A Lesser Photographer

by C J Chilvers

  The end product is the joy of being present when photographing.

  Photography is a rare deep dive into our own brains. It’s an appreciation of light, patterns, and texture—the things we tend to ignore in our daily lives for what’s more urgent.

  It’s keeping a lot of us sane. It’s even making some of us happy.

  Physical and digital products of our photography come and go. They’re easily forgotten. As are we.

  The only thing that lasts is our awareness of the world around us. Even that will end someday. But what a way to spend a life.

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  Take It Slow

  History, and science, has shown that the brain is in its most creative state while in a state of conscious rest: daydreaming, in the shower, under an apple tree, etc.

  This is pretty much the opposite of what we value as a society. These periods of rest seem to get more fleeting with age and responsibility, but much of that responsibility we impose on ourselves. If we’re seeking to find better ideas and more of them, we must first do no harm.

  Here are a few things I’ve been paying less attention to, in an effort to take life a little slower.

  Productivity

  “Resistance,” a term coined by Steven Pressfield and popularized by Seth Godin, is used to describe the anything artists use to distract themselves from the pain of accomplishing projects and facing criticism. From obsessively cleaning the house to checking social media, Resistance comes in all forms. Its sole purpose is to kill creative accomplishment.

  The popularity of productivity apps and books over the past two decades has been Resistance’s greatest ally. It’s become a comfort to fiddle with our projects, which means we’re not accomplishing them.

  I’ve learned that if I’m thinking about productivity, I don’t have enough enthusiasm for my projects.

  I’ve also learned that habits are far more powerful than projects. If I take a few hours to write or photograph every day, the product will build up much faster and easier than if I map out every little detail of what I think I might do.

  Everyone wants to be more efficient. But no one would want to describe their art as “efficient.” Groundbreaking art tends to be incredibly inefficient in its making.

  The News

  The news is dangerous to your mental and creative health. Numerous studies confirm aspects of this sentiment, but don't just take my word for it. The Guardian (an actual newspaper) recently ran an article with the lede:

  “News is bad for your health. It leads to fear and aggression, and hinders your creativity and ability to think deeply. The solution? Stop consuming it altogether.”

  Even the newspapers are telling you news is bad for you. Of course, that comes from the news, so anything below the lede is probably inaccurate, invasive, and statist, with an insatiable ad-based business model to feed.

  Photography news is even worse than ordinary news. Besides the problem of emptying brains, it also tends to empty pockets.

  It's never been easier to ignore the news, especially photography news. Give it a try, and spend more time with your art.

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  What Are You Willing to Give Up?

  As much as photography adds to our lives, we often forget it comes at a cost.

  Besides money, we invest our time, creativity, and attention. When we focus that energy on one thing, it comes at the cost of other things.

  To leave this unexamined is a recipe for frustration and anger.

  Ask yourself:

  What projects am I willing to drop to practice photography?

  How much time am I willing to take away from my family/friends/job (if my photography doesn’t involve them)?

  What is my budget?

  What has brought me the best return on my investment in the past?

  What am I absolutely not willing to sacrifice?

  Amateurs give up the least to enjoy photography. We get to use whatever camera we want and chase an experience to enjoy the experience. The documentation is secondary. The costs in terms of money, time, and effort are minimal. The returns can be enormous.

  Artists give up what they choose to give up. This creates all kinds of interesting conflicts. The costs vary. The returns can be enormous.

  Professionals give up what someone else chooses. The costs can be enormous. The returns can be enormous.

  Photography adds way too much to our lives not to invest in it. That’s why you’re reading this.

  Invest wisely.

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  Work Alone

  “Artists work best alone.” — Steve Wozniak

  About forty years of research on brainstorming has shown that idea generation is most effective as a solitary activity. Collaboration has been shown to aid in refining ideas, but groups tend to create fewer and lower-quality ideas when compared with people creating on their own.

  My experience tells me that the work itself is also better when I’m alone. This could be dangerous if your chosen field is wildlife photography, but your brain doesn’t care as much about your subject matter as the way it’s approached.

  As much as other humans may give us comfort by telling us we are on the right track with an idea, art is about pushing ideas past where others are comfortable.

  Together, we remain comfortable. Alone, we remain unique.

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  Support Your Local Photographer

  I'm a member at several websites and buy self-published books from others because I believe in what they do and want to support them.

  Unfortunately, there isn’t a great tradition of doing this at popular photography sites because most readers are used to the intrusive ads and over-the-top affiliate sales techniques.

  Your participation in a photographer’s work doesn’t have to be monetary, but you’d be surprised just how much participation of any kind can make a real difference.

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  How to be Critiqued

  “Get booed off stage at least once.” — Carl King

  Many photographers have written to me asking for a critique of their work. Popular sites and services abound for crowdsourced critiques. Magazines run regular features for reader critiques. Some professionals even charge for their critiquing services.

  It’s only natural to want to know what others think of your work. But are you getting what you need from these critiques?

  First, do you know your goal? If your goal is to go pro, by all means, get a professional to critique your work through the lens of their business and aesthetic senses. The harsher the lessons, the quicker you’ll improve.

  I don’t believe that is the goal for most photographers, though. I think most photographers simply wish to become better photographers. Beyond knowing the basics, there’s not a lot a professional can offer you in a critique that will help you become a more unique artist. In fact, a pro may not even recognize unique art. It’s not what they’ve been trained to see.

  Professionals need analytical answers about how to improve their results. Artists need new ways to see. The best critiques I’ve seen are not about an image’s technical properties. The best critiques question why the photograph was created in the first place.

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  Comparisons

  Never get discouraged by the photographers whose capabilities seem to be leaps and bounds beyond yours.

  You’ve gone down a unique path with your life that no one else can duplicate. So have they. That’s where they get their perspective.

  Figure out what’s different about your perspective and use it.

  There is no competition for a creative person. There are only your own assumptions and habits to overcome.

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  Stolen Ideas

  People steal ideas from me all the time. I’m fine with stolen ideas—much more so than stolen words.

  The whole point of publishing and creativity is to make your ideas available to the world for use.

  If you’re afraid to release your idea into the world because it may be st
olen, that’s the wrong fear to have. The greater fear is that it won’t be stolen, because it isn’t worth the effort to steal.

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  All You Need Is 1

  You don’t need a certain number of followers, a passive income, a monetization strategy, or “1000 true fans” to justify sharing your work.

  All you need is 1.

  1 person liked my writing enough to hire me, which has led to a twenty-year career as a professional writer.

  1 person liked my dating profile (which is most definitely a writing and photography project) enough to eventually marry me and start a family.

  1 fan could be your next business partnership, employer, or spouse.

  1 fan justifies your next book, blog, and podcast.

  1 fan can give your work all the meaning it ever needs, especially if you’re that 1 fan.

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  Reshoot Your Archives

  My best friend, Tom, had a house fire in the 1990s that destroyed all of his photos and negatives (during his most prolific period as an enthusiastic young hobbyist). As a result, he developed an entirely different way of approaching his archive.

  Tom said it was better to revisit the places in those negatives and produce something even better. He told me to throw away my old negatives. He gave me a few hundred new projects in under five seconds, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

  Life is fleeting, and you can’t take your archives with you. The real value in photography is an appreciation of the present.

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  The Stakes Couldn’t Be Lower

  Don’t let your creative projects make you anxious. This is all about your well-being, about learning and practicing something that makes you a better person. It’s supposed to be an all-upside proposition.

  If, like me, you find yourself in creative ruts, you’ll be tempted to dig further into the rut. You’ll wonder what others think. You’ll feel like you’re failing. You’re creating stress out of thin air. And for what?

  In these moments, I started repeating this to myself: “The stakes couldn’t be lower.”

  The greatest consequence of your creative failure is learning what not to do in the future. You’ll try to convince yourself it’s about losing followers (followers you lose easily are not really followers) or losing the respect of those you respect (people don’t think about you nearly as much as you think they do).

  No, the greatest consequence is learning. It’s a pretty sweet deal, actually.

  Few people follow your work. Even fewer care. What are you doing with that freedom?

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  Every Day…

  There’s a reason not to go out and shoot.

  There’s a reason to go out and shoot.

  The weather isn’t perfect, and the lighting stinks.

  The weather and lighting help make the photographs unique.

  It seems like everything’s been done.

  It seems like nowhere near enough has been done by you.

  It seems like there’s no money in photography anymore.

  It seems like photography is still the best way to capture a priceless moment.

  You may believe you’re not the greatest photographer.

  You must believe you’re greatest photographer to tell your story.

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  Be Grateful

  The one antidote for the jealousy that leads to the obsessive buying of gear and chasing of fame is gratitude.

  The fact we have the gear we already have, vision clear enough to appreciate beauty, and the knowledge to capture it makes photographers the luckiest people in the world.

  While others let beauty pass them by, we recognize it, experience it, and share it with the world.

  Is there a better way to fully live a life?