davidduchemin.com

Perfectionism isn’t a good thing because the goal of “perfect” isn’t healthy. Forgive me for putting it this way, but it’s the bastard love child of a protestant work ethic and the fact that we celebrate the work of artistic genius but never acknowledge the process responsible for that work. A rejection of the obsessive pursuits of perfection and perfectionism is not an endorsement of sloppy, lazy work or a rejection of excellence of craft; perfection and excellence are not the same things. How many times have you shied away from sharing your work because it wasn’t perfect and therefore wasn’t good?

We’ve all been there. Out making photographs with friends, things are going so well

“I sure wish I was more creative. ” Have you ever said those words either to yourself or others? Every time I hear “I wish I were more creative,” I want to put my fingers in my ears and run out of the room

Martin Luther, when he wasn’t nailing things to church doors, wrote this: “this life therefore is not being but becoming,” a perspective that, once adopted, allows us to stop obsessing about making masterpieces right here and now, and instead on becoming the kind of photographer with both the craft and the vision to one day make masterpieces. Frustration that our photographs aren’t as good as others, that we don’t see things that others do, that the camera doesn’t feel as comfortable in our hands as it seems to for others, or that our compositions aren’t as creative…on and on. First, remember it’s a long game, a life-long study of a craft that will always challenge you, if you’ll let it. Don’t let the magazine or the articles you see online convince you that to be a real photographer you need more gear, you need to learn this one special magic technique.