A concept I got from my friend Ryan from Backyard Brew in Palo Alto (I am quite sure Ryan is the one who truly invented the notion of a ‘minimum viable product‘ in Silicon Valley). I wonder — how can we apply this concept to our photography?
The ‘small thumbnail‘ test.
![ERIC KIM selfie face mask](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/gg-38-16-of-26-scaled.jpeg?resize=2560%2C1707&ssl=1)
The first idea:
Look at your photos as small thumbnails, and if they still pop out at you, they are probably effective images.
![](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screen-Shot-2021-08-10-at-1.26.14-PM-scaled.jpg?resize=2560%2C1600&ssl=1)
The reason why is this:
Most people will probably be looking at your photos on small phones (not full screen on a laptop or desktop) which means–
Your photos must ‘pop’ even when small!
![Kettlebell 105 pounds 48kg](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/6DD4AE46-475A-4649-BF91-42D77FDAA604-scaled.jpeg?resize=1707%2C2560&ssl=1)
What makes a strong ‘minimum viable photo’?
My thought —
Something to do with humans.
Being able to see eyes, movement, and gestures and emotions is good.
Not striving towards perfection with your photos
![Cindy hiking black and white](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/gg-37-8-of-8-scaled.jpeg?resize=2560%2C1707&ssl=1)
No such thing as a perfect photo. Nor should there. Then it means:
To enjoy the process of always making (new) photos and to continue to feast our eyes!
ERIC
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