We must remember that photography is both a physical pleasure and a visual game. This means, increasing our power and focusing on the human body is critical to reach your fullest potential.
Why?
I believe weightlifting is critical to becoming a better photographer. You may wonder how these things correlate and why I believe this? Honestly it’s simple and related to the kaizen Japanese philosophy.
The word “Kaizen” is derived from Japanese. It is composed of two characters: “改” (kai) meaning “change” or “to correct,” and “善” (zen) meaning “good” or “for the better.” Thus, Kaizen translates to “change for the better” or “improvement.” This concept is widely used in business and manufacturing contexts to denote continuous improvement involving everyone from executives to workers.
Essentially, in order to improve your photography for the better, you must work on it every single day. Similar to weightlifting, photography requires a a lot of time working in order to see any results.
My thought is that consistent weightlifting and physical training everyday not only will increase your power and courage to continuously throw yourself onto the frontlines of life and embrace chaos, but it will also teach you to enjoy the process. The more you find joy in putting the reps in, whether in the gym or on the street, the more successful you will be with your photography.
Strong Photographer, Strong Photographs
Let us put aside these basic notions of what makes a “good” or “bad” photograph. Instead, I like to consider notions of strength and weakness.
Surely, a strong photographer will have more power and courage to make more photographs, get closer to life itself, and be the “good” photographer. A weak photographer will be shy, intimidated by the streets, and might find themselves on the sidelines of life, ultimately making “bad” work.
These binary ideas of good or bad are basic at best. Let us reframe our perspective to the physical, the real, the tangible human bodies that we possess. By increasing your power each and every day, it is inevitable that you will become a stronger photographer. Forget about the books, forget about the cameras, the lenses, the technical, and the history of photography. Become the strongest version of yourself, and throw yourself onto the frontlines of life.