{"id":32988,"date":"2016-12-21T01:12:18","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T09:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=32988"},"modified":"2016-12-21T03:08:30","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T11:08:30","slug":"innovation-is-knowing-what-not-to-do-in-your-photography-and-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/21\/innovation-is-knowing-what-not-to-do-in-your-photography-and-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation is Saying No"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"eric<\/p>\n

One of the ideas I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m constantly obsessed about is innovation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Steve Jobs once said that innovation wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t saying yes to a lot of good ideas\u00e2\u20ac\u201d rather, innovation was saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to 1,000 good ideas (and knowing which great<\/em> ideas to choose from).<\/p>\n

Which made me realize \u00e2\u20ac\u201d perhaps if we want to innovate in our photography, we should figure out what not<\/em> to do in our work, approach, and process.<\/p>\n

Things not to do<\/h2>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

I love the idea of looking at what everyone else\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and doing the opposite<\/em> of what everyone else is doing.<\/p>\n

For example, when everyone is on social media, perhaps the best way you can innovate is by not<\/em> using social media (perhaps focusing on printing your work, having exhibitions, making books).<\/p>\n

Perhaps in a world where everyone is uploading one photo a day to social media, you only upload one photo a week to social media.<\/p>\n

Maybe instead of using social media, start a photography blog instead.<\/p>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

In your photo projects, figure out what not<\/em> to include in your projects. The photos you decide to exclude<\/em> from your project are more important than the photos you decide to include in your projects.<\/p>\n

If you want to build your style in photography, figure out what kinds of genres of subject-matter you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/em> like to photograph. And simply avoid taking those kinds of photos.<\/p>\n

To make better compositions or images, seek to reduce<\/em> clutter, complication, and distractions from your frame. Only focus on the essential. Kill noise at all costs, and subtract the superfluous.<\/p>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

When it comes to your camera gear, figure out what gear not<\/em> to use. Perhaps that means getting rid of the gear you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use, and only focusing on the gear that you really do use (either stick to one camera, one lens, or the minimum amount of gear as possible).<\/p>\n

Seeking simplicity is complex<\/h2>\n

We often think that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153simple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is dumb, straight-forward, and stupid.<\/p>\n

However, simple is more difficult to achieve than complicated. It takes a ton of work to distill our thinking, ideas, and art to make it simple.<\/p>\n

\n “The height of cultivation returns to simplicity.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d- Bruce lee\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What to say “no” to<\/h2>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

For me, I think the more I think about my photography and life, I am less of a photographer, and more of a teacher, blogger, and idea-creator\/sharer.<\/p>\n

I think moving forward, I want to showcase my photography less. Because most people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know me for my photography. They know me for this blog, YouTube, e-books, and articles.<\/p>\n

For me, this means figuring out what not<\/em> to focus on \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which can include the following:<\/p>\n