Process vs Results in Photography

Let’s be real for a second.

You can learn all the technical stuff, exposure triangle, in a weekend. Maybe two if you’re taking it slow.

That part? It’s just low hanging fruit. Anyone with an internet connection and a camera can learn it.

But what no one tells you early on is that being good at the technical stuff doesn't actually make your work interesting.

You can nail your exposure and still take a photo that feels like stock wallpaper. You can follow every composition rule, you know… rule of thirds, leading lines, foreground vs background interest, all that jazz and still end up with something that feels flat. You can even use the exact same preset as your favourite photographer and still feel like your photos have no soul.

Why? Because the “soul” part, the part that makes someone stop scrolling and actually feel something, that doesn’t come from your settings.

It comes from your process.

And I don’t mean your editing workflow or how you import your files. I mean your reason for picking up the camera in the first place. What you’re drawn to. The weird little moments or the stuff you notice that someone else might walk right past. The things you pull from your experiences.. the shit you find interesting.

That’s the stuff that actually makes you a photographer.

it’s not instant. It’s not clean. You can’t shortcut it with gear or tutorials.

It’s messy. You chase light that doesn’t work. You shoot frames that looked amazing in your head but fall completely flat on screen. You experiment, you fail, you try again. And slowly… you start to notice patterns. You start to see what excites you. What feels like you!

That’s when it gets good.

Not when you finally “master” photography. Not when your shots are tack-sharp and noise-free. But when they start feeling like your own voice. Even if they’re imperfect. Especially if they’re imperfect.

Because honestly? Most people don’t care if your photo is technically perfect. They care if it’s real. If it says something. Makes them feel something and like someone made it with intention.

So if you're stressing about the result, if you’re wondering why your photos still don’t feel right even though you did everything “correctly” take a breath.

Zoom out.

And get back to the process. Keep showing up. Shooting. Refining.

Embrace the process instead of chasing the result. That’ll eventually fall into place.