My Journey to Becoming a Better Photographer: The Struggles and Lessons Learned

I won’t sugar coat it—my journey to becoming a better photographer hasn’t been smooth sailing. There have been moments where I faced setbacks so severe, I questioned if I even wanted to continue. In fact, at times, the idea of going back to a 9-5 job seemed far more appealing than continuing with photography. I made the dramatic leap from working a traditional schedule to being fully immersed in photography 24/7/365, and while it was easy at first, things became challenging as time went on.

Initially, my regular clients kept me busy, but attracting new ones proved to be a struggle. Like many other photographers, I wasn’t very business-minded, which led to me losing a few key opportunities. That marked my first real downfall. For a week, I gave up on photography entirely. I won’t lie—that was one long, tough week. But eventually, I gave it another shot, and things slowly began to improve.

When business quietened down, I realised I needed to diversify my photography skills. I started exploring different niches, such as product, automotive, and interior photography. However, I quickly realised that my skills weren’t quite where they needed to be to deliver high-quality content in these areas. I thought I knew everything there was to know about operating a camera and flash, but clearly, there was more to it than I had anticipated.

This realisation pushed me to seek further education. I set myself a goal: master lighting in two years. Every evening after work, I would sit down and watch what few YouTube tutorials there were on flash and lighting techniques. I studied how to control light with the camera and achieve the desired results. But I soon discovered that wasn’t enough—there was still the editing process to master. And let’s not forget the technical side of things: computers, hard drives, and software. The list of things I needed to learn seemed endless!

To stay on track, I made a list of all the skills I needed to work on and developed a structured plan, which I’ve shared in the video below. You can also download the plan using the button provided. Mastering this method has taught me so much, and I’m confident it can help you too. The key is to be honest with yourself—this isn’t a race to the finish. Strive for the best you can, give yourself the time to learn, and don’t hesitate to reach out to others or use a wide range of resources.

I hope the video explains everything clearly, but if you have any questions, feel free to leave me a message!

Best of luck on your journey, and remember—learning is a process, not a sprint.