175 ☼ The Process Manifesto: Resist Sameness, Embrace Creativity
8 Practical Tips to Inspire Your Creativity (+ a $250 Giveaway)
Dear friends,
Is it just me, or does everything feel a little... same? Feeds full of trends, algorithms nudging us toward conformity. This week, I’m sharing the Process Manifesto—my take on breaking free and creating work that feels real and meaningful.
Happy 2025! I’m so glad to be back with you. These are challenging times, but photography and creativity can ground us and help us navigate what’s ahead.
Let’s talk about resisting sameness—and don’t miss the $250 Moment x Process Giveaway at the end.
Breaking Free: The Process Manifesto
We live in a world where algorithms decide what we see, buy, and care about. It’s a system that rewards sameness, smooths out the edges of individuality, and calls it “connection.” But real connection—the messy, unpredictable, human kind—is where creativity actually thrives.
This isn’t new. Guy Debord called it “the spectacle” back in 19671, critiquing how modern society replaces genuine experiences with curated distractions. Today, that spectacle lives in our endless feeds and dopamine-hitting notifications, keeping us scrolling instead of doing and making. It’s a system that tells us art is just “content” and that individuality is found by buying the right stuff.
Here is what I believe: creativity doesn’t live in perfectly curated grids or trend-driven sameness. It lives in collaboration, in-person connection, and the kind of messy, raw work that risks failure but feels alive.
That’s what the Process Manifesto is about. It’s not a set of rules for all photography—your commercial work has its own goals and purpose—but a suggested guide for how we can approach our personal and artistic work and projects.
It’s a pushback against sameness and a call to embrace collaboration and authenticity.
So, here it is:
The Process Manifesto
1. Resist the Algorithm
Photography isn’t data or content, and it’s not made for clicks or likes. We reject the sameness algorithms demand and the obsession with “engagement.” True creativity doesn’t come from feeding a machine—it lives in discomfort, challenges, and unpredictability. Photography should move and speak to people, not platforms.
2. Say No to Gatekeeping
Photography is for everyone. Market value or institutional validation? Can be amazing in so many ways and we’re grateful for it when it happens, but it’s not the point. The power of photography lies in its ability to inspire, and provoke, and to make us feel connected.
3. Collaborate Across Borders
Photographers, writers, musicians, painters, filmmakers—let’s blur the lines. Creativity doesn’t care about boundaries, and collaboration makes the work better. Breaking out of silos is how we amplify our voices. Work with others, lean into play, adopt the beginner’s mindset.
4. Get Physical
We’re not anti-digital, but we are pro-human. Technology should serve the art, not the other way around. Let’s meet in person when we can, talk over video or phone when we can’t, and make work that exists beyond a screen. Print zines, hang photos, hold exhibitions—create things people can actually touch and feel.
5. Celebrate the Raw and Real
Over-polished photography kills its soul. We’re here for the messy, the imperfect, and the intuitive. The joy of creating without overthinking.
6. Push Back Against Sameness
Photography isn’t supposed to blend in. It’s supposed to move, challenge, and inspire. In a world obsessed with trends, let’s make work that is authentic to who we are, embrace differences, and chase truth.
7. Build Community, Not Ego
We don’t create in a vacuum. It’s a conversation between creators, collaborators, and audiences. Let’s build spaces—online, in person, wherever—for learning, critique, and encouragement.
8. Rethink and Rebel
Creating is an act of rebellion against the status quo. Let’s challenge ourselves to think differently and create boldly.
I’d love to hear how this resonates with you in the comments. Thanks for being here. Let’s keep shooting, learning, and sharing together—one messy, human step at a time.
Warmly,
Wesley
PS Don’t forget about the Process x Moment $250 Giveaway, keep scrolling.
NEXT WEEK: 5 Ways to (Re)Discover the Joy of Photography + My hands-on thoughts on the Ricoh GRiiix + Updates on a Big Portrait Project.
PS: If you’d like to share these ideas, I’ve created some social-media-friendly images you can use—find them below. Might as well put the monster to good use.
This Week’s Gear and Lab
Camera: Canon EOS R5 and the Canon RF 24-70 mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens.
(ICYMI: my thoughts on this camera and lens can be found in Process 173.)
Shout out to MPB.com, my go-to for buying and selling used gear—they’re fantastic. Easy, fast, and everything comes with a 6-month warranty
Lab: My film is processed and scanned by Carmencita Film Lab, whose care and consistency I trust completely. They’re the best. Use code “PROCESS” at checkout for a free upgrade on your next order.
Support My Work and Elevate Yours
Enjoying Process? Support it by picking up a book or joining the Process Photo Club.
Process Workbook Volume One & Two: Creative prompts and assignments designed to get you out of your head and into action with your camera.
€8.99 each (free for Process Photo Club members)
NOTICE Journal, Volume One: A fresh perspective on beauty and rebirth, shot in Amsterdam.
€40 (€20 for Process Photo Club members)
📚 Order here and you help keep Process accessible to all.
Process x Moment Giveaway
My friends at Moment are back with another generous giveaway! This time, one lucky Process subscriber will win a $250 gift card to buy film, lenses, accessories, and more.
How to enter: Answer this week’s question in the comments:
Q: What’s one way you can push back against sameness in your own creative work this year? Share an idea or challenge you want to take on.
Make your answer specific and personal—it’s always great to see what inspires you.
Deadline: Submit your answer before 11 a.m. EST on January 19th. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced in an upcoming issue.
This giveaway is for all Process subscribers, free or paid—thank you for being here!
Can’t get enough Process? Browse the Process Archives.
Visit the Process Photo Club members area for perks and more.
To fight against that impending sense of sameness in my work this upcoming season, I'm just reminding myself that I really do want to continue editing my images as if each image existed in its own right way. I sometimes fall into the trap of making choices for images based on some clearer sense of cohesion for the sake of creating a strong gallery from a client shoot. But I really do appreciate in my own work, and from a gazillion other artists, when images just rely on their own magic. Batch filters and default editing choices are right out. I'm just going to keep trusting my instincts and assume that when I just make each image the best that I can, my vision and body of work will continue to evolve in the most sincere way I can muster. I don't want to be recognized for a predictable style, niche down, or create a brand aesthetic. I want to be always taking stronger images in camera and trust my instincts in post.
My idea to push back sameness: Im going to start a regular film swap with a friend who currently lives abroad - we've done it once in the past and it's a great way to push ourselves to think differently, knowing that what we shoot is just half of the final picture. It forces us to be generous, taking shots that will ease the task for one another, and forces us to be thoughtful, as the time it takes to shoot our roll, wait for both of us to be in the same country, then switch and shoot again, makes it feel more valuable and unique. Plus, the random results give us inspiration to elevate our own individual photography practice.