The Beginner Photography Podcast

Comparison is Killing Your Photography

Raymond Hatfield

#582 In this episode of the podcast, I take a deep dive into how comparison can seriously derail your progress and enjoyment as a photographer. Inspired by my own experiences learning new skills—like learning to juggle and nurturing my lawn—I share how easy it is to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, especially in the age of social media. I remind listeners that success in photography, or any art, isn't reserved for those who started young or have the best equipment—it's all about showing up, being consistent, and putting in the work over time.

I discuss the myth of overnight success by highlighting stories of people like Morgan Freeman and Stan Lee, who found their big breaks later in life. I emphasize that wherever you are in your journey is exactly where you need to be, and it’s totally normal to have doubts and setbacks. What matters most is your willingness to keep going and focus on your own growth, not what others appear to be achieving.

KEY TOPICS COVERED

  1. The Perils of Comparison in Photography - Raymond explains how comparing one’s progress or results to others—whether it’s speed of learning (like juggling), gear, or social media metrics—can steal the joy from personal growth. He urges photographers to focus on their individual journey and celebrate each step forward.
  2. The Myth of Instant Success and the Power of Consistency - Using stories of well-known figures like Morgan Freeman and Stan Lee, Raymond underscores that it’s not too late to start or improve at photography (or any art). He highlights the importance of steady effort, practice (“putting in the reps”), and embracing the “gray areas” of life and art.
  3. Setting Intentional Goals and Noticing the World - The episode shifts towards actionable advice—encouraging listeners to discover what draws them to photography, rather than chasing external validation. Raymond introduces a practical seven-day photo diary challenge, urging listeners to capture images that make them “pause and notice,” fostering mindfulness and personal vision.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS & CONCEPTS

  • Comparison Trap: The tendency to measure one’s worth or progress against others, leading to dissatisfaction and doubt. Relevant throughout the episode as Raymond identifies it as a major hindrance to creative growth.
  • Reps (Putting in the Reps): A term borrowed from training, here meaning to consistently practice taking photos. The more you shoot, the better you’ll become—emphasizing process over perfection.

DISCUSSION & REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. How has comparing your work to others affected your enjoyment of photography?
  2. What motivates you to pick up your camera—validation from others, or personal fulfillment?
  3. In what ways can you adopt more consistency in your photographic journey?

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Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Raymond Hatfield:

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today. So the idea there being that wherever you are, that is exactly where you need to be. We romanticize this idea that to be a photographer. You have to fall in love with photography at a young age and grow up with a camera in your hand for it to count. And it's just not true. Plenty of people get into photography later in life. Plenty of people start creating art later in life.​Hey, welcome to the Beginner Photography Podcast. I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield, and today. Well, today I am learning how to juggle. Yeah. like literally, juggling, beanbags. I bought these on Amazon. I'm serious. juggling has been something that I've, I've always seen and admired, and I've wanted to learn how to do it myself. so I thought, Hey, you know what? I'm gonna give it a shot. So, to learn how to juggle, I first went to YouTube to Google how to juggle. Bear with me. I know that this isn't after the strongest photography start, but I think I watched like a dozen videos on how to juggle. And the ones that I was gravitated towards were the ones that were titled to like learn how to juggle in under 30 minutes. So naturally, we are going on day eight now, where I'm still learning how to juggle, which is much more than 30 minutes. Right. And I remember thinking to myself the other day, like, Man, maybe I'm not cut out for this. I suck at this. This has been way more than 30 minutes. I should have figured this out a long time ago. What is wrong with me? But here's the thing. I think that if I didn't watch those videos, on how to learn how to juggle in 30 minutes, I would have nothing to compare to. I would have nothing to compare my skills to, my progress to. I would have nothing to compare to, but exactly what I'm doing, and I think I'd be thrilled today on day eight to see my progress of still only being able to, to do two balls at a time. I haven't even got to the third ball yet because that's progress. That's more than, than one ball. But comparison. Comparison has been the thief of joy throughout this entire process of learning. So here's where we get into the photography part. If you've ever wondered, why do some photographers get thousands of likes and I just get six. Maybe you felt the pressure that, every time you go out and shoot, you have to capture something incredible. Otherwise you are wasting your time or maybe you felt the fear of, what if I'm not actually good at this and maybe photography isn't my thing. Then this episode is gonna be just for you. Here's the thing. That fear that we feel, that maybe this isn't for me. That, why is this taking so long that is not rooted in any sort of objective truth. it's purely based on comparison. There's this quiet part of the journey of photography that nobody really talks about. It's the shots that don't work. It's the shots with missed focus. It's the shots with awkward compositions. It's what creates, it's doubt and because nobody posts those photos, right? Because those photos aren't really communicating a message. So it's natural that you wouldn't be posting those photos. But because nobody posts those photos, we assume that the only ones who are struggling is us. And maybe we're just not cut out for this. We are the only ones who look through our Lightroom catalog and see all the photos with the, the missed focus, the poor moment, the awkward compositions. But trust me, when I tell you that every photographer, I mean, every single one ever has been there. The difference maker here is that those who break past that, that doubt the fear and become professionals, the ones who grow, simply keep going. That is the only difference. And I know how tempting it is to just, scroll through, your feed and compare your Tuesday afternoon backyard shot. that got four likes to some, I don't know, nomad influencer. There's sunrise shot on top of a mountain. who seems to somehow have just this uncanny ability to find and photograph the most perfectly photographic strangers, that you've ever seen in your entire life, right? But, let me ask you something. How many of those people do you think actually exist? I mean, how many of those people living this dream perfect, ideal life do you think actually exist? And then, going deeper, how many do you think are actually making a living, doing that? So as a, podcast host, I can tell you that I receive loads of emails. And I've, I've received a lot of emails over the years from people, pitching themselves to be interviewed on the podcast. A lot of them claiming to be living that exact life. actually found one of the emails right here. There's a lot of like personal identifiers in here, and I don't want to do that. But here's the gist, right? This photographer is a ballet based, former private jet pilot, a cancer survivor, and now a cultural portrait photographer. A cultural portrait photographer. So when you go to this photographer's website, all you see are photos that are just like breathtaking. It feels like intimate portraits of people opening up to this stranger. And of course, it's in this beautiful location that is, Bali. And from the outside, it looks like, wow, this is what success looks like, who doesn't want to live this life? But the deeper I've found this out, the deeper that you start looking into, these people who portray this lifestyle, you'll find out that many of them already had previous successes, financially and now they're living off of their previously earned money or, they are essentially building some lifestyle and business like Mastermind program where they're kind of living on credit now and then hope to pay it back once they launch this course or mastermind or whatever. And need my help to get the word out there that there are some successful nomads spinning their days, wandering around the world, in these beautiful locations and capturing these compelling photos so that you will give them your money. And there's a lot of people like this. Anyway, I'm kind of on my soapbox right now. So I apologize. I'm not saying that these are bad people. But there's a lot of people out there who portray a certain look and once you peel back the layers of the onion, you realize that's probably not the case. So, long story short is, my guess is that not many people are actually earning an, honest living, doing that, living this dream life that you, imagine is litmus test for success as a photographer because exposure is just simply not the same as income. So what I'm trying to get at here is wherever you're at in your journey, you are in the right place. And yes, even if you're not living in valley, capturing cultural portraits of the indigenous people. You're in the right place. I mean, could you be further? Sure. we all could, but at what cost? Think about what you would've had to have sacrificed or, um. No, nevermind. we're not gonna play this what if game there's this quote that I love and I've shared it here on the podcast many times before. That is the best time to plant a tree, is 20 years ago. The second best time is today. So the idea there being that wherever you are, that is exactly where you need to be. You can always, could have been further, but you're not. You are here right now. So the second best time is today. We romanticize this idea that, to be a photographer. You have to fall in love with photography at a young age and grow up with a camera in your hand for it to count. And it's just not true. Plenty of people get into photography later in life. Plenty of people start, creating art later in life, I'm always blown away by the fact, and people are usually blown away by the fact when I share this, that Morgan Freeman did not become Morgan Freeman, the quote unquote Morgan Freeman that we know of today until he was 52. 52 when he co-starred in driving Miss Daisy and even then at 52, he had been trying to make it and get a break in acting for 20 years. Imagine having started photography in 2005 and only today getting your first big break. Like most people, myself included, like we're not that patient, but look at what's showing up every day did for him. Look what putting in the reps did for him. It seems like a lot of time of, of no payoff, how many other people became successful stars in that 20 year period that he was putting in those reps. It must have been exhausting. know? It must have Another example is, is Stan Lee. Stan Lee didn't start drawing superheroes until he was 43. He's like one of the fathers of Marvel, like an estimated$50 billion franchise, and he didn't start drawing until he was 43. The thing with art is that like it doesn't care how old you are, it just wants you to show up. Art is not perfection. Art is simply trying something new. Something new to the world. Something new to you. New is new. And yet I could go on Instagram right now and find a hundred people who are fantastic at drawing or at art, and they're 16. And that can feel almost impossible to break through. As many of you know, I left weddings, to get back into, the world of video. So as my day job now, I'm a video producer for a company that manages senior living communities. And I can't tell you how many people I have met in their sixties, in their seventies in their eighties who started learning something like painting or writing or ceramics and have become really, really, really good at these things, what most people would consider very late in life. it's not about age. Art isn't about age. it's simply about showing up. But again, if we were to compare ourselves to those who have been doing it for a long time, it can be discouraging. And that is why I encourage you to take a camera with you everywhere you go because it increases your chances of showing up and taking the photos. It allows you to put in more reps. That's all it does. By simply bringing a camera with you places doesn't magically mean that you're gonna be taking better photos. It just means that you're gonna have more opportunities to take more photos, and the more photos that you take, the better you're gonna get. That's how I end every episode of the podcast. And yet when you scroll Instagram, you brain does not say, oh, I'm looking at 30 different photographers with literally centuries worth of combined photography experience. Your brain just, it can't comprehend all that. And it just says, wow, look at this crazy diverse, I don't know, amazing, portfolio. But we forget about the learning curve. We discount the time that these photographers have spent behind the camera. and what we do is we try to simplify it as much as possible. We just think, oh, beautiful subject plus, expensive gear equals, validation that I'm a photographer and that's it, but. Here's actually a dirty little secret from behind the scenes in the world of photography education or, what have you. It's that photos of gear tend to get so much more engagement than photos that that gear produced. Why is that? Why? I saw this quote that absolutely love. I'm not sure who said it, so I don't know who to attribute. In fact, I probably should have Googled it, but I didn't. Sorry. I think about it a lot. It's that it says, your competition isn't other people, or other people with fancy gear. Your competition is your procrastination, your competition is your negative thoughts, your competition, is your comfort zone compete against that? That's something that I have to remind myself of constantly. Our brains are really good at wanting to come up with stories in our head, find a villain, find a way, you know, a shortcut. And it feels like, yeah, expensive gear is a shortcut. The villain is other people with expensive gear. And I'm not saying that you would, that they're actual villains or bad people, but like, that's how our brains work. We're just simple, simple humans. But the truth is like, you don't have to be, an Ansel Adams to call yourself a photographer. You don't have to be a Vivian Maier or a Pete Souza or a Vanessa Joy, which by the way, happy Birthday Vanessa. You don't have to be these people to be a photographer. You don't need gallery representation. You don't need some viral reel. You don't need some$4,000 lens to call yourself a photographer. All you need is a desire, a desire to look at the world just a little bit closer, and click that shutter button with intention by picking up a camera, by being interested in the world around you, and using the tool in your hand to capture something. Well, you're a photographer. That's it. That is it. Some people shoot more. Sure. Yeah. Some people have access to, cooler subjects. Sure. That doesn't make their work more worthy. It doesn't. What separates somebody who grows in photography from somebody who doesn't is consistency and approach each time that they shoot with a desire to learn and grow. They show up, they shoot, and they try to be 1% better each and every time. That's all that it is, and over time, over years, over decades, guess what? That desire to learn and grow to be 1% better every time turns them into the photographers that we admire. Because photography is a long, long, long game. In fact, it's lifelong. So these things take time. It takes a lot of time. We're gonna take a left turn here. But stick with me. So during the pandemic, I got really into lawn care and I know like it's useless, right? And I know it's useless to have a good looking lawn. I think I just like the quiet time and the simple task like when mowing and doing yard work the most. But anyway, my lawn looks really good, right? Like I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. I'm not gonna hold back lawn looks good. And if I had to give you the 80 20 of having a great cool season grass lawn, it's this, mow twice a week and over seed in the fall. There you go. Those two things will give you 80% of the results of a perfect lawn with only 20% of the effort. The remaining 20% of the results that you want to a perfect lawn require 80% of the effort. But mowing twice a week, not only cuts down on weeds, ability to grow and spread, but the clippings from the grass provide, much needed nitrogen to the soil when they start to break down, right. And then overeating in the fall will just fill in all of those bare spots of soil with more grass, making it harder for new weeds to pop up and boom, there you go. A lush grass lawn with not many weeds. But even if you do those things consistently, it takes, I don't know, two to three seasons to start to see real results. So again, humble brag, but like when neighbors stop by and say, oh, I'm mow consistently, and I laid down some grass seed last month, and my yard still looks like garbage. They say it to me as if I'm like hiding something. How come your yard looks good and mine does not. And yet I'm doing the same thing. The answer is it just takes time. It just takes time. Like great job mowing and laying down some grass seed now. Just keep doing it for three more years and then come back and talk to me if you're not happy with the results else. if you think that you're gonna get along like mine, which I've been working on for five years now in just a few months, like that's insane. That is insane. And yet that is exactly what we do to ourselves in photography. I mean, we think, oh, if we have the same gear, we should be able to capture the same photos as photographers who have been working consistently on their craft for five plus years, I'm like, get outta here, man. What are you talking about? That's ridiculous. Ridiculous. But I get it because i've done it too. You know why? Because I'm a human and the human brain loves black and white thinking. It is so much easier on the brain to think if this than that. If I buy this lens, then I'll finally be able to get great photos. If I'm not progressing super fast, then I must not be good. But life as you know, is not in black and white. There's a lot of gray. And that gray actually, is the most important color in photography. I don't know if you know this, but gray is how your camera determines what is a correct exposure because it's the middle point between too bright, a pure white photo, and too dark, pure black. It's the middle point, it's gray. The gray area is so important. There's a song that I used to listen to in my younger years to where, if you, I don't know, graduated high school in the early two thousands, you might know the band Circa Survive. They have this song called The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is In the Dose. What does that mean? It means that it's not all or nothing. It's all about balance. It's all about nuance. It's. It's gray. It's gray. There's gray area. Embrace the gray area. Understand that there's gray area. Can somebody progress as a photographer faster than you? Yes, of course. But guess what? Maybe they don't have bills to pay. Maybe they don't have two kids. Maybe they don't have a job with the security of medical and retirement. They're at a different point in their lives. That's gray area. Does it suck when you see somebody brand new to photography, like newer than you with like flagship gear costing tens of thousands of dollars? Yes, it sucks. Are they gonna get better photos than you? It sure feels like that. I've been to weddings where, a guest will show up with better photo gear than what I have as a professional wedding photographer. And I'm telling you, having never met this person in my life, having never seen any of their photos, there's an inherent idea that they must be great at photography. They must be able to take great photos. Even as a professional who teaches that gear does not matter as much as we all say that it does. I still think those things too. I thought those exact same things. It's because I'm human. You are human. This is what our brain does. Okay, but it's gray area. It's all gray. After talking to him and finding out that, oh, he's just going on a once in a life trip to Africa, to a safari, he wanted to buy all the best gear and he got it early, so he brought it to his niece's wedding. Oh, this guy doesn't know how to use a camera. He's not taking better photos than I am. His circumstances were different than mine. And that's fine. That's great. You know, whatever. It's all gray area. It's all gray area. We have this idea that to eliminate this noise in our brain that says, we're not good enough. We tell ourselves that we have to know everything about photography, otherwise we know nothing, right? We have to know our camera inside and out. We have to know everything about lenses and apertures and focal lengths, and we have to have shot in every lighting condition and know how to do everything without a hitch every single time. That's just not possible. That's just not possible. Asking yourself, how do I get better at photography is such a big, huge, massive question because the world of photography is not only ever changing, but there's also so much like you don't need to know. So instead of asking yourself, how do I get better at photography? Ask yourself something more pointed. Why do I photograph? What draws me in? What moments make me pause? And there's no right or wrong answer here. It's personal to you. Ask yourself those questions. Why do you photograph? What draws you in? What moments make you pause? It's personal to you. Is it to get likes on Instagram? Is it to sell your photos for millions at auction? Is it to be the world's most sought after portrait photographer? Probably not. Would it be nice to have those other things like sure. Whatever. Like, I'm not gonna say no, but like, is that why you photograph? Probably not. I think that the goal of photography is to take notice of the world around you. Life is fast and the camera allows us to slow it down just a bit. Maybe your motivation is, being able to capture that person and their reaction. Maybe your motivation is getting that shot of a valley in the morning with fog and cows at sunrise. Right. With photography, you can preserve this moment in time that sounds like a trope, but it's, it's true. With photography, you can not only connect with friends, connect with family, connect with your environment, but you connect with yourself. That is the most powerful thing that photography has to offer, is the ability to allow you to connect with yourself. With yourself in a camera, you can create something that has never been created before and will never be created again,'cause you can't recreate a moment. The photo that you take will be the only one. Even if there's somebody standing right next to you taking a photo of the exact same thing, the photos are going to feel different. They're gonna be composed different. They're going to be different. The photo you take will be the only one. That's what I mean. So today, rather than asking yourself, how do you get better at photography? Ask yourself, why do I photograph the things I photograph? Why do I photograph at all? Seriously, sit down and ask yourself that question. Why do I photograph the things I photograph? Why do I photograph at all? Somebody who bought a camera like a few months ago and has been shooting long exposure macro photos, whatever, is gonna be way better than I would be shooting long exposure macro photos, even though I have decades more photography experience than they do. Photography is not about knowing everything about photography, it's about knowing what you need to know for what you wanna shoot, and then you optimize for that and you don't worry about the rest. I had this, this exact idea, uh, conversation in last week's q and a episode. Like raw versus jpeg and like, listen, RAW is a superior file format to jpeg. There's no question. That's not up for debate. But if you're optimizing for speed. Optimizing for pure joy of shooting and optimizing for the least amount of time, editing your photos. I think guess what? JPEG's gonna be the answer for you. And in that case, JPEG is better than raw. You're optimizing for what matters most to you, and then you don't worry about the rest. So this week I've got a challenge for you. I want you to create a seven day photo diary. What does that mean? One photo a day, whatever subject you want. Whatever camera you got, right? DSLR, your phone, point and shoot from 2010, whatever, doesn't matter. But there's one rule. Every photo has to be of something that made you pause and notice. Now that doesn't mean that your photo has to be mind blowing. In fact, it probably won't be. The other day I was driving home, and as I was going up, over an overpass, in the sky, there was this hawk. And I don't know why I love hawks so much, but there was this hawk in the sky, and I don't know if you've ever seen a hawk do this, but a hawk has the ability to just like hover in the air by flapping its wings like really fast and it will stay in the exact same spot and its head will not move. Its entire body is moving, but its head is like locked on a gimbal. It is amazing. And around this hawk were like five or six other like smaller birds, either trying to attack this hawk or trying to distract it. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but I've never seen it before. And that like that was mind blowing to me. I was like, wow, look at this like this, I'm witnessing this battle to survive within nature. It was so cool. I really wanted to get a photo of it, but I didn't. And you're not gonna see things like that every day. So don't, you know, imagine that every photo that you take has to be mind blowing. Some days you're just gonna notice the way that there's a reflection of light or maybe you're on an evening walk, and I saw this the other day, an old man sitting on a bench who was on his phone just like lost in his phone next to a young kid who is just totally content watching life move by. And I was like, oh man, that juxtaposition right there is, is fantastic. Point is sometimes you notice things that again, aren't mind blowing, but you take notice of them. The way your dog always tends to find that spot of sunshine so that they can take a nap. Again, it doesn't matter what it is that you notice, it just matters that you notice. You notice something and the more that you take notice of of what you notice, the more in tune your photographic eye becomes. It's not about being the best. Best is so subjective. It's so stupid. Unless you're like playing sports or like have something that you can accurately measure. Best is so subjective. The only thing that you can measure against is yourself. You are the only circumstance that isn't gonna change. You can't compare yourself to somebody younger than you with more freedom than you, with more time freedom than you, with more money than you, with more access to a cool location than you. You can't compare yourself to those people because you are you. You are you. You're not behind, you're not late. You are exactly where you need to be. And here's the best part about that, it's that you've already started. All right? So keep going. Be consistent. Keep showing up. Put in the reps, and channel your Morgan, your inner Morgan Freeman for the next 20 years. Imagine that nothing is gonna happen for you in photography, and see if you're really ready to make that commitment to be the best that you can be. That's all that I got for you today. Until next time, remember, the more that you shoot today, the more reps you put in, the better of a photographer you'll be tomorrow. Talk soon.