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Jerry Uelsmann is a photography professor at the University of Florida. One year he decided to run a little experiment…

On the first day of class, he divided his photography students into two groups:

Quality vs. Quantity.

At the end of the semester, the “quantity” group is graded solely on the amount of work they produced. More photos submitted = a higher grade.

Conversely, the “quality” group only needed to produce a single photo during the entire semester, seems easy right? Take one good picture and you’re done.

Interestingly, at the end of the term, Uelsmann was surprised to find that all the best photos were produced by the quantity group.

During the semester, these students were busy taking photos, experimenting with composition and lighting, testing out various methods, and learning from their mistakes. In the process of creating hundreds of photos, they honed their skills.

Meanwhile, the quality group sat around speculating about perfection. In the end, they had little to show for their efforts other than unverified theories and one mediocre photo.

It is easy to get bogged down trying to find perfection: the fastest way to lose weight, the best program to build muscle, the perfect idea for a side hustle. We are so focused on figuring out the best approach that we never get around to taking action. That’s why we send you a new prompt every single day. Don’t focus on being perfect, focus on making photography a habit that you’ll improve on everyday.

https://jamesclear.com/repetitions