I believe every good photographer leans into two opposing life forces to deepen skill and passion.

One is tension, the other is flow.

They may appear to work against each other, but they don't. Together they drive growth.

Here's how to strengthen your photography skills while also refining your artistic craft.

Leaning into tension

To tap into creativity, you must experience constraints, boundaries and some amount of resistance.

If you had endless time and resources, perfect lighting and endlessly available subjects to create any photo you wanted, you'd be overwhelmed.

When the act of creating has no limits, it paralyzes the artist.

Artists actually work better within constraints. Access to fewer tools. Limited by light. Having a timeline that has a hard end. A shot list. Requirements for specific outputs.

Sometimes we try hard to remove all tension and resistance.

But instead you should lean into these constraints.

How to do it:

Using a phone camera is a great way of leaning into tension when developing photography skills.

A phone (compared to a professional camera) has limited ability to produce a picture-perfect image. Because of this, you have to use extra effort to apply creative lighting, angles and lens choices to pull off a great photo. This exercises your creative muscle, produces stronger results, sharpens your skills and provides faster growth.

Leaning into flow

On the other hand, if creating photos was always hard work and required too much effort to overcome the challenges of having limited resources, you could feel defeated after a certain point. And if you feel defeated too often, you are at higher risk of quitting.

This is where accessing ease and quick wins can be hugely beneficial.

Take a holiday from the tension once in a while. Find an easy subject, in easy light, without worrying about capturing a perfect image. Just go and shoot, and be quick to experience the joy of carefree image-making.

How to do it:

Going out during gorgeous weather events is a great way of leaning into flow.

That's what I did last week. Our city was blanketed with an incredible frost on the trees, and with a clear blue morning sky, the lighting conditions were perfect for taking photos.

You could take photos anywhere, even in an ugly back alley, and you'd get stunning images. (I know this because seemingly every Winnipeg resident posted their photos on Facebook and I saw lots of ordinary scenes looking gorgeous in frost!)

That's what I mean by accessing quick wins. There's nothing complex - the scenery on its own is gorgeous, so just go out there and shoot!

In these settings, it takes little effort to capture gorgeous photos. The feeling you get from producing easy masterpieces does wonders to your confidence.

You're accessing quick wins, and that boosts your motivation to go and do more. And more.

And more.

And the more you go out and take more photos, the more your passion grows.

And passion is the secret sauce to growing into a great photographer. It's the energy you need to keep going, and unlocking the next levels of skill and creative talent.

How to pursue tension and flow

So next time you have the energy to grow - give yourself contraints and limits before going out to shoot.

And the next time you don't have the energy to grow - give yourself easy settings for quick photography wins before going out to shoot.

As you do both over and over throughout your journey, the more you'll feel joy and fulfillment in your photography.

---

So what does a professional iPhone photographer love?

In one of my latest blog posts, I share my 4 favourite phone camera accessories.

👇

See what they are here!

•••

Hi I'm Gabrielle. I run a full time photography business in Winnipeg, specializing in portrait and commercial photography. This newsletter started with my passion for helping everyday people realize their full photography potential. With a bit of technical and creative help, you too can take better photos with the phone camera you already have.

Find more of my resources here:

​Instagram • My Blog • Patreon • Learn With Me​

Gabrielle Touchette Photography

​Unsubscribe • Preferences • PO Box 46, Winnipeg, MB R2H 3B4