The Will to Press the Shutter
What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.
Do you have the will to press the shutter?
You know, when I think about this idea — the will to press the shutter — I think about my day yesterday. It was a sort of cloudy, rainy day. I couldn’t find myself feeling that inspiration to click the shutter.
There are some moments I still feel this way.
And I think this is normal.
You go out there to make fun photographs…
And maybe you don’t feel inspired.
Maybe nothing is calling you to press the shutter.
This is a normal feeling.
Even I get this feeling sometimes after a decade of practicing photography daily.
But I want to encourage you to think about this notion:
The will to press the shutter.
Because ultimately, I believe it’s the duty of the photographer to snapshot their way through life — to photograph more.
Stop Looking For Anything
One of the most practical suggestions I have to overcome this burden of stagnation in photography is very simple:
Stop looking for anything.
- Don’t go out there looking for a story to tell.
- Don’t go out there looking for a subject to photograph.
- Don’t go out there looking for a decisive moment.
You don’t need a checklist.
To go out there and to photograph — is our duty.
When you hold too tightly to what you want to photograph, you end up stuck.
That mindset puts you in a place of stagnation.
But by going out there and making photographs of anything —
Nothing specific. Nothing in particular.
I tap into this stream of becoming.
Let Light Be Your Subject
A lot of people are looking for a subject, a story, something impactful.
But what if I told you to let go of those notions and:
Photograph your soul.
You can photograph anything in front of you
and uplift the mundane into something extraordinary.
That’s when the act becomes a transfiguration of reality.
Your soul is on display in the photographs you make.
Light Is Your Voice
Return to the essence of photography:
- “Phōs” means light
- “Graphia” means writing or drawing
We are writing with light.
We are drawing with light.
And light itself gives you the voice.
So my word of encouragement is this:
Follow the light. Use light as your subject.
By photographing light itself,
you can always find infinite ways to uplift the mundane.
You Cannot Make the Same Photograph Twice
What’s been inspiring me lately is this:
You cannot make the same photograph twice.
The way in which light hits surfaces, people, places, and things —
It’s always different. It will never be the same.
So I follow the light,
and I use light as my subject.
And I find myself clicking the shutter more.
I’m just curious about what reality will become in a photograph.
And when I let go of all preconceived ideas
and embrace the spirit of play —
I photograph more.
I cultivate my own voice.
I give myself power through photography.
Naturally, my style, my purpose, my intent — they come together.
Overcoming Boredom
Sometimes you’re on the street and nothing feels worth photographing.
People walking around on their cell phones.
Everyone kind of looks the same.
Everything kind of feels boring.
But this?
This is a defeatist attitude.
It’s a limiting mindset.
What’s unlocked everything for me is simple:
Follow the light. Use light as your subject.
This is the essence of photography.
This is how I enter the flow state every day.
Will to Power. Will to Press.
Every day, I want to make more pictures.
I want to express:
My will to power.
My will to press the shutter.
Through photography, I now have a voice.
I write with light. I draw with light.
I create instant sketches of life that bring deeper meaning and purpose to my days.
All of it comes from curiosity.
- If you lack curiosity, you’ll lack the will to press the shutter.
- If you are curious, you’ll photograph.
- You’ll be curious about what might happen in that frame.
That curiosity?
It’s the fuel of the soul.
Transfigure Reality
When you let go of photographing life as it is
and embrace life as it could be —
You now have infinite complexity.
You can:
- Abstract reality
- Use light to uplift the world
- Transcend the everyday
Because ultimately?
The will to press the shutter comes from the drive to produce.
We live in a world of consumerism — of passive living.
But photography?
It’s the antidote.
Find a way to express your will to press the shutter.
Augment your everyday life — physically, mentally, spiritually, artistically.
The Artist Must Not Die
Life is short.
And I believe this:
The day you stop making photographs is your metaphorical death as an artist.
So make photographs like your life depends on it.
Let your courage flow.
Let your curiosity guide you.
And through that, your soul will move forward.
Be Naive Again
Yeah, I could talk about what triggers you to press the shutter.
But honestly?
Return to that childlike, naive, optimistic spirit of play.
Everything will become infinitely fascinating.
Doesn’t matter where you are.
Doesn’t matter what’s in front of you.
You will find a way to articulate it.
To make order of chaos.
To create something.
Photograph the Finite
When I see daffodils bloom and wither away,
I’m reminded:
“I, too, will die.”
So I make a photograph.
I photograph the dying flower
because I am flesh.
I cut. I bleed.
I feel sorrow, greed, lust.
I’m an imperfect creature.
But in that imperfection?
There is divinity.
Everything was designed exactly as it was meant to be.
Nothing here lasts forever — not the flower, not us.
And through photography,
through the will to press the shutter —
maybe we can’t live forever…
But at least we can make a photograph.