13 Photography Productivity Hacks to Motivate You

Some personal photography productivity hacks that I use, which may help you:

Accept the fact that your current city location and lifestyle is not ideal, but, in spite of all of that, you can still make photographs. Perhaps you could make better photos elsewhere, but hope and desiring to be somewhere else is a vice. Therefore, much more virtuous and better for you to just take your current reality and exploit it to the maximum, rather than desiring some thing that you currently do not have. Be extremely present minded.
Black and white: it is more difficult to make an interesting photo in color than in black-and-white. Why is this? When you shoot color, you are a slave to the color. That is, if you live in a drab and uninteresting and uncolorful place, it will be very difficult to make interesting color photographs. Furthermore, with color photography you’re much more of a slave to the lighting conditions. For example, if you want to make a really great color photograph, you need to either shoot at sunrise, or sunset. Or use a flash. With black-and-white photography, you have more creative optionality, which means you have more opportunities to make good photos. Black and white is less dependent on optimal lighting conditions or even places. Also, black-and-white allows you to be more abstract, and you could shoot abstract photos anywhere, even in the boring suburbs as I have discovered.
Just use RICOH GR III, and always have your Ricoh in your front right pocket. The best outfit I’ve discovered is wearing black tight leggings, paired with athletic shorts on top. I’ve also discovered that using a wrist strap (ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II for RICOH) to be optimal, now that I’ve got a kid. While I do love neck straps when I am traveling, when I am just living my every day life, always having my camera in my front right pocket allows me to shoot every single photographic moment possible. It becomes an integration with my life.
Small JPEG: just using Apple photos on my laptop, and shooting small JPEG allows the quickest and most efficient photography workflow than using Adobe Lightroom and raw. shooting small JPEG also is beneficial because you can import your photos quicker, and also upload your photos quicker. Also in someway, shooting JPEG is like shooting film: what you see is what you get.
Trying to walk at least 30,000 steps a day: I have a theory that the best marker for photographic productivity is your step count. It seems obvious to me that the more you walk, the more interesting scenes you will expose yourself to, in the more likely you’ll find things of interest to photograph. Also, I’ve never met somebody who walks 30,000 steps a day and is sad or depressed. Therefore another theory of mine is that a lot of modern depression is just based on the fact that people are chained to their desks, whether in the office or at home, and unable to walk, which is the primary purpose of a human being. If you consider our human physiology it is optimized for walking. The reason we are bipeds and have two legs and walk upright is that it is the most efficient bodily form to walk long distances, for long periods of time, with the minimal amount of fatigue. Also being a biped allows us to terrain rough surfaces and changes in elevation most efficiently. For example, a human is actually more efficient in hiking on an uneven mountain surface than even a four-legged animal.
Go on more hikes, and take along your camera. Ironically enough, the best way to re-motivate yourself in street photography is by doing very nature things, like going on hikes. After a re-invigorating and recharging nature expedition, I go to the city streets with more zest and vigor.
Watch great cinema as a way to be inspired with photography composition. I actually think that the best compositions are in movies, rather than from photographers. Why is that? Movie makers have a higher budget, and they have the time and resources to make their compositions perfect.
Start off the day by photographing your morning coffee: if you’re like me and a coffee addict, the best way to warm up your photographic engine is just start off the day shooting. When you are waiting for your morning coffee to boil, just photograph your coffee beans or equipment, and do it every day.
If you want a midday coffee, don’t drink it at home, rather, walk to the nearest coffee shop to buy it instead. Along the way, just shoot photos.
Take photos when you’re taking your dog on a walk, or taking your kid on a walk. For example, as a way of napping baby Seneca, I strap him to my chest with a ergo baby, and I just make photos. You can also shoot photos when your kid is in a stroller. And maybe if you’re ambitious enough, try to also take your cat on a walk (even though I hear that they hate collars).
To be a more focused photographer, purge your cameras. You’ll get more joy from giving either a kid you know or somebody in need a camera your old cameras, than buying a new one. Also, I’ve discovered more joy when I give away my cameras than sell them. By owning fewer cameras, you will have more focus. Why? If you have too much camera equipment, you fall victim to paralysis by analysis, rather than immediately knowing which camera to use, you waste precious brain power trying to optimize for the perfect camera. The most optimal camera is the most unoptimal one.
Delete your Instagram, and also don’t share photos on Facebook. Share them to your own blog instead. I always thought, if you just took all of that energy and effort in building up your social media presence, and instead of trying to get more Instagram followers, what if you just directed all that energy into building up your own platform in your own blog instead?
Start a brand-new empty folder: start carte Blanche. Treat this year as a new year to make new photos, and disregard your past photos. If you forget your past photos, it is a good motivator to make new photos. And to make new photos is the goal of photography.

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If this inspired you or sparked any new creative ideas in you in anyway, feel free to forward to a friend!

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