Here’s How to Really “Enjoy the Process” as a Photographer

“Just enjoy the process.” You’ve probably heard it a thousand times, right? But here’s the thing: no one ever really explains what that means or how to actually do it.

I came across a video by Hunter Creates Things that digs a bit deeper into this topic. With his recognizable humor and wit, Hunter breaks down why “enjoying the process” isn’t just feel-good fluff, but it’s actually the whole point of our beautiful craft.

Creating vs. Consuming: The Gear Trap

Like me, I noticed Hunter also divides hobbies into “creative” and “consuming.” As far as photography goes, it’s supposed to be largely creative. But it’s so easy to flip that around and spend all your time consuming instead.

You may start craving better cameras and lenses, and spending money on them. We can get sucked into thinking about gear more than actually going out and using it. You end up replacing the creative hobby of taking pictures with the consumptive hobby of buying tools to take pictures. There’s a running joke in the crochet community that buying yarn and crocheting are two different hobbies, and I think this is applicable to any creative hobby – photography included.

But don’t let this late-stage capitalism suck you in. In the video, Hunter shoots with an old Kodak camera and he makes a point not to geek out about the specs or the history. Because it doesn’t matter. If the photos turn out good, it’s not because of the camera. It’s because of the photographer.

The Instagram Trap: Creative Work or Just Feeding the Algorithm?

When it comes to consuming, it’s not just about buying stuff. Consuming content or art is another kind of hobby, and it’s all fine and dandy while we’re talking about good books, movies, TV shows, exhibitions, or other photographers’ work. However, what most of us sadly consume the most is social media content.

Hunter shares his experience when he was starting out. He’d go out and shoot, then rush home and stay up late developing and scanning everything just so he could post it to Instagram as fast as possible. He thought he was being creative, but he admits he was just doing the work required to get Instagram likes.

The antidote is to take back control. Shoot and show your work the way you want to, not the way an algorithm wants you to. It’s easy to fall into the “algorithm trap,” but it will eventually just make you feel frustrated and suck the joy out of your hobby.

Doing Your Best vs. Being the Best

Everyone wants to take the best photos, have the best gear, and be the best at everything. But Hunter points out something really important: it’s not about taking the best photos, full stop. It’s about taking the best photos you can take. Or better yet, doing the best work you can do.

He used to think his work wasn’t good enough because his camera and lenses weren’t fancy enough. But when he finally got nice lenses, they only made his photos maybe 1% better. What made them 40 to 50% better were years of practice, studying art, and getting his eyes tested. And what made them 80 to 90% better was pausing before pressing the shutter and asking himself, “Is this the best I can do?” This is one of the things film photography teaches you, and it becomes an integral part of your process when you switch (back) to digital.

Remember, there’s no such thing as the “best photo.” Art is subjective after all. But that nagging feeling that your work isn’t good enough goes away when you know you did your absolute best at a given moment.

Fun-Maxxing: The Alysa Liu Approach

Hunter brings up Alysa Liu, the figure skater who won gold at this year’s Winter Olympics. I believe you’ve already heard her story, but I’ll definitely going to repeat it because I’m fascinated. Figure skating is brutal: abusive coaches, starvation diets, hyperoptimized routines and appearance. Alysa said a hard NOPE to all of that; she took a two-year break, and when she returned, she did things her way. Her Olympic performance was so joyful and fun, and it brought her not only the Olympic gold but the worldwide fame for being unapologetically herself.

There’s this great thread Hunter quotes from Brad Stulberg:

One of the greatest competitive advantages is having fun. People love to romanticize the athlete, artist, or entrepreneur who has a chip on their shoulder, fueled by anger and resentment.

But the truth is that if you’re not having fun, you are not going to last long at whatever it is you do, and you certainly won’t get the best out of yourself. There’s a foolish idea that you either have to be full of intensity or full of joy. But that’s nonsense.

For me, this is what I think about when I think about “enjoying the process.” I mean, I’m a photographer (among other things), and as Hunter puts it, walking out the door to take photos is easier than doing a triple axel. Or even if you just stay indoors and make a complete mess trying to take a photo.

The latter reminded me of a self-portrait I took for my 36th birthday. I turned my apartment into a complete mess, I played the 1980s music, sang out loud, and was a superstar of my own one-woman show. I loved it! I loved the final results, but enjoyed the shooting process even more. I think this is what it should be about.

Funnily enough, “enjoy the process” is something I’ve recently been telling my partner a lot, as he’s taken up sewing more seriously. His perfectionism ties him down and leads to procrastination, so I keep encouraging him by telling him that he should give up on the idea that the first pair of trousers will be perfect and just enjoy the process of tailoring and sewing itself. So, for me, Hunter’s video comes at the right time because I’ll be using some of his remarks to remind both my partner – and myself – what enjoying the process really means and how we can do it and enjoy our hobbies more.

[How To “Enjoy The Process” | Hunter Creates Things]

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