Lessons from my guitar teacher: on improving your craft
An insight into how learning the guitar improved my photography, and how you can apply the same principles to your craft.
There’s a joy in moments when different topics you are interested in click together. This is the story of what I learned about photography from my guitar teacher, Sebastian Pan.
Practice practice practice
Practice is the cornerstone of learning. If there’s a single element Seb emphasizes, it’s practice. Our classes often start with the question: “did you practice?”.
It sometimes feels like professionals are just born able to put on their incredible performances. Practice practice practice is how musicians make it look so easy when you see them on stage. In the same way, the songs I am trying to learn become easier the 100th time I play them.
In Veritasium's fantastic summary of what it takes to be an expert, he outlines 4 structural requirements to developing any domain expertise. 2 of the 4 are related to practice:
Many repeated attempts with feedback: practicing the skill you want to develop and receiving feedback on each attempt. In photography, this takes the form of taking photos and looking back at them with a critical eye.
Deliberate practice at the edge of your ability: methodically practice and try things you aren’t good at
I’ve taken more photos in the past year than the 3 years before that combined. A lot of them are not great, but the practice helps me recognize patterns and visual styles that I find appealing. This is the link of the video if you are curious about the 2 other requirements for expertise.
Find inspiration
Seb often recommends that I watch live performances of the songs I am learning. It helps to see what kind of guitar the musicians are using, how they hold it, how they move across the fretboard…
This one seems obvious but it was not something I was doing consistently or with any focus for photography. I’ve found it helpful, and inspiring, to have a catalog of other photographers whose work I admire. I also created boards with some of my favorite photos, that I browse every once in a while. A few of the artists on my list of inspiration are:
Study the classics
In the jazz world, jazz standards are crucial, as suggested by the popular Spotify playlist “Jazz Standards You Need to Fucking Learn”. They are the classics of the genre, the starting point to learning it, and the songs many musicians will know at a jam session.
Studying the classics, whether it’s Ansel Adams or Henri Cartier-Bresson, helps you not fall prey to trends and produce timeless work.
Share this with a photographer friend so they can take better photos of you!
