I Stopped Chasing Extraordinary Photos. It Changed Everything.

For years photography made me feel unhappy. I was stressed, I barely enjoyed doing it. All because I was obsessed with taking the perfect extraordinary shot. And then at one point I stopped trying. Completely. And that's exactly when everything changed. I've been taking photos forever. I'm currently 31 and I think I caught the photo bug when I was around 11 or 12. So it's been a while. I've seen the beginning of photo blogging and the change around photography with social media. And my own photography has changed so much over these years. From really simple everyday moments to very heavily edited photos. And from there to more crazy curated shots. And now again back to more natural everyday photos. So it's been a journey. But as the title suggests I'm here to tell you today why I stopped being obsessed with taking extraordinary photos. And went back to taking simple everyday shots. It didn't mean I gave up. It actually meant a huge positive transformation for me. You can't deny that how we take photos today is hugely influenced by social media. Yes I can see that everyone has their own style. But you can also see that it's influenced by one trend or another. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. I think it helps us try new things and evolve as well. Here's the thing. While I know social media has opened so many doors for me. I also feel that it has kind of planted this small idea into my head. That simple wasn't enough. That to stand out and to be seen. I needed to create something that was out of this world and hadn't been created before. So that's exactly what I was looking for for years. And every shoot became a hunt for that amazing shot. Sometimes it worked. I got the shot and I was so happy. But most of the time I was just stressed and tense the whole shoot. And crushed when I didn't get the exact shot I had visualized in my head. And slowly without even noticing the joy started leaking out of photography for me. The very thing I'd always been the most passionate about. Even my Instagram following didn't grow for many years. Until one day I just grew tired of it. I decided I'm going to take my camera everywhere with me. Photograph everything. The result? Firstly I got so much better in such a short time. By simply shooting and editing way more. Secondly I started enjoying photography again. The stress was lifted so I didn't feel the pressure to create something that wasn't seen before. And that gave me back my flow. And thirdly as my content got more authentic it started to find its audience. And my Instagram account that was stuck for years started to grow again. Going back to simplicity really saved my career. And it really brought back the joy of creating. If you made it to this point I'm guessing you have felt the same. Stressed, stuck, like nothing you create is ever good enough. So let me share a few tips that helped me. And there might be something that works for you as well. Going simple doesn't mean giving yourself permission to know less about your craft. It means knowing it so deeply that you don't have to force anything. It means even when you capture something ordinary it looks magical. To achieve that you must invest time into honing your skills. Master your camera settings, your editing software and train your eye. I love a quote that goes Just shooting every day and repeating what you're doing all the time isn't enough. This is exactly where so many creatives get stuck. They're working incredibly hard but on the wrong thing. Let me give you an example. Once I had a person who bought my editing course. But by the end of the course I realized that they really didn't need an editing course but they needed a photography course instead. This person had spent years on their editing skill but didn't still understand why nothing really worked. But the editing was actually fine. What was missing was the foundation. Their exposure was off. They didn't understand their settings or lenses or even camera. And they didn't even realize that this was something that was holding them back. What I want to say is that focus on your foundations. So even the simplest of your photos look amazing. Times have changed. We want the realness back. Still in a beautiful curated way but less perfect. Because of that you need to shoot whatever you find genuinely beautiful. I guess it's somewhat like going back to the roots. Back to what photography was before we felt the need to prove something through social media. Simplicity, real emotions, beautiful moments in nature and everything in between. At the end of the day I truly feel that being genuine is what brings our souls the most joy. That real joy. So understanding what is stopping you from getting the results you want is a smart way to move forward. What is it that you need to learn or understand that could open the door for you? Is it the lack of knowledge about your gear or is it about editing? Or maybe you need to change how you see photography altogether. Maybe take a couple of days to do things completely differently and you may discover something that has been waiting behind your transformation. And if you do figure it out I'd love to hear it. Please drop it in the comments. You might be surprised how many people are sitting with this exact same block. This is the kind of stuff that quietly changes everything. Not just your photography but overall how you feel doing it. I really hope you enjoyed today's video and I appreciate you so much for tuning in. Please consider subscribing if you still haven't done it. This really helps this channel to grow. We have so much more value-packed videos coming to your way so stay tuned. See you very soon.