I want to be a better photographer.
I’ve mentioned this a few times before. Learning to use my camera in manual mode was on my 30 Before Thirty list, and it’s something that I’ve continued to work on. I can take a decent photo, and I’m probably better than the average amateur, but am I where I want to be with my photography? Definitely not.
I love Ira Glass’ take on persistence and creative work. It’s something that I’ve kept in mind as I work on improving my skills.
“…most everybody I know who does interesting, creative work, they went through a phase of years where they had really good taste and they could tell what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be.”
“…it’s only by going through a volume of work that you’re actually going to catch up and close that gap.”
So that’s what I’m doing. I’m currently working on my 4-6 Weeks Project (a daily photograph), and I’ll continue to challenge myself after that. Persistence is good.
Can you identify? What are you working on becoming better at?
'I' is for Inspiration, My Life
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57 Comments
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January 13, 2011
Love this. It’s hard to ignore that there are people who are naturally gifted that are good at things right off the bat! So, I always remind myself to go at my own pace.
love it
First of all, I LOVE, LOVE Ira Glass!
So for you to feature it here, talking about this topic, it literally gave me goosebumps and I have to say:
Thank you so much, so very inspiring, and it means to me like a whole lot!
I try to think of the process itself as the actual piece of art. If one doesn’t enjoy the hard work, the learning process and the mistakes and the struggles, then it’s gonna be really hard to live a creative life. If you see someone who makes it look easy to be an artist or writer, they’ve just mastered the ability to hide the effort. Thanks for this great post.
I really can identify! There’s so much I want to be better at… photography is one, especially taking outfit photos of myself (I write a fashion blog) and pics for my etsy shop.
Wow! I’ve had this bookmarked since you posted it and I am only today, the day after I wrote on my mirror in big letters with bright red lipstick “consistency is key,” did I make my way back and finally read/watch it. Thanks!! :)