The war is internal, not technical.

Lessons From a Terrible Photographer is a book for creatives who feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected from their work, even though they know what they’re doing.

It’s not about gear or technique. It’s about the internal stuff no one talks about, and focusing on why we make work, not just how.

Preorders help determine the first print run. Copies ship once printing begins.

Preorder here:

https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-book

In 1863, the Paris Salon rejected Édouard Manet's The Luncheon on the Grass for being too messy, too flat, too "unfinished." Today, it's one of the most important paintings in art history. Meanwhile, the "perfect" paintings that won the medals? Nobody remembers them.

In this episode, we're deconstructing the biggest question photographers face: What makes a photo "good"? How do we measure it? Who decides? And why do we keep building portfolios that are technically perfect but emotionally dead?

This is the first episode in a new mid-week series called "Basics, Deconstructed" we take the elementary concepts of photography and tear them down until we find the bone.

In This Episode:

• Why technical perfection is the enemy of art
• The difference between "High Notes" (sharpness, perfect skin tones) and "Bass Notes" (the blur, the shadow, the grit)
• What happened when an art buyer tore apart my "perfect" portfolio
• How to stop shooting out of fear and start shooting out of soul
• The hardest lesson: being shrewd enough to interrupt the performance

Key Quote:

"I don't hire photographers to be commercial. I hire technicians to be sharp. I hire photographers to make me feel something."

Contact & Support:

📧 Email: [email protected]
(Questions, thoughts, hate mail—I respond to everything.)

🎵 Music: epidemicsound.com

☕ Support the show: https://www.terriblephotographer.com/support

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terriblephotographer

📬 Newsletter (Pub Notes): https://the-terrible-photographer.kit.com/223fe471fb