“And you just have to fight your way through that.”

When we take up an art like photography or photo artistry, I think too often we forget that it’s going to take us TIME (and a lot of practice) to get as good as we feel we really ought to be.

We have a clear idea of what we know to be great work — but we just can’t reach it yet.

It’s the same with taking up writing. Too often (because we’ve been “writing” things our whole lives) we just assume we can step in … and simply start doing it well.

I mean, to write — you just write down some words and let spell-check do its thing … right?

With a camera, you just press the shutter … right?

With Photoshop, you just add a texture and a blend mode … right?

Of course not.

We all know, intuitively, that we wouldn’t feel the same way about a creative pursuit like painting. Learning to paint takes a LOT of time and practice. So does learning to play the violin. So does learning to sculpt.

So don’t be so quick to feel frustrated with yourself when it comes to capturing great photos or creating great photo art.

Stop beating yourself up.

It takes time. It’s a journey.

I recently saw someone in our advanced group post an excellent video on this point — a great piece by Ira Glass (the talented radio show personality behind This American Life). And I felt it needed to be brought forward in a prominent post.

Take two minutes to watch the video at the top of this page. Or you can go to it directly on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/PbC4gqZGPSY

Just commit to putting in the work. And have fun along the way.

You’ll get there.

– Sebastian