Doing this one thing improves every photo I make.
Before you make the photo, ask yourself, “What happens if you don’t shoot yet?”
That’s what I asked a student last week. Camera in hand, finger twitching near the shutter, they froze. I could see their brain start to slow down, recalibrate.
Most people think photography is about light, or gear, or maybe having “an eye.” But what if the one thing standing between you and the best photo you’ve ever taken… is time?
Not time as in shutter speed. Not time as in golden hour. I mean literal, deliberate time. Time before you shoot. Time to ask yourself questions like:
“What’s pulling me toward this scene?”
“What do I want this image to say?”
“If I walked away without making a photo, what would I regret missing?”
Let me ask you this:
Would your photos be better if you gave yourself permission to wait?
Not to overthink. Just to sit. To look. To actually see.
We’re not wired for patience. Not in this TikTok world. But if you can slow your breath, slow your pace, and maybe even slow your heartbeat, something wild happens. You start seeing the photograph before the camera does.
This is where we flip the script.
When I teach one-on-one photo lessons at Loop, this is what we’re really doing. It’s not about which button to press. It’s about learning how to not press it until it’s time.
And the best photos? They happen when you’ve already made 90% of the decisions before the camera’s even on.
Portraits? Take the time to talk. Ask your subject what they want to feel when they see the image later. Ask yourself the same. You’ll notice something weird: people open up. The photo practically makes itself.
Editing? Ten times easier. Why? Because you already knew the mood, the story, the feeling, before you even pressed the shutter.
You don’t need a new lens. You need ten more seconds. Maybe two minutes. Maybe a whole hour.
Would it be ridiculous to think that spending two hours with a photographer could unlock something you’ve been missing for years?
Maybe.
But then again… what if it’s not?
If you’re even remotely curious, book a 1:1 photography class. One hour or two, we’ll slow things down and speed up your learning.
Because nothing will change your photography faster than time.