You’ve all heard the quote that 10,000 hours of practice is what’s needed to become good at something. Well, there is some truth in that, but it’s not the whole truth.
Anders Ericsson actually said 10,000 hours of quality practice. He emphasised the fact that it has to be deliberate and in a form that is useful to you. There is no substitute. Muscle memory is great, and it will come, but you have to do the work. You have to take your time to learn your craft.
I love the idea that we all wake up and we’re brilliant. It’s just not true. You wake up with talent, that’s for certain. Some people have it, some people don’t. Some people will get there through deliberate practice, and that’s a wonderful thing. But in the end, there’s no substitute for picking up your camera, finding a subject, trying it, failing, and doing it again.
And the failing is as important as the succeeding, because in failing, you learn a load more than you do when everything goes right.
Pick up your camera every day. Take a deliberate photograph that you think might just be great. Some of them won’t be, some of them will be. What I will absolutely guarantee is that you will get better through that process.
Take your time. Practice.