You’re in your Root Era
Grounding | Skill-Building | Quiet Growth
You’ve moved past the initial thrill of starting and are now in the depths of development. You’re slowly finding your style and aesthetic. This is a quieter, often invisible season where you’re strengthening your foundation. You’re building skills, experimenting more intentionally, and slowly learning what feels most aligned with your creative values and voice. It can feel slow, even frustrating at times, but this is the season where your identity starts to take shape. You may even feel like you’re going up and down, hitting plateaus, and then having a moment of growth.
You might be stuck between where you were and where you want to be. It’s a vulnerable space: full of self-doubt, comparison, and uncertainty. But it’s also where deep clarity is forged. You may feel like you have a sense of your style and eye, but then it shifts and changes again. In the Root Era, you’re doing the inner and outer work that prepares you for what’s next, even if it doesn’t look flashy from the outside.
You might be:
Working on your technical or storytelling skills
Comparing yourself to others, feeling “in between”
Wrestling with impostor syndrome
Unsure how to define your style or find your voice
Questioning whether to keep going or pivot directions
Questioning what style or aesthetic you want to cultivate
Thinking are you even good enough
Feeling like you're on a rollercoaster
Maybe feeling a little impatient
What helps most right now:
Space to reflect on what matters to you, not what’s expected
Reflect on what works and what doesn’t — be it a specific photo you took or a technique you tried
Honest feedback and creative support from safe spaces
Commitment to process, not just results
Acknowledging what looks and feels right and good to you, and keep exploring that
Seeking inspiration, whether through books, films, art galleries, or other photographers’ work you admire
Hone in on your photographic eye and cultivate your signature style
Be a bit more intentional with what you share online and in your portfolio
Continued exploration through small bodies of work or guided mentorship
This is where your roots deepen. It’s the work few people see, but it’s what supports everything that comes next. You’re in the thick of developing your style and feeling a sense of “who you are” as a photographer. Follow whether your lens leads you and trust it. Don’t be afraid to experiment and make mistakes! We never arrive at our style. It’s an ever-moving target that moves through life with us. Be patient and trust that where you are is right where you are meant to be. Hurry slowly, embracing the natural unfolding of your creative path. Your hard work, dedication, and persistence will pay off! Keep staying curious and exploring!
“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Additional resources for you…
If I were to pick up the camera again for the very first time, I would place my focus not on perfection, not on gear, and not on the endless technical how-tos, but on time. I would carve out gentle, uninterrupted time in my days or weeks to simply be with my camera, to wander and notice, to follow the flicker of curiosity or excitement wherever it might lead. I would let myself make the awful shots, take too many, miss the moment, and keep moving forward anyway. I would grant myself full permission to make mistakes, to experiment freely, and to create without questioning whether it was “good enough” or “right.” I would approach photography like a conversation with myself, with the world, with light and shadow. I would allow myself to be drawn toward whatever I felt pulled to: stillness or motion, my mother’s flower garden, the full moon, people or petals, soft light or the starkness of noon. If I didn’t yet know what kind of photography called to me, I’d let myself try everything.