Forget Perfection: Why Your Best Photos Are Technically “Wrong”
How to stop being a technician and start being a photographer.
I’m sitting here in Slovenia this morning, looking at the latest sensor specs for 2026, and I’ve never been more bored.
We have cameras now that can practically see in the dark, nail focus on a bird’s eye from a mile away, and scrub every hint of digital noise from a high-ISO frame. On paper, it’s a technological miracle. In reality? It’s a sanitisation of an art form. We are drowning in “Clinical Fidelity” images so clean, so sharp, and so balanced that they’ve lost their pulse.
In my 30 years shooting for Getty and other agencies and traversing the streets from London to Venice, I’ve learned one hard truth: If your photo doesn’t have a flaw, it probably doesn’t have a soul.
The industry is currently obsessed with the “correct” settings. We spend thousands on glass that eliminates chromatic aberration and sensors that produce plastic-smooth skin tones. But look back at the history of this craft. The images that changed the world—the ones that stick in your gut and refuse to leave—are rarely “perfect.”
I remember a frame I took many years ago in a downpour in Edinburgh. Technically, it’s a mess. The grain is heavy because I had to push the ISO to its limit. The focus is soft because I was dodging a bus. The highlights are blown out. But every time I look at it, I can feel the damp cold on my neck. I can hear the splash of the tyres on the cobbles.
Compare that to a 100-megapixel “perfect” shot of the same street taken today. One is an experience; the other is just a file.
One is a memory; the other is just data.
If your work looks like it could have been rendered by an AI prompt, you’ve already lost the battle.
The Professional Path: From Seeing to Doing
If you are struggling to bridge the gap between “technical settings” and “soulful images,” you aren’t alone. Most photographers are taught to be technicians first and witnesses second.
For the Foundations: If you want to build a solid base, check my Starting Photography, Properly Series, it’s the ground floor of how I’ve approached my Getty assignments for three decades.
For the Professionals: If you are an advanced amateur or a pro looking to improve your monetisation and turn your files into a business, check my Profitable Photographer Series. This is where I pull back the curtain on the industry's actual economics.
But if you are ready to move past the manual and into the craft of seeing, I have something specific for you.
The “Red Pen” Session:
Tomorrow, I am hosting a private session exclusively for my paid subscribers.
Since Substack won’t let us post images in the comments, I’ve set up a private upload link for you to send me your “successful failures” those frames that broke every rule but still work.
I’ll be breaking down your work personally, over the weekend, showing you why those “flaws” are actually your greatest professional assets.
Upgrade to a paid subscription now to get the invite and the upload link for tomorrow’s session.
