Welcome to Week 19 of 2025!
In today's e-mail, you'll get:
INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK: The Hidden Secret Shaping Your Creativity
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: High-Impact Photography to Change the World
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Try This Exercise I Designed Just For You
INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK
The Hidden Secret Shaping Your Creativity
Nathan Barry wrote an article about how we now live in an age where everyone benefits from technology equality. Tools that once restricted access to entire industries are now available to nearly everyone.
A college student uses the same iPhone a billionaire tech mogul uses. The always-on-us camera is the same regardless of status, wealth or fame.
Back in the day, people would learn high-level skills using expensive tools. They would promote their value to clients and employers based on their proficiency in using those tools.
But today, the ability to produce work with high-tech tools is no longer much of a differentiator.
It's most obvious with the iPhone camera. Its technology has come a long way and with a simple snap of a button, anyone and their dog can produce a high-resolution photo with impeccable detail and clarity.
What was once a skill reserved to highly trained specialists using tools that cost tens of thousands of dollars and who operated out of a studio space on Main street, is now a reality available to anyone with the latest iPhone in their back pocket.
Technology equality is great. But that's just one step of the way.
What matters most now is having the insight to know what to create in the first place.
This is exactly why I love phone photography so much. All the tools you need are at your disposal and are not out of reach. You can create some pretty compelling images that can change the world with just your iPhone!
The roadblock is not inaccessible tools and technology.
The roadblock is not knowing what type of photos to create… and why.
It's important to learn not just the how of image-creation, but the why of image-creation.
The how is easy.
But the why, that’s the key part.
That’s what differentiates good photographers from excellent ones.
Look at these two photos.
Photo #1 (falls flat and confuses viewers):
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Photo #2 (grabs attention and inspires buyers):
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The solution is to go from not knowing why this first photo falls flat, to having the imagination to create this second photo.
The capacity for imagination can grow when you give your inner creativity permission to flourish.
This is the solution to becoming an image maker that can actually change the world, one photo at a time.
It’s possible to overhaul your imagination and ignite a deeper sense of creative agency within you.
When you do this, your photos start changing the world.
Sounds overly dramatic?
Give it a try. Take your photos to the next level.
And watch your photos change the world.
PS: At the end of the e-mail, you'll find a practical photography exercise for expanding your capacity for imagination.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Changing the World With High-Impact Photos
I had the delight of teaching an iPhone photography workshop to this lovely group at CancerCare last week. They take photos of incredible stories of resilience, community connections and inspiring acts of love for their social media platforms. Learning how to tell their stories in a more impactful way through photography is crucial to the work they do. It was a huge honour to empower them to take their photography skills to the next level!
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Ideas Spark Ideas
"Imagination is our brain’s ability to form concepts, ideas, images and sensations internally regardless of what’s happening externally." - Jeff Bollow
This Tedx Talk confirmed ideas that were already formulating in my brain while writing this Week 19 e-mail. I'm glad I found it as it makes a perfect resource to share with you.
It also lines up with a practical photography exercise that will help you expand your imagination. I designed this exercise specifically for new photographers with phone cameras. It will help develop your creativity, which is an invaluable asset in today's world.
As Jeff puts it: "In a world of exponentially advancing technology, creativity becomes the new currency."
PS: If you're in Winnipeg, I'm hosting a portrait phone photography meet up at a studio in a few weeks if you'd like to join. Come meet other phone photographers and practice taking photos of people with your phone! If you'd like to be added to the wait list to register, reply to this e-mail.