How 2 Photos Can Change Your Photography Habits

Small wins is all you need to keep pushing forward

Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught
Or half a page of scribbled lines

Okay so I am so NOT a Pink Floyd fan but these lyrics from their song “Time” just feel so relevant to me right now.

Won’t be long and it will be March. My son just turned 4….WTF. Every morning I have a new grey hair. The plans and ideas I have seem to grow and the time I have to complete them seems to shrink.

Time - feels like a final boss I’ll never beat.

I find the more I think about how I don’t have enough time the more I waste time. The more anxious I get about time and what I’m not doing, the more time slips away from me.

The more I hyper fixate on time and using it in the best possible way, the more it becomes a problem. Kind of like calorie counting - it just doesn’t work and it leads to anxious unhealthy behaviour.

So fuck time, right? Like who has time to obsess over time? Not me.

The real reason I’ve been thinking about time is actually because I haven’t had any time to photograph lately….well I have but not in the way I find most nourishing and enjoyable.

Date night plans with Lux were cancelled, which meant that I didn’t get to wonder round with my KEKS flash and take burner photos.

Work has been getting busier and busier.

The weather has been wet and/or hot AF.

But really these are all excuses because there is always a pocket of time to take a photo or two… and I found that on the weekend.

I’m convinced you can find something red just abut everywhere

Photography Should Fit In With Your Everyday Life

We all know and hear that everyone should take a camera with you everywhere you go right?

I used to always do this but then I stopped.

I would be bummed out if I didn’t see anything cool, or annoyed that I couldn’t have gone off and shot exactly how I wanted and then be grumpy about it. Childish I know.

I also started to loathe the camera a little because so much of work life was capturing everything all the time. I thought unshackling myself from the camera would somehow be the answer, but it wasn’t.

Instead, I felt worse because I was never photographing just for me and that would lead to bad mental health and also a feeling of my own identify as an artist slip away.

So this year I’ve been carrying my XE-1 with me all the time and it just feels so casual and easy (being digital) I snap away effortlessly at whatever looks cool.

So the two photos you have seen in this newsletter are the two photos i took this weekend for myself.

These two photos kept me going though and gave me a little pep in my step. A feeling of “go you - you got some shots in just for you” and this really boosts me up!

I was at the library with Luca and Lux, our Saturday tradition, and I wondered off with my camera to look for a new book and I saw the green cushions on the floor and was like YES!

Then straight after I saw the red chair legs and that was it - I’d had my fix of finding colour and shooting it with flash. I’d proved to myself that there were always things to photograph and that if I was open and ready I would get to capture them and use every snap to motivate for the next.

My mind runs wild with what else is out there and it’s a true rush, like an addiction, but a good one. I need proof that the things I want to shoot are out there and this was my evidence.

These quick little wins are all it takes sometimes and as creatives we can get so in our heads, and in our own ways, so I wanted to share this with you to remind us all that it’s not about going on some big photography road trip or shooting a long term project. It’s about bringing your camera along for the ride and taking the photo ops when you can.

It’s also okay to not have that much to share too - this week these two photos are all I got, but because I’m sharing on Substack I’m able to write about it and share more than just, the 2 photos with you.

This is why I love this platform so much and I really think it’s the most honest and positive way to share your work online right now.

If any of you have joined and you aren’t totally sure how to share, what to post about, how to hang out on Substack and how to grow your newsletter (if that’s your thing) then you should check out my latest YouTube video. It’s basically all my knowledge of Substack from the last 3 years of sharing a newsletter on here and it will be helpful if you feel a bit overwhelmed.

Things You Should Know About

The Lux List is the latest newsletter offering here on Substack and if you are a music lover but feeling kind of stale with your choices then this is the publication for you.

Lux Lumen (am adoring husband) has decided to finally peel away from being just behind the camera and start writing and sharing his love for music here on Substack. A great personal project and way to have a more positive time on the internet.

Submitting Your Work

I plan to do a whole video on this topic soon because it’s something some of us don’t do, are scared of, haven’t thought about, or simply don’t quite understand the value of it for ourselves as artists.

PASTICHE Magazine has an open call for ISSUE 2 - You can find more details on their Substack by clicking the button below. I am honoured to be curating the submissions along with my photo friend and Substack king Wesley Verhoeve.

A Must Watch For Everyone

This video popped up last night and whilst it’s had like a zillion views and it might have just been shown to you organically I’m sharing it here because I think it’s a must watch for all creatives!

Never have I agreed with a YouTuber more and I think the points about gear and filmmaking etc. are directly applied to us photographers as well.

A Note On Portfolio Reviews

Thank you so much for your interest and bookings with my portfolio review service this year! I’m currently all booked for February now but my books will be opening again in March and with a swanky new booking system to make it easier for you and me.

I’ll let you know when that goes live and those of you who want to book in advance and gather your folio together will be able to do that seamlessly.

I’ve had some questions and enquires about 1:1 or mentoring sessions for creatives who want to build an online presence and make creativity a part of their working life in some way.

I’m more likely to build out a course for this type of thing as it will serve more people but i’ll keep you posted on this progress and as always if you have any questions or suggestions please comment below or get in touch via email/DM.

Thank you for reading guys and I’ll see you in the feed of Substack for daily posts and photos!

Love Lucy x