Dear friend,

I think one of the biggest things that holds us back in our photography and art is this quest for perfection.

1. You will never please 100% of people

Sorry spoiler alert– perfection doesn’t exist.

We are always in a process of ‘becoming.’ We are steadily growing as artists and creatives.

In photography, you can never make a 100% ‘perfect’ photograph. Because no matter how good the photo is, you will find someone online who doesn’t like it.

100% of people didn’t like the Beatles, Michael Jackson, or the art of Andy Warhol.

2. Aim for good, not great

As artists, we should strive to make good art that pleases us. I prefer to say ‘GOOD’ rather than ‘GREAT’ — because trying to force ourselves to make ‘great’ art is a bit too much pressure.

Aim to be a good photographer. And know you can make good photos even on a ‘shitty’ camera.

3. The 80% rule

For me, the rule I follow is this: try to make a photo or piece of art which is ‘80% good enough’ to me. Then I just hit publish.

What I endeavor to do is to grow a little bit each time. To make a piece of art that is 1% better than the previous one I published.

This helps me have slow, but steady growth. This helps me have a sense of progress in my life. It helps me stay encouraged.

4. We love to grow

I know for me, steady growth is preferable to becoming stagnant.

For example, in psychology it is proven that starting off with a $40,000 salary and having it increase by $10,000 a year feels better than starting with a $500,000 salary and never having that amount go up.

It is human nature– we measure our success by progress– not how ‘ultimately good’ it is.

5. Creating and sharing art takes a lot of courage

So friend– if you have a photograph that isn’t perfect, yet you still like it 80% — just publish it.

If you are the type of person who publishes ‘too much’ — then perhaps you can only publish photos you like 90%.

But this letter is dedicated to those of you who have hesitation making yourself naked. To put yourself ‘out there.’

And friend– I know it is scary, and it takes a lot of courage. But I do believe as Nietzsche said– the principal activity of life is art.

So when in doubt, make more art— and never aim for perfection. Aim for 80% ‘good enough’ –and just try to make each version 1% better.

Be strong,
Eric