Shall I quit photography?
“Thanks for your time if you get to read this mail, I just need some guidance or critique to get a better understanding of what's going on with my work and if I should just quit photography before I get any more gear (As I only have XT-4 and 16-80mm kit lens).”
This paragraph was in an email I got a few months ago and although I replied to this person back then, I’ve been sitting on it for a while. I’m sure that for every person who’s willing to email this to me, there are 100 others thinking the same in silence. With that in mind, in this blog I want to share my answer.
Over the years I’ve spoken to thousands of different photographers and a few years ago I ran close to 100 workshops in London. This volume of data has made it pretty clear on what are the common issues people face. Specifically issues that might lead them down the path of where quitting is on the cards.
Comparison
The first and most common reason is people always compare themselves to everyone else. This is of course completely natural and no matter how much you try to avoid it, now and then it will happen. In most cases you are comparing yourself to other photographers online and you feel their work is better and your work sucks. What you need to remember is you’re comparing all your work to the highlight reel of someone else. Even if the other photographer is on the same level as you in terms of experience, you will only see the top 1% of their work and then proceed to compare it to your entire collection as a whole. Most people then add fuel to the fire by comparing their work to photography from the more experienced and successful. Comparison negatively affects beginners because they don’t have the confidence in their own work just yet. The more confident one becomes the less they care about what other people are doing.
Wrong Reasons
Let’s say you started photography because you wanted a creative outlet. You enjoyed going out to shoot, edit and overall you were very happy with your work. You started to share on social media and soon enough became consumed with growing your platform. Very quickly the perception of your work shifted from how you feel about it to how many likes it gets from strangers. Although initially it was a rush, over time the algorithms changed and started to favour other types of ‘content’. This resulted in your engagement free falling to almost zero. The issue is that your level of happiness is no longer attached to the process of going to shoot and to how YOU feel about your work. It’s now attached to a metric that is entirely out of your control. As the metric goes to shit, so does your desire to create. This is just one example and you can replace social media with money, fame or other external factor.
Impatience
Everything good in life takes time. The strongest businesses take years to build, the most fulfilling relationships can take decades and the most rewarding skills also take time. The issue is we live in an instant gratification world. We want everything now and we want it fast. However photography is a skill that can’t be rushed and for most people will take a long time. I’ve been shooting seriously for over 6 years and despite my success thus far, spending time with photographers that are 20+ years deep is humbling. Most people simply don’t have the patience to see things through.
Blaming External Factors
My photos suck, it must be because I have an APSC camera and a kit lens. I have a busy job and a family so don’t have time to shoot. I don’t live somewhere photogenic. I don’t have money. I can list many more excuses people come up with to justify their position. Of course some people have it much easier while others have to jump through 20 hoops. Of course some people have unlimited time and budget while others are juggling kids, work, health issues while living pay check to pay check. Some might even think “easy for you to say, you’re out of touch”. However the uncomfortable reality is that it’s easier to blame external factors instead of taking ownership yourself.
For example I’m trying to get into the best shape of my life over the next few years however there are many times where I skip the gym or forget to stretch or postpone a run I was meant to do last week. There are many times where I stop tracking what I eat and end up face planting a pizza. I could easily say “well it’s because I travel and I don’t have time or it’s because I don’t have good genetics blah blah blah”. The reality is my lack of discipline and priorities are the reasons for my lack of progress.
No Clear Plan
I will stick with the fitness analogy for this example. If you want to get in shape but have no clear plan on how you will get there, I’m 100% sure you will fail. Most people don’t need one in the beginning, however sooner or later you need a rough direction and a plan. That could be as simple as shooting once a week or as complex as constantly learning new things, experimenting with different subjects, trying different editing methods and anything else you can think of. If you actually want to become a better photographer, you need some kind of a plan.
Laziness
This last point might annoy you however the brutal truth is most people only want the results and don’t care about the process of getting there. Most people are lazy and lack discipline. I can sit here and tell you exactly how I run my business, how I make money, how I managed to grow an audience and share every detail. I can also guarantee that if I had a room of 100 people who all said they want the same, only one person will actually put the work required and see things through to the end. Many will try but give up shortly after while some wouldn’t even bother at all. If you want easy and quick results, don’t be surprised to feel disheartened when those results don’t match up with where you want to be.
Now let me share some practical solutions to help you if you feel the same as the chap who emailed me all those months ago.
Find your Why
When I was a child my mum always forced me to keep asking why. If I do something, I need to know why. If someone asks me to do something, I need to know why. Whatever I think, do, say or dream, there always needs to be a why. As an adult I am happy this was drilled into me, although looking back I can see how this annoyed teachers in school and managers in day jobs.
When it comes to photography, you need to really have a think about why you are doing it. Why did you pick up a camera, why do you want to shoot certain things, why do you have specific dreams and goals. By always asking why, you will get down to the very core of what drives you. As you understand yourself and your motivations better, you can make decisions based on your true values and goals. This will undoubtedly serve you better and take you further.
There is no right or wrong answer and you need to be honest with yourself. If your main goal is to build a large audience, that’s fine. If you started photography because you wanted to make money, that’s great. If you started photography as a way to unwind from your job, that’s also great. When you have a clear reason for starting photography, everything else becomes easier. Of course your ‘why’ can and probably will change over time, but make sure to keep asking yourself from time to time, why.
If your reason is to unwind from your day job, then how you approach photography, the gear you buy, the things you learn and the experiences you will pursue, could be vastly different compared to making a career out of this craft. If you want to build an audience, then paying attention to metrics, engagement and following online trends might be required. However if you are shooting to unwind, then staring at social media analytics is the absolute last thing you want to do. Equally if you want to become a freelance photographer, then working within a niche and with a recognisable style is important. However if you only shoot for fun, then none of these things really matter. Think about why you photograph, why you started and what drives you. This might take 5 minutes or it might take 5 years. However as long as you ask yourself why you’re doing what you're doing, you will always remain on the path that’s true to you.
Minimise & Simplify
Once you clearly know why you’re taking photos, the next step is to declutter and go back to basics. If you amassed a ton of gear, accessories and Lightroom plug ins, it might be time to strip it all back down to the essentials. Pick your favourite camera and perhaps one or two primes. Keep only the items that you use 80% of the time and put everything else into storage for now. Simply your editing workflow, get rid of 90% of presets you don’t use and uninstall any crazy plug ins too. Another way to put it, if everything photography related just disappeared and you had so start from scratch, what are the absolute essentials you would buy again? A cluttered environment is a cluttered mind.
Create a Plan
Next step is to make a plan. I don’t mean sit down with a planner and write it all out, instead I mean create a rough framework to help you progress. Perhaps this year you’re just shooting whatever you want. Next year you focus on light, the year after you shoot with only one focal length etc etc. It can be as loose or as regimented as you wish however having a rough idea of the path you’re on is a good thing. Of course things will change and your plan will too.
Execute
The final step is the easiest and the hardest. You can have everything in place however if you don’t do anything about it, don’t expect results. I’m not saying that you need to force yourself to go and shoot if you’re not feeling it, however you won’t achieve anything by sitting on your sofa and dreaming either. An easy hack is to bring your camera everywhere you go. Most of my photos come from walks to the cafe or travel days instead of dedicated days out shooting. Also you’re more likely to stay consistent this way instead of assigning a whole day that can easily get derailed.
Healthy Comparisons
I want to wrap this up by talking about healthy comparisons. Comparing yourself to others is human nature and it would be foolish to assume this can be turned off. Your biggest comparison should be to your former self however when looking at others, try to do so in a positive and analytical way. First of all remember that you’re looking at a polished version of someone’s life, not the real one. Secondly remember that they are sharing barely 1% of what they create. Finally remember that they are human and have their own issues and struggles too regardless of how perfect they and their work seems. Use them and their work as a source of inspiration but don’t let the comparison become negative. If you feel any negative emotions or feeling, then unfollow or mute them. Better yet stop spending so much time on social media and go take some photos.
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