Failure in photography

This week, I wanted to talk a little bit about failure. What it feels like in the moment and how you can take that experience to grow as an artist.

I wrote this topic down in my ideas pile during a rough day on a dedicated photography trip where I just couldn’t get into any kind of flow. Every photo I took felt like shit, and for some reason, I was being way too hard on myself. While taking a break from walking the city, I sat down for some coffee and, out loud, said to myself, “Are you failing on this trip?”

The Feeling Of Failure

So after finishing my coffee and having what probably looked like a crazy-person conversation with myself in public, I got up and told myself to accept that maybe I was “failing”—whatever the hell that means (we’ll come back to that). So I started walking with a different mindset: Fire the shutter. That was it. Stop overthinking and just take the damn photos.

Guess what happened? Nothing. I still felt like crap. I felt like I’d lost my eye completely.

I’ll be honest with you, sometimes I’m super self-deprecating. When something like this happens, the questions start creeping in: “Are you even good at this?” “Why are you here?” “Maybe you should just go eat tacos for the rest of the day.” (Okay, I might actually be into that last one.)

But seriously, it’s something I struggle with not just in photography but in my day-to-day job too. And let me tell you, if you don’t catch it early and at least try to snap out of it, it can send you down a pretty bad path. Maybe you don’t beat yourself up the way I do, but I knew I had to snap out of it before things got worse.

So, was I failing? Was I in over my head on this trip? Honestly, I couldn’t tell. But that question kept circling in my mind, gnawing at me while I walked aimlessly through the city. And here’s the thing: I did eventually find the answer…

Wait was I really failing?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t even know what “failing” meant in this context. Was it about not taking great photos? Feeling uninspired? Or was it something deeper, like losing my confidence as an artist?

I kept walking, letting the city guide me, and eventually, it hit me: I wasn’t even doing a bad job. I was just putting this insane amount of pressure on myself for no reason. I had spent all this money to come here, just to take photos, and somehow convinced myself I wasn’t doing enough.

Honestly, the spark just wasn’t there. But just because I wasn’t feeling it doesn’t mean I failed. I decided to take the rest of the day to reset and chill out. Sometimes, you’re just not in the mood—and that’s alright. I know I touched on this in my Losing the Spark post, but it’s worth repeating: sometimes you’re just in a rut, and that rut might hit you during a photo walk. But that doesn’t mean you’re failing.

Let’s Redefine Failure and how can it help you grow?

For the longest time, I thought failure was this big, dramatic thing. If I wasn’t creating something amazing every time I picked up my camera, then I was failing. If I didn’t feel inspired, I told myself I wasn’t good enough. But here’s what I’ve realized: failure isn’t this end-all, be-all moment where everything falls apart. It’s actually something much simpler and way less scary.

Failure is just a moment where things didn’t go the way you planned. That’s it. It’s not permanent. It’s not a reflection of your worth as an artist or a person. It’s just a bump in the road. When you’re out for the day taking photos, just enjoy it. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. Stop worrying about whether you’ll come home with zero pictures, and remind yourself: that’s okay!

And here’s the kicker: failure is necessary. It’s a sign that you’re trying, experimenting, and pushing yourself. The only way to avoid failure is to stop creating altogether and to me, that’s the real failure.

But how does failure help you grow? It’s simple: every time you fail, you learn something. Maybe it’s technical, like figuring out why a shot didn’t work. Maybe it’s emotional, like realizing you’ve been putting too much pressure on yourself. Failure forces you to pause and reflect, and it’s through that reflection that you improve.

On that photography trip, I realized that I wasn’t failing because I couldn’t take a perfect photo—I was failing because I was so focused on the result and other aspects that I’d forgotten to enjoy the process. That shift in perspective was growth and every time I remind myself to let go of expectations, I’m learning to be a better artist and a better version of myself.

Failure is important and just the beginning

It isn’t the end to fail it’s just part of the journey. It’s messy, frustrating, and uncomfortable, but it’s also necessary. It teaches you to let go of perfection, to embrace the process, and to grow.

The next time you feel like you’re failing, take a moment to step back. Ask yourself: What can I learn from this? What’s really holding me back? And remind yourself that it’s okay to have off days. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost your creativity or your talent, it just means you’re human.

For me, every “failed” photo walk, every uninspired trip, and every rough day has taught me something. It’s taught me patience, self-compassion, and the value of showing up, even when it’s hard. And those lessons are just as important as the best photo I’ve ever taken.

I realize I might not be saying anything new here, but I think it’s important to keep touching on this subject because being kind to yourself matters. I know us creatives can be so hard on ourselves, so consider this your reminder: You’re doing awesome. Keep going.

Thanks for reading and joining me on this little reflection about failure. If you’ve ever had a moment where you felt like you were failing, I’d love to hear about it. How did you move past it? What did you learn? Let’s keep the conversation going—because the more we talk about these things, the easier it is to see that failure isn’t the enemy. It’s a stepping stone.

In Case You Missed It

Here is the post I was referring to earlier in this post.

See You Next Week.

Thank you again for joining me this week. If you want me to talk about anything specific, please let me know in the comments below. I really enjoy the back-and-forth we have on these posts, and I value everyone’s ideas and thoughts!