Hey Reader,
Not everything in your creative journey will go the way you planned.
Sometimes the direction changes without asking.
And when it does, you can either fight it or learn to adjust.
Lately, I’ve realised progress isn’t about pushing harder.
It’s about staying flexible enough to adapt when things don’t go how you expected.
Let’s dive in.
Flow, Not Force
There’s a lot of pressure to keep moving forward, to make it work.
Most of that pressure comes from ourselves.
But what if things aren’t meant to move in a straight line, or even in the lines we draw?
In photography, that might mean shifting from shooting clients to sharing your own work.
Or from chasing opportunities to creating your own.
Right now, I’m on a train from Barcelona to Pamplona to visit my friend Fabio, a true creative.
He moves with his seasons.
Some months he’s deep into film photography.
Others, he’s focused on filmmaking.
Sometimes he’s documenting his fly-fishing trips.
Other times, he’s preparing for an exhibition he’s putting together.
He never waits for permission to create.
Seeing his approach up close reminds me that flexibility keeps you in the game.
Because sometimes, the road we need to go down isn’t the one we initially had in mind.
When Things Look Different
It’s not easy to adjust.
Especially when what you’re doing doesn’t match the version of success you imagined.
Maybe you thought your photography career would unfold one way, and now it looks completely different.
I didn’t picture myself doing influencer campaigns or content collabs with standing desks either.
That adjustment wasn’t easy.
But it’s what’s keeping me in the game, moving forward, and connected to my craft.
It doesn’t mean you’re failing. At least, that’s what I try to remind myself.
It means you’re changing.
You might not have the dream clients, the perfect setup, or the steady flow of work you pictured.
But if you’re still creating, learning, and finding ways to stay active with your craft, you’re doing the right thing.
Even if it looks different, it still counts.
When Change Becomes Distraction
There’s another side to all this.
Knowing when change is healthy, and when it’s just a distraction.
It’s a trap I fall into often.
If I look at the track record, it’s pretty clear.
Make a course. Start a YouTube channel. Sell presets. Write a newsletter. Shoot for clients. Build a brand.
It always starts with excitement, but usually ends with burnout or creative boredom.
This week, I listened to Cal Newport talk about Slow Productivity, his new book.
Even the title hit hard.
Because doing less doesn’t mean you care less.
It means being intentional about where your energy goes and moving at a normal, sustainable pace.
Here’s how I try to tell the difference now:
If a change feels good and gives me focus, it’s probably a step forward.
If it feels heavy or forced, it’s probably just noise.
You might have noticed that my beginner photography course, Capture to Keep, is no longer available for now.
Not because it didn’t work, but because I want to rebuild it with more purpose, and with everything new I’ve learned along the way.
It's a healthy change I'm excited for!
Simplifying is Strengthening
If you’re feeling stretched thin, you might be in a season of adjustment, too.
The answer isn’t to quit everything.
It’s to focus on the few things that matter and do them well.
For me, that’s YouTube, this newsletter, and a smaller handful of projects that actually feel right.
Not every opportunity deserves a yes.
When you simplify, you stop creating from survival mode.
You create from clarity.
And that’s when your best work starts to show up.
Catch you next week,
Matty 📷 🚀