It’s all a numbers game, you know. One of my favourite photographic mantras is the outlandish idea of getting 1% better daily and how it can transform a photographer’s game. In fact, any creative person’s game.
Think of a snowball. It starts as a tiny little ball of ice that we have to push, shove, cudgel, and force to roll before it gains mass and weight and begins to roll down the hill on its own, picking up speed with even more mass and more weight until it gets to the parking lot and wipes out the little red and blue coffee hut with the amazing lattes.
Sorry… my bad. It starts small, but as it gets bigger, it can pick up more snow because it has more surface to collect it… sorta like compound interest. And we love compound interest — in our savings and our knowledge.
When I mention this phenomenon to creatives, they think that getting one per cent better means they will be 365% better at the end of the year. And, hey, that’s pretty good in itself. But the truth is that we are far better with this compounding effort. Let me show you how.
We are starting the new year, that magical time that allows us to clean the slate, forge new paths, sign up for unused gym memberships, and promise to never, never, never eat another Twinkie. And we all know how those things usually work out.
Let’s start something new.
How about creating a system that will make us 1% better every day.
- 1% better at composition.
- 1% better at Photoshop.
- 1% better at keeping records.
- 1% better at contacting clients.
Just one single, small, tiny, 1% better. That’s like learning how to use Blend If in 15 minutes of focused effort. Perhaps learning a bit about color theory in a short course, the next day. And on the third day, maybe we learn how to take that flash outside to mitigate the shadows on a bright sunny day.
Learning each of those small things ups your level a bit, but that little bit COMPOUNDS with the stuff you learned the next day and the day after.
Let’s take that Blend-If knowledge and the color theory knowledge outside to make a photograph under the bright sun with the knowledge of how to do that well. And those little 1% things are now adding up to something bigger than we think.
How much better is the image when we combine what we learned? Vastly. Well, more than 3% better, that’s for sure.
Hey, there is a mathematical upside to this slow, incremental growth:
Getting better by 1% per day means that at the end of the year, you are 37 times better. 3,778% better.
Here’s a handy math chart thingy for those of you who adore math thingies.
Let’s examine how this tiny-but-mighty growth may work for you:
Technical Skill Rollercoaster
So, you’re gonna start out by just messing around with lighting techniques.
Week one? You’re figuring out how to tackle those harsh midday sun rays.
Week two? Create crazy dramatic side-light situations.
By the end of the year, you’re a lighting wizard who can bend light like it’s made out of Play-Doh or pipe cleaners.
Do they still make pipe cleaners?
Gear Optimization Hack
Instead of dropping mad cash on new stuff, you’re going to get super familiar with your current equipment:
Learn one random camera setting that’s been chilling in your brain like that Small, Small World tune — the one you are now infected with (Sorry. No, really — I am).
Play around with one post-processing trick that you have been dying to learn.
Modify a preset you purchased to make it more “you”, try something you have seen on YouTube, then change it up to fit your own style of work.
Do something totally unexpected with your tools. Cover a lens with cellophane, shoot through a tube, mount your camera in a tricky position, try glitter on… NO, wait… no glitter. Forget I said glitter.
But you know what I mean, right?
In three months, you could be making images that will amaze you with gear that you already own. Maybe even making enough money with the new work to purchase some new, cool gear.
If you want to.
Portfolio Ninja Strategy
Many photographers sorta spray and pray for their portfolio. They shoot seemingly at random, trying to make images they think are cool enough for a portfolio, but not really sure what the portfolio should look like to begin with.
You’re going to take a more deliberate approach
“Imitate, Innovate, and Innovate” — Clark Terry.
Find a look or style that you love. Dissect it. Figure it out. (Imitate.)
Then, use it to make photos where you are in total control. (Assimilate.)
And when you have it down, and it is part of your lexicon, modify it to make it yours. (Innovate.)
Break down one legendary photographer’s signature stuff weekly. Avedon’s lighting. Perweiler’s composition. Meisel’s color.
You want to take this learning and create one shot that’s so hot it makes people stop scrolling. If you can do this once a week, or even twice a month, it is working for you.
Business Growth Trick
Photography is science, art, creativity — and a constant hustle. Your 1% daily blow-up might look like:
Snag one marketing trick that’s low-key genius. Search YouTube for marketing videos with over 500,000 views. Try to find one single point that helps you every day. Just one.
Learn how to create a bid that makes people go, “Wow, take my money!”
Yes, learning to price your work and how to bid it appropriately is as much an art as making an image. Practice at every opportunity.
Develop communication skills that are smoother than butter locked in the trunk of your Honda on a hot summer’s afternoon. Practice with a friend, with low-level clients, with family. Practice one call each day.
Contact three possible clients every weekday — fifteen per week. This one small effort will create massive growth. The kind of growth that will compound as well. If you want to go deeper on this subject you can download my free eBook: It’s a Numbers Game: Deep Dive into Marketing in Today’s World.
The Math of Getting Stupid Good
- Day 1: You’re chillin’ at 100%.
- Day 365: You’ve basically teleported to 3,778% of your original skills.
- Translation: You’ve gone from “nice camera” to “WTF!!!, how did you DO that?”
Your Daily Challenge
Pick ONE tiny thing to level up. Just one. Maybe it’s reducing noise in dark shots. Maybe it’s making people look like models when you pose them. Make it small, make it specific, make it something you can do again and again. Something repeatable that will become attached to your style and technique.
The photographers who are winning are not necessarily the ones with cameras that cost more than a nice used car, or a shiny new Indian Chieftain (for anyone thinking they owe me a Christmas present. Black, please, with the natural leather saddle).
They’re the ones who show up, consistently learn new things, and get just a little bit better every time they shoot.
Now, let’s all get to work at being 1%ers… the kind that gets better 1% a day.
