Learn to fail before you learn to succeed

Failure is not the opposite of art—it is its canvas.

For every breathtaking image captured through the lens, there are countless missed shots, blurry frames, and moments of frustration. Photography, like any craft, is a journey where failure plays a pivotal role in shaping success. Here’s why you should embrace failure as a photographer and use it as your stepping stone to greatness.

The Lessons Hidden in Failure

Each “mistake” in photography is a lesson waiting to be learned:

1. Out of Focus, but Full of Potential The first time you try to capture a subject in motion, you may end up with an unintentional blur. Instead of seeing it as a failure, look closer—does the motion blur tell a story? Failure often nudges you toward creative possibilities you hadn’t considered.
2. Bad Light, Good Insight Shooting in harsh sunlight or dim interiors can result in overexposed or grainy images. These challenges push you to experiment with lighting techniques, from golden hour shooting to creative use of reflectors and strobes.
3. Missed Composition, Nailed Vision A poorly framed shot feels disheartening, but it forces you to think about perspective, leading lines, and balance. Over time, failures refine your instinct for what makes a frame compelling.

Why Failure is Essential in Photography

1. It Builds Your Skillset Every misstep leads you to explore manual settings, understand the technicalities of your gear, and master the art of post-processing.
2. It Sharpens Your Eye The more “bad” photos you take, the better your eye becomes at spotting the extraordinary in the ordinary. Failure teaches you to see what you previously overlooked.
3. It Fosters Resilience Photography isn’t just about capturing a perfect moment—it’s about perseverance. Nature photographers might wait hours for the right light or moment. Portrait photographers often adjust endlessly for expression and mood. Each failure strengthens your resolve to keep clicking.

Famous Photographers Who Failed First

• Ansel Adams didn’t always capture landscapes with the precision we associate with him today. Early in his career, Adams struggled with balancing light in black-and-white photography, which led him to invent the Zone System, a revolutionary method for managing tonal range.
• Dorothea Lange faced criticism for her emotional documentary work during the Great Depression. Yet her so-called “failures” reshaped photojournalism by placing human vulnerability at its heart.

Tips to Embrace Failure as a Photographer

1. Experiment Boldly Try new techniques, angles, and settings, even if they might not work. Innovation often arises from risk.
2. Review Your Work Don’t delete your “bad” shots immediately. Analyze them. What went wrong? What went right?
3. Welcome Feedback Join photography communities, share your work, and listen to constructive criticism. Every critique is a chance to grow.
4. Keep Shooting Progress is in the practice. Every shot, good or bad, contributes to your growth.

Fear of Photoshop and editing.

I see lots of photographs every day from a wide variety of photographers, some professional and some amateurs. What I see far too often are photographs that look like every other photographer. A photograph of a beautiful colorful bird that looks like everyone else’s photogCraph of the same beautiful colorful bird.

We often fear standing out to be different either by use of creative techniques, creative processes, or creative post processing.

1. Creative techniques Experiment with new or different (at least to you) camera techniques. Things like shallow depth of field, deep depth of field, break the so-called “rules” of composition.
2. Photoshop and editing When I say Photoshop I mean actual Photoshop or Photoshop like programs. I see so many photographers that just do very basic or no post-processing, often stating something similar to “real photographers don’t need that, get it right in camera”. My thoughts is “what is right”.
3. Guide your viewer Painters create art by guiding the viewer through the painting. Similarly, as a photographer we should guide our viewers through the image and allow our subject matter to stand out.

Failure in photography is not a barrier—it’s a rite of passage. Each misstep teaches you more about your craft, your vision, and even yourself. So, the next time you review your memory card and find more misses than hits, remember this: every failure brings you closer to capturing the image you’ve always dreamed of.

What lessons have your photographic “failures” taught you lately? Keep clicking—you’re on your way to success. 📸