10 things I learned thanks to photography

1. Expectations suck - often, the outcome disappoints because the scene didn’t match your vision, conditions weren’t ideal, or expectations were just too high. You can't control everything. Spontaneous sessions, with no expectations, often lead to better photos and, most importantly, much more fun.

2. Patience is key - not only in waiting for the right conditions, but also in trusting the process. There are no shortcuts; you must learn step by step, taking dozens of thousands photos to begin seeing satisfying results.

3. There is no better timing than now - an important note to myself: just take that camera, go out and shoot. This perfect light/scene might never come.

4. Practice is key - whether it’s cooking, driving, learning a language, or photography. There’s no overnight success in any of these things. You just have to keep doing it to eventually do it well.

5. Turn around - often, the most interesting scene isn’t right in front of you, but behind you. If something doesn’t feel quite right, don’t force it. Turn around, and you might find what you’re looking for sooner than you think. Or better yet, it might find you.

6. The grass is not always greener on the other side - why searching far when you can have it around the corner. To take great photographs you don’t have to travel the world. A walk in the neighbourhood can result in a bangers that will bring you tears of joy.

7. Better done than perfect - some says the imperfect photos are the most beautiful. Photography is trial and error. Endless amount of mistakes, lost chances for a great shot, dozens of blurry pictures, photos out of focus, forgotten spare batteries and memory cards, you gotta love it all. 

8. Less is more - whether it’s photography or your house interior. Removing unnecessary objects from the frames is never a bad idea. Leaving a clear subject with a story behind it, is always a good one. Mess results in confusion and distraction.

9. The goal is to enjoy the process, not the final result - making nice pictures is nice, but at the end of the day, you don’t want to be a marathoner who stops training after crossing the finish line. Keep on shooting and don’t focus on goals too much.

10. It’s okay to change your mind - whether you thought you want to make a career in a portrait photography and it turned out to be street, or you wanted to become a surgeon and ended up as a passionate taxi driver instead - it’s all okay. We’re here to have some fun.

Houdoe, take care and I see you in the next one!

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I created a free guide (well, a mini-course is a better word), which will help you make more compelling, clean pictures.
It includes a little bit of theory, example images and practical tips/exercises.
Do you want to start making minimalistic, clean images that stand out? That guide is for you.

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