In this week’s podcast, we talk about the importance of trusting your instincts. I was recently a conversation with Lori, and she was relaying how important it is to learn to listen to your internal voice to trust your instincts. We talked about how this is true for your health, mental well-being, and artistic life.

As I got to thinking more about how that applies to our photography, it hit me about how many times and how easy it is to avoid trusting your instincts when it comes to making a photograph. It doesn’t matter if you’re shooting, selecting, editing, or sharing a photograph at all those various points it becomes important to trust your instincts. For example, when shooting an image, I can’t count the number of times I’ve thought to myself I really should take a photograph here but ultimately did not put the camera up and click the shutter. Only in hindsight, did I realize how much I regretted that decision? Similarly, in editing photographs, there are countless times when I have over edited a photograph knowing that I’m trying to save a lousy photograph by hoping there is some magic in Photoshop.

One of the most critical skills we can cultivate is the ability to figure out and trust our instincts about our our our creative life. Unfortunately, the structures of society have attempted to teach us to trust outside experts, corporations, advertising, and a host of other sources of information. I would encourage you for your own photographic and creative life that you ignore those external factors and start to listen to that voice inside your head.

Gear used in podcast

All three Rode components as kit

Adobe Audition (part of create cloud subscription)