are playing we would not feel insufficient if we lose someone else’s game.
Why would I feel bothered if someone says I’m a trash photographer?
I don’t care - I’m not taking photos to please you.
That’s not my game.
A great example of this is my recent photography zine “The Sinking Sun”.
I know you’re probably tired of me referencing this, these projects are teaching me a lot of useful things that I think will be useful for you as well.
When making something that other people are supposed to see, it’s easy to get wrapped up in trying to make something others would like.
That was the struggle when making “The Sinking Sun”.
At face value you’d look at this project and think it’s “basic”, “uninspired”, or “boring”.
“Another photography thing about sunsets, whoop de doo.”
Which is warranted, but I had to ignore all of that.
Because I’m not making this project for anyone else.
It’s for myself and the people who also understand it.
There’s a theme I wanted to explore about time, how we have so little of it, to create a sense of urgency, to get someone to think about how they’re spending their lives, to serve as a reminder to myself to live now, and maybe even inspire real change for the reader.
This was my attempt.
And it wouldn’t be the same if I just sat down here and told you guys “hey go live your lives”.
It makes much more sense through the lens of art - that’s why we express ourselves with creative things in the first place.
So I knew deep down that I had to stay true to the vision of why I wanted to make this project.
Catering to others would only result in worse work.
Which brings us back to the phrase “know thyself”.
Knowing what I was doing, why I was doing it, and sticking to that allowed me to follow through with this project.
If I had bent and did what others may have wanted me to, it would have resulted in something completely different.
You can apply this to any decision or thing you do in life.
If you become tempted to do what everyone else is doing, use what everyone else is using, and say what everyone else is saying, ask yourself:
“Is this actually me?”
Pretend You Know Nothing
“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” - Epictetus, Discourses
This is another quote from the famous stoic philosopher, Epictetus, which applies to both photography and life in general.
If you are interested in more stoic philosophy, you can check out the video I made on stoicism.
It has like no views, probably because I didn’t position it well to make sense for you guys, but it’s a very useful video for getting through life.
When we are beginners, it’s easy to get excited about all the new things we are learning.
There’s this cool camera here, this compositional framework here, photo editing here.
And we are absorbing all this new knowledge online.
We are learning so much that we begin to overestimate our competence.
And then we fall victim to the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Which is basically a cognitive bias that says beginners think they know more than they do.
Which is usually followed by a reality check of learning how vast the ocean really is.
It’s being a frog in a well and then expanding outwards and realizing how little you actually know.
The irony is that some research suggests that high performers showcase the opposite of this: they underestimate their skills despite being well qualified.
This is a normal phenomenon and we are all subject to it - even if we know about it.
If that’s the case, what can we do about this?
I don’t want to be an ignorant beginner who thinks he knows everything.
I’ll share with you the framework I like to use.
I’m not sure this does anything, but it may help.
Meaning, it’s better to assume as if I know nothing so I don’t limit myself with the beginner’s mindset.
Because there’s no utility in thinking I’m more competent than I am.
That only results in me finding out later and feeling dumb for being a know it all.
Take for example a photographer who’s just getting into photography.
He watches a few tutorials online, studies some gear reviews, orders his camera and is all ready to go.
The tutorials and books make photography seem easy - because he’s studying experts.
He thinks to himself: “Oh I can do that, easily!”
But when his camera comes in, he goes out and takes pictures and 99% of them are crap.
He realizes there’s a gap between knowledge and application, and there’s much more to photography than he once thought.
It’s not as easy as these experts make it seem.
If he was wise, he’d change his stance and presume there will always be unexpected variables outside of his control.
But of course, he’s a newbie, so he’ll go out and do the same thing again and again.
Which results in reality check after reality check until that “ignorance debt” is paid down.
As time passes, experience will teach him that there will always be something more to learn.
If we have to adopt that mindset anyways, why not adopt that mentality beforehand?
If there will always be more to learn, and I can’t possibly learn everything, why don’t I just be humble and assume as if I know nothing?
Then, I can more accurately learn from my personal experiences, the teachings of others, and not be a fool from thinking I know more than I do.
By admitting deficits you create room to grow.
And this is not to say: be unconfident in yourself.
Those are two different things.
You can be confident in what you do know, based on the experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them, while also simultaneously acknowledging that there’s still more for you to learn.
2 great quotes to put this into perspective:
“It is impossible for a man to learn that which he thinks he already knows” - Epictetus
“Everyone I meet is better than me in something.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
In conclusion, pretend you know nothing, because it’s better than pretending you know everything.
Nothing Done Well is Insignificant
I’ll leave you guys with a bonus point - something that will help you if you’re working on hard projects.
I forget where I heard this from but it’s a very valuable philosophy to keep in mind.
“Nothing done well is insignificant.”
Lets break this down.
A problem I personally have every now and then is that I feel trash about the stuff I make.
This may be due to my high standards or “perfectionism”, but I think this is a common struggle in creativity.
Whether you are a photographer, artist, or creator, chances are you are trying to make something “up there”.
That comparison and gap makes it inevitable to feel insufficient.
Our attempts feel pointless, useless, and a waste of time.
And in a sense, they are.
Nothing we make will last forever.
Centuries pass, people forget, and civilizations crumble.
What we do today wont matter.
But if everything’s pointless, what’s the point?
The point is in doing something well.
You see, there is value in doing hard things.
And there is value in creating things, regardless of how pointless it may seem.
Because although everything fades, what we do with our time spent here matters.
At least, it matters to us.
Doing something difficult and doing it well, makes me a more capable individual.
Picking a challenging creative project to pursue, makes me better.
Which creates a bigger project or dragon to slay in the future.
Which then makes me a more capable individual.
The point is not to create some generation changing art piece like Leonardo da Vinci.
The point is to make shit in general.
Do hard things.
And do them well.
Because that’s where the satisfaction comes from.
There is satisfaction in a job well done.
You may or may not have experienced this, but finally finishing a project you’ve been working on for a long long time, and everything’s done grants a inordinate amount of satisfaction.
You are happy and fulfilled because you did the thing, not because there was a point to it.
So hopefully that made sense.
That’s a philosophical framework that really helps me out when working on things.
Nothing done well is insignificant.
To wrap it up, here are 6 philosophies to improve your photography, with a bonus:
Focus on improving just 1% a Day and you will be unrecognizable in 6 months.
Less talk, more work.
Remember, doing the thing and talking about it fight for the same resources.
Create from a “blank slate”.
Meaning, clear your mind to create freely again.
Create more than you consume.
Your projects just need doing and you are the only person who can do them.
Know thyself.
Who you are, who you are not, and why you do what you do.
Pretend you know nothing so you can learn everything.
Nothing done well is insignificant.
A job well done is the reward itself.
If you found this helpful, share this with a friend who would also find this helpful.
Also, order your copy of “The Sinking Sun”, while its still here!
Have a great day, thanks for reading!
