Seven Habits That Will Change Your Life as a Photographer

Not every habit that shapes your photography happens behind a camera. In fact, many of them have nothing to do with gear, technique, or editing. In a recent video, Matty Loucas shares seven habits that have changed his life as a photographer and creative, and most of them are completely unrelated to photography itself. Do you practice them too?

Making Time for Personal Work

If photography is your career, it’s easy to spend all your time shooting for clients. Matty says it’s essential to save time for personal work too. You won’t always get to earn money doing exactly what you love, especially early on. But personal projects keep you excited about photography. They keep you engaged. And eventually, they even become what attracts new commercial work anyway. For Matty, shooting on film has been the thing that rekindled that excitement lately, and I can strongly relate to this. I also feel like I need new challenges (or retake some old ones), so I’ve been shooting 35mm film, Polaroid, and making cyanotypes.

Writing Regularly

Matty has been writing a weekly Substack newsletter every Saturday morning for about two years now. If you frown on this and think, “But I’m not a writer” – Matty’s clear that he’s never seen himself as a writer, either. However, this habit has helped him understand his own ideas better. Once again, I can strongly relate – being a DIYP in-house writer for 10 years now and having my own Substack as well as English and Serbian blogs.

But more than just understanding his ideas better, writing has also helped Matty communicate with clients, pitch concepts, and connect with a different kind of audience. Of course, you don’t need a newsletter to get the same benefit. Writing in your notes app or carrying a small notebook works just as well. The point is to get thoughts out of your head and into words on a regular basis.

Traveling and Exploring

Travel is the habit Matty admits might be a stretch to call a habit, but he stands by its value. It doesn’t have to be a long vacation or going to an exotic destination – visiting a cafe in a different suburb or nearby city counts just as much. It’s just about getting out of your usual environment. This opens your perspective and it gives you new material to photograph. The main goal is to keep introducing novelty into your week, and it will bring novelty into your work as well.

Scheduling Video Calls with Friends and Family

Creative work can be lonely. You spend a lot of time alone (and in front of a computer), especially if you’re a freelancer. If your work often takes you to other cities or countries, or you live far from your loved ones like I currently do, you can get even lonelier.

This is why Matty schedules regular FaceTime and video calls with the people he cares about. They break up the day and give him something to look forward to. He also points out that being able to call a friend in the middle of a Tuesday is one of the genuine perks of working for yourself.

Changing Your Environment

Sitting in the same spot all day is a creativity killer. Matty makes a point of getting out and working somewhere new on a regular basis. It can be a café or a co-working space, anywhere where a you can have a change of scenery. For Matty, this shift in environment helps him think more clearly. I also find myself working faster and more efficiently in my favorite local café than I do at home. Another benefit is that it also breaks up the week in a way that makes the work feel less monotonous.

The Archive Dive

Once a month, Matty sits down and revisits old work. He calls it “the archive dive.” He opens Lightroom, scrolls back through older edits, and looks at them with fresh eyes. It shows him how far he’s come, but also gives him ideas about how he’d approach certain situations differently now.

However, he advises you to be careful with this, keep it intentional and contained to once a month. Matty has learned the hard way that falling into the habit of constantly re-editing old work can become a procrastination trap. It feels productive, but it stops you from getting out and shooting new things. The archive dive is really about setting a healthy boundary around that tendency.

Sending That Email

This last habit might be the most uncomfortable one. Matty says consistently sending outreach messages has been one of the most valuable things he’s built into his routine. When he moved cities and had to rebuild his network from scratch, he didn’t have the luxury of waiting for work to come to him. He had to reach out instead. And here I am, relating once again. :) Over time, that outreach stopped feeling scary and just became a part of the routine.

Matty notes that there are probably three to five brands or artists you’d love to work with right now, and you’re just not messaging them. Getting into the habit of sending those messages, without putting enormous pressure on any single one, changes how you relate to the whole process. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You’ll get ignored or left on read? Okay, but you’ll also open doors that would have stayed shut otherwise.

These seven habits may not be strictly about the creative part of photography, but they’re about staying inspired and connected, as well as putting yourself out there consistently. They’re about showing up for yourself, and that can only bring you good things.

And now, excuse me while I go send those emails to the bands I want to photograph.

[7 habits that actually changed my life as a photographer & creator via FStoppers]

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