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Currently one of my more popular stock photos, taken in the Smoky Mountain National park near Mount LeConte.

Lately, I’ve been spending more of my free time on reading about improving my photography, and I think these lessons apply to any creative pursuit. Here are five great things I’m learning:

1. Be patient with yourself
   Great paintings take time, and so do great photographs. Whenever I’ve been assigned to take pictures of something or someone, I have to fight to keep calm and to take my time, almost as if I expect myself to be fast because I’m supposed to be “good”. Preparation, scouting, and lighting have a lot to do with having more consistent outcomes, but all of those things require time.
2. Mental toughness is key
   Shooting when you’re tired, hot, cold, or just creatively drained can be a real exercise in mental toughness. Buckling down and forcing yourself to carry on can result in some amazing imagery.
3. Get it right in the camera, whenever possible
   The old, “ahh, I’ll just fix it in Photoshop” saying usually has a really negative impact on my creativity. What this is code for is, “I’m lazy, and I’ll fix it later”. However, there are so many aspects of a photo that simply can’t be fixed later, such as realistic depth of field, blown-out highlights, and overall composition. Plus, even though I’m pretty handy with Photoshop, getting it right in camera usually only takes a few minutes, whereas I can tweak the image for hours in Photoshop to try and achieve similar results.
4. If you get one incredible image a year, you’re doing well
   The above statement is paraphrased from Ansell Adams, and I learned of it via another photographic genius, Ken Rockwell. You simply can’t come home with masterpieces every day, and that’s okay. But keep trying, and eventually you’ll hit that one in a million shot because you actually took a million shots.
5. Spend your money on good lenses
   Good lenses help to ensure that when you get something right, you get it really right. I’ve learned this the hard way, where I’ve gotten some great images on a crappy lens and then had a hard time selling them. If you can’t afford the top of the line, that’s cool, keep using what you have until you can afford what’s right for you. But if you’re serious about photography, save up and buy the good stuff. I’ve never regretted a purchase for photography gear that was top-of-the-line.