{"id":30267,"date":"2016-09-03T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-03T16:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=30267"},"modified":"2016-08-19T15:44:22","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T22:44:22","slug":"what-would-this-look-like-if-it-were-really-simple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/03\/what-would-this-look-like-if-it-were-really-simple\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What would this look like if it were really simple?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2014-08-14<\/p>\n

Many of us have creative ideas. But complexity is what gets in the way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We want to start our own YouTube channel, but we say that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a good enough webcam, or microphone. We want to start a blog, but we say we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know code or web design. We want to start a certain photo project, but we say we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a good enough camera.<\/p>\n

I got this idea from Tim Ferris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 podcast: ask yourself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What would this look like if it were really simple?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

For example, if you wanted to do a YouTube channel\u00e2\u20ac\u201d how would you do it if it were really simple? Just use your laptop webcam, and use your iPod headphones (it has a microphone built into it). If you wanted to start a blog, just go to wordpress.com and start typing. If you wanted to start a photo project, just do it all on your smartphone.<\/p>\n

Avoid buying new gear<\/h2>\n

\"2014-09-04<\/p>\n

I once read something along the lines of: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Whenever you start a new hobby, avoid buying all the new gear associated with it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

For example, if you start yoga, you might want to buy a $100 mat, some Lululemon pants, and an expensive membership. But just start off by doing it simply; do it in your living room to a YouTube video, and you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even need a mat.<\/p>\n

If you want to start hiking, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go to REI or buy a bunch of north face stuff. Just put on old shoes, dirty clothes, and walk around nature.<\/p>\n

Every new photographer starting off gets obsessed with buying tripods, lenses, and new camera bodies and accessories. I generally recommend most photographers starting off to just shoot with their smartphones and using VSCO to apply presets.<\/p>\n

\"2014-09-10<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m totally guilty of being overly-obsessed with the gear. But what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve discovered for myself is this: the more complex I make something, the less likely I am to do it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For example, when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have too many cameras, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be hit by \u00e2\u20ac\u0153paralysis by analysis<\/em><\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d when I was shooting in the streets. I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure which camera or lens to use when making photos, which would deter me from actually taking photos.<\/p>\n

The same thing with blogging\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I got too caught up in the hype of trying to find an ideal writing tool. I experimented with an iPad, an iPad with a keyboard, my laptop, my smartphone, or even pen and pad. At the end of the day, just typing on a laptop seems to be the easiest.<\/p>\n

\"2014-10-23<\/p>\n

With photographic projects I tend to overcomplicate things as well. I also find that having a fancy title for your photo project can debilitate you. Just keep it simple. My favorite projects include my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Suits<\/em><\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d project (just photographing men in suits) and my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cindy Project<\/em><\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (just taking photos of Cindy).<\/p>\n

So as a reminder, always ask yourself the question: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What would this look like if it were really simple?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Keep life simple and uncomplicated. The less complication, the more creativity. The less frustration, the more joy. The less complexity, the more creative output.<\/p>\n

Always,
\nEric<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of us have creative ideas. But complexity is what gets in the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}