Sitting on your work

In today's social media-driven world, you might feel the urge to post and upload your most current work or photos. It can become a habit, a need for recognition, or a form of self-gratification. Who doesn't want likes on their photos? It makes you feel good, right? Knowing that people appreciate your work is a great feeling. However, this can be a double-edged sword. On one side, you're uploading content that keeps you relevant and in the eyes and minds of your audience. On the other side, your work may fall short of what you're truly capable of. If only you gave yourself the time to develop and edit your work.

I once heard someone say that a great photographer has a full trash can. Having a trash can filled with mediocre work might continue for years. Who knows, you might need to go through a large volume of work, removing and editing images that, at the time, you might think are amazing but later on find out they were just okay. Try to be objective; toss those average photos into your trash can. Remember, you can only recognize what is good by editing your work.

Now, I have to be clear; I don't mean leaving your work and cameras to collect dust and not producing new photos. Keep taking photos, create as much as you can. But try not to show or upload them instantly. Once you have a project completed and you've edited it down to 12 or 6 images, review it over days, weeks, or even better, months. If you're happy with it, then please share it with the world. This is what good editing is—it's the simple act of taking your time with your work.

Remember to start new projects, keep producing work, and hopefully, with the next project you share, you might take even more time to review it or discard more images. Keep editing and reviewing; keep coming back and looking at your work. By taking your time with your work, you'll start to improve, and you'll notice an advancement in your skills.

If you really can't resist the urge to upload something, try taking baby steps. Start with one day, then a week, and if you can wait another week before posting content, try three weeks, then a month, and so on. Over time, if you look back and review your old work, you'll likely see images or photos that could have been left out, removed, or even thrown into the trash.

If you're someone who puts up walls, saying, 'But I'll be so many years older by then!' Remember, you'll be so many years older anyway, whether you take action or not. So, don't waste your time uploading mediocre photos because the images you put out into the public domain are the ones you'll be remembered for. Take the time to sit and edit your work; give yourself the patience that the process of improvement requires.