156 ☼ How To Make More, Scroll Less
GIVEAWAY: $150 gift certificate for the Moment shop
Dear friends,
This week's letter is about the constant push and pull many creative people feel between making and having an online presence.
The response to last week’s Process Work Book launch was wonderful! Thank you to everyone who shared it on social. Today is the last day of the early bird sale: €7.99, regular price €8.99, or free for Process Photo Club members. Get your copy here today.
📚 Process Work Book Volume Two is coming in December!
Also in this issue: an exciting giveaway in partnership with Moment! One lucky winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to their online photography shop.
Housekeeping
Berlin Process Photo Walk — I am partnering with my friends at camera shop/photo lab Safelight in Berlin to organize a Process Photo Walk on August 31st. RSVP now here.
Process Projected — This season’s last exhibition is on display at WIHH Gallery in Amsterdam. Amazing work by African talent, co-curated by
.My Work In The World — My portrait of comedian Lara Ricote is plastered all over Edingburgh to promote her shows during the famed Fringe Festival. Check out the behind-the-scenes of this shoot in Process 124.
Feature Shoot is hosting an Emerging Photography Award, sponsored by MPB, with free entry. Deadline is August 5th. Enter here.
How Do We Stay Focused On The Right Stuff?
In the age of endless notifications and digital noise, it's easy to get swept up in everything around photography and spend less and less time actually creating. The external demands on independent creatives seem to be much broader and more time-consuming than in the past.
Imagine explaining to John Lennon, Diane Arbus, or Alma Thomas how to make a viral TikTok about their process, what time of day to share their work, or how to loop a newly written song so others can make reels with it. The time it would take away from their craft is unimaginable. But we, to some degree, all do this these days.
While social media can be fun and a great way to build community, I sometimes worry that we, as a group, fail to prioritize actually making work, improving, exploring, and experimenting.
Now and then, I try to check in with myself to make sure I am making more than I am talking about what I have made. Social media should enhance your creativity, not hinder it. Here are some things to consider.
Good Progress, Minded
I don't want to romanticize the past too much. In many ways, it's easier than ever to tell stories through photography. Technological advances, self-publishing, and the internet have democratized access.
However, easier doesn't mean simpler. Photographers are now expected to be caption writers, social media schedulers, marketers, videographers, directors, and more.
To manage this, we need a clear purpose and consistent effort. I’ve written about finding and rediscovering my purpose before. Here are two issues on that:
Process 107 ☼ Finding My Purpose
Process 139 ☼ Rediscovering My Creative Voice
Getting caught up in extra activities and realizing I was creating less led me to re-adjust my time to focus on making work first. It's an ongoing cycle that moves in waves. Even just recently I fell back into the social trap a bit too far.
Forging Genuine Connections, Continuously
Talk to other photographers, stylists, magazine sellers, editors, writers, and curators genuinely, to find your community. People can see through insincere intentions. Pure intentions bring good advice, collaborations, and future opportunities.
Talking to colleagues helps demystify aspects like pricing, studio recommendations, and shoot enhancements. Building a network around your work helps you learn what works and why. Engaging with experienced people offers practical advice and keeps you grounded.
Publish, Publish, Publish
Publish not to please the algorithm but to connect with others, hone your voice, and tell stories you care about. The more you make and share, the more you learn about yourself and your community.
This goes for online-only projects, zines, books, and newsletters. Publishing 156 issues of Process has taught me a lot. It’s helped me crystallize my thoughts on new projects and understand how different things are perceived by others. Documenting the process thoroughly and thinking of you, the Process readers, helps me stay focused and communicate better. This is as good a moment as any to tell you thank you for being here, consistently every week, and letting me know
Betting On Yourself
Not everyone can focus on creative work full-time, but we can invest in ourselves and our craft. Betting on yourself means believing in your passion for storytelling, whether you’re a full-time photographer or a passionate hobbyist.
It means understanding your purpose as a photographer and focusing on projects that align with it. It also means finding joy in your work and genuinely connecting with others who share the same passion.
Takeaway
I guess what I am trying to say is this. I am reminding you, and myself, that we should prioritize making work, and think of everything else, including social media, as something that should serve the work.
This summer, let's get out there, create, document, and connect with our community. Use the light, joy, and whatever time you have to nurture your talent and its impact on others. We can talk about it later. For now, let's just make.
If you enjoyed this issue, consider joining the Process Photo Club. Membership helps support Process and includes perks like significant discounts on books, prints, and mentor sessions. Read more and sign up here or upgrade below.
Next Issue: Process is taking a two-week summer break and I’ll be back in your inbox on August 25th with renewed vigor and inspiration.
When we return, we'll continue the step-by-step process of making a book or zine, focusing on my upcoming photo book, "NOTICE Journal, Volume One". If you're new here, catch up with these archive issues:
Step 1 ☼ Finding The Right Concept to Build a Book Around
Step 2 ☼ How To Select and Organize Your Images
Step 3 ☼ How To Sequence Your Images and Build a Narrative
Step 4 ☼ Designing A Layout (As A Non-Designer)
Step 5 + 6 ☼ How To Make A Photo Book Dummy + Revise/Edit
Step 7 ☼ How To Write and Use Text In Your Photo Book or Zine
Step 8 ☼ How To Make Smart Design Choices For Your Photo Book
Keep shooting and take good care of yourselves and others. <3
Wesley
PS Part of my inspiration for this week’d letter came from reading Dan Blank’s recent article.
PPS Support Process by ordering my photo book NOTICE and the new Process Work Book, filled with assignments and prompts.
Gear & Tools Used
Camera: Hasselblad 500cm
Film Stocks: Kodak Tri-X, Cinestill 400D, Fomapan 100.
Shout out to MPB.com, my go-to place to buy, sell, and trade used cameras and lenses. I love their service and am a paying customer. MPB caters to over 625,000 visual storytellers and provides a 6-month warranty. Thanks for the support, MPB! <3
Lab: All my analog work is developed and scanned by my friends at Carmencita Film Lab. They’re my favorite lab in the world. Use code “PROCESS” to get a free upgrade.
Process Giveaway
My pals over at Moment are back for a generous giveaway! One winner will receive a $150 gift card to buy whatever you wish including film, bags, a course, and more.
To enter this week’s giveaway answer the following question in the comments:
Q: How are you spending our summer, photographically speaking?
Family pictures on a trip? A creative project? Landscapes away from home?
ENTER THIS WEEK’S GIVEAWAY before 11 a.m. EST on August 17th.
The winner will be randomly drawn. This giveaway is for Process subscribers only.
I really resonate with this. Presenting my work and writing about it has been super helpful, and writing is a different type of creating. I am spending more time reading other people’s stuff now, and sometimes commenting like I am here. That takes time. But it also exposes me to more thoughts and imagery. So for me the main thing is to prioritize creation, then adding these other things remains very beneficial, as opposed to being reductive. Thanks for writing and sharing this!
I’ve been doing some traveling (Denmark, Italy) for both family/recreational/work purposes, and of course my Nikon FE and Rolleiflex Automat have been traveling with me. ;) The FE had an issue where it didn’t work for a couple weeks which made me realize how critical shooting in 35mm feels to my process. A good reminder! I shot an entire roll in one hour on a walk the day I got it working, such delight. I’ve also been practicing my writing more and trying ways to weave it in with photographs for my (very) slowly developing substack ideas.
At the moment I don’t have a sense of any strong “thread” in the work, either photographs or words. For awhile this made me feel in the doldrums about everything, but I’m now making efforts to keep shooting, not worry, and not get overly in my head about what might be “happening” with the work. Just do the work! On which note, I’ll now log off and take the Rollei for a walk. Thank you for this post and reminder, Wesley. Have a wonderful summer break!