How many times have we heard this since we were kids? At school, or from parents.
You know the score, stuff like “that’s the wrong way” or “you can’t do it like that, it’s wrong”
The first time I can remember this being said to me was due to the way I use my fork and knife, oddly. I’m not a lefty exactly, although I do some things the left-handed way. Much like most things in my life I tend to do in a way most people don’t, maybe it’s the creative brain or something. Maybe I’m just too stubborn to change my ways on demand, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
It got me thinking though, about how many times I’ve been told this in my life and to be fair, it’s a lot. When I started my photography journey, it was very much the same. “You must use these settings” or “this is the composition, don’t deviate” or “I’m not a fan of that, I’d have done it differently” from others who were also learning and took their advice from more “experienced” photographers.
I listened at first and all I was getting was the same shots as them. Obviously. I felt there was a “pop” missing, probably because it wasn’t my work. But not only that, my imposter syndrome was through the roof and my confidence levels were at an all-time low. I entered this weird world of being scared to share or was super hard on myself because I felt like I wasn’t going to meet expectations.
Then I got mad about it, got all sassy and trotted off on my own instead of attending groups, or shooting with other people. The moment I stepped out of the norm; the game changed. Different angles, experimenting with different settings, trying different lighting techniques etc, I found a style, a new vibe, and a whole new perspective. And oddly, the ones who were trying the “you can’t do it like that” technique started to implement similar ideas in their work. Even better, after applying some humility to the situation instead of letting my own ego take over, I realised they were under the same pressure, so I set about trying to empower and encourage others. Pointing out the positives in their work, giving constructive feedback, discussing, and playing. When this is just a hobby, you can do what you want, literally, WHAT YOU WANT.
When working professionally you must follow a brief, of course, but you’re there anyway so why can’t you try something new too, just on a hunch. I have genuinely lost count of how many times I’ve done this, and it’s turned out to be a client’s favourite shot, or I’ve made artwork of “done to death” places for walls in homes, purely on the basis of having enough balls to try it and push a comfort zone. I’ve also lost count of how many times it hasn’t worked, and that’s ok because now we know. I talk so much about the child within because creating to me is being at play. And play is so much fun when you can play nicely with others, dropping the ego, learning the story, forming the vision. A picture speaks a thousand words, we’ve all heard this saying, but every story has multiple perspectives and it’s our job as creatives to consider all angles. We can only do this if we break down barriers and restrictions and encourage our team to be free with their thoughts.
With all this in mind, I do wonder just how many epic things in the world have been discovered purely by accident or experimenting. I bet there are infinite examples. We know science is based on experimentation, but even artistically, how many famous works are we looking at where the artist simply went for it and created a masterpiece?
You can’t do that. Well, I’ve been feeding myself for 34 years minus the here comes the aeroplane bit so by example, yeah I can mate.
Next time you’re told you can’t do something, maybe have a think about who’s telling you that and why. We’re all entitled to our opinion, right? Who's to say yours is wrong?
