The Easiest Step You Can Take
The easiest way to improve your photography is not flashy or thrilling. In fact, it’s rather boring, at least on the surface. It’s certainly not glamorous. It’s not about finding the perfect preset, mastering a secret setting, trying a new hack, or purchasing a new lens that promises to change everything. It’s far simpler than that and harder to do.
The answer is time and practice.
I know that might be a disappointing thing to hear, especially when we’re often searching for a shortcut, a single shift that makes it all click. We live in a world now where answers are always at our fingertips, just a quick Google search, a question to AI, or a scroll through TikTok away from instant solutions. We love instant gratification and quick fixes. That may be partially due to the development of AI and social media, but whatever the reason, our patience and attention spans have significantly waned. Have you found that your patience has dwindled? Mine certainly has in some moments because everything appears to be right at our fingertips, and when I can’t find the answer or something takes more time or research, I find my patience running thin. We want the excitement of an aha moment, the thrill of instant transformation. But in truth, growth behind the lens happens more slowly. You can read all the articles or AI summaries you want on how to do something, but comprehending and executing something are two different things. Growth unfolds through consistent practice, quiet attention, and the willingness to keep going even when it feels like nothing is working and it feels hard. Let’s be real, learning photography is hard; it feels like there is always something to learn and try with the world fully open to our lens. If you think you’ve mastered portrait photography, try landscape or wildlife photography and then see how you feel! There is always room to grow and expand.
Photography is not a single skill to master, but a relationship that deepens over time. It requires patience, and often, it asks more of our heart than our technical knowledge. It requires us to go inward and have a conversation with ourselves. What do I want to express? Who am I as a photographer? What lights me up? While understanding your camera is important, it’s not the singular thing that makes your work yours. Your unique style, your way of seeing, your voice, that comes from time spent noticing what excites you, what you're curious about, and what you return to again and again.
Progress over Perfection
I believe that developing a personal style in photography isn’t a destination. It’s a slow evolution; it’s a journey as trite as that sounds. If we are lucky, photography will be our constant companion throughout our whole lives. Maybe some seasons it sits on the shelf, and maybe at other times we can’t get enough. Your style is not something you arrive at all at once, but something that takes shape through years of trying, failing, absorbing what inspires you, and learning to trust your instincts. It’s like a wide-open filter, you take in everything you creatively consume: the films you watch, the books you read, the work of others, the places you wander. All of it weaves into your creative fabric and visual voice. Then, through the lens of your eye and your unique perspective, it slowly distills into something that becomes your style. The temptation is to try to be better than everyone else, to measure your growth against someone else’s timeline or highlight reel. Social media can seed so much doubt and make us question our own abilities, worth, and where we are in our own life’s journey. But the truth is, the most meaningful progress comes when you remove the comparison and pour your energy into what you naturally gravitate toward, what brings you joy and excitement.
It’s much more powerful to grow from your strengths than to constantly try to improve yourself in relation to someone else’s. Comparison rarely leads to clarity. Instead, it often creates doubt, doubt that sounds like, “I’m not good enough,” or “I’ll never get there,” or “Maybe that isn’t for me.” But when you focus on your own curiosity, your own rhythm, and your own sense of wonder, something shifts. You begin to shape a style that is rooted in truth, not imitation. It’s also incredibly powerful and freeing to be so grounded in yourself, create from your center, and let your style shine outward rather than bolting on bits and pieces from other people you gather along your path to “build your style” or visual voice.
There have been so many missed shots in my own journey, countless photos out of focus, flat light, and ideas that didn’t quite translate. But all of that is part of the journey. As Winston Churchill once said, “Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” And photography, in so many ways, is just that: the willingness to try again, keep showing up with that same passion, drive, and curiosity.
So while the question might be, “What’s the fastest way to improve my photography?” The answer is unexpectedly slow. It is to give yourself time and have patience. It is to practice without pressure and keep your heart and eyes open to the world around you.
On that same note, bring your camera everywhere! Even if it’s just a drive to the supermarket or running errands, you just never know. What good is a camera kit if it just sits in your closet, just to take out when you have some free time? I’m not advocating for leaving a 5k-10k camera kit always in your car (I wouldn’t let me be clear!), but hey, maybe if you have another small camera or smaller kit, maybe that’s worth keeping in the car. That’s how I feel anyway. I’m not precious about it, and actually, I keep my film camera in my car rather than my digital one. My film camera wasn’t expensive, it’s fun and light, and it is easy to carry with me. No fussing or worrying about it. I get this is a very personal choice, but more often than not, I see a lovely scene when I’m driving. It’s about keeping available and seeking out new places, even in familiar spaces. If your schedule is busy, carve out just one hour a week to explore and experiment. Honor that time to pour into your love and give yourself time to grow and practice.
If you dream of turning photography into something more, perhaps even a business, then that same principle applies. You need to give it your full energy, your honest attention. Not in the sense of hustling harder or burning yourself out, but in the sense of listening more deeply to yourself and putting in the time. It’s about understanding who you are behind the lens, what matters to you, and what you want your work to say.
The beauty of working in digital photography is that there’s room to fail without consequence. You can delete, format a card, and start fresh. There is no waste in trying and going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm! Every photo teaches you something. Every outing adds a layer of insight. Learning the qualities and properties of light alone is a lifetime of lessons! Over time, your work becomes richer not because of any trick or hack, but because you showed up enough times to let your talent and visual voice shine and evolve. Time, experience, practice, and patience, my friend. Believe me, I’m right there with you!
In the end, the easiest way to get better is not about making it easier; it’s about embracing your unique creative journey, all the lessons, failures, missed shots, disappointments, and being proud of your best work. It’s about accepting right where you are, making the most of what you have, and what you can do while cultivating a “forever student" mindset. It’s also realizing that you will grow and improve with time and experience. It takes time, dedication, and an honest passion for photography itself, rather than a desired outcome. Sending you encouragement wherever you are…
