Every Day? Really?

They speak the truth.  All of the creative gurus, big dogs and super talented artists (insert “photographers” here) tell us that practice and repetition is important.  If we are writers, write every day.  If we are tellers of tales, tell a story every day.  And for photographers, we improve if we carry (and use it) our camera everywhere.  Always at the ready, always eyes wide open, lens cap/cover off, settings in our standard mode.

The analogy is often used that great basketball players shoot hundreds if not thousands of hoops a day.  Great tennis players hit the ball in like fashion.  Over and over and over until muscle memory kicks in.  Photography is the same.  Use it or lose it.

Having just returned from an intensive week of making photos I was reminded of this when by the end of day two, I felt “warmed up” enough to create better images.  More relaxed.  More natural.  With more feeling (which is my goal).  Since drinking a few glasses of wine to loosen up is NOT the answer, staying warmed up by creating more often is best. 

Just as we get stiff if we sit too long at editing work, our creative muscles lock up when we leave our cameras on the shelf.  I know this to be true yet I have yet another question for which I’m aching for an answer.  After all of the hoop shooting, the backboard pounding, great athletes get out on the court and into a real game with measurable outcomes.  The score lets you know if there is improvement and all the practice has paid off.  As a creative this is more of a challenge.  How do we know if we are improving? I’m searching for that answer next.