Ever pick up a camera and just hesitated? It’s easy to get stuck in your head, but here’s the thing, magic doesn’t wait. It’s already there, waiting for you to capture it.
Have you overthought a shot? Or doubted the lighting? For then suddenly, boom. The shot turns out perfect. The magic. Is in the doing. It’s in pressing that little button (the shutter button). What magic actually means will depend on you. My magic will be different from yours, but that’s fine, that doesn’t make it any more or less magic.
The shutter button. It’s simple. Small. Quiet. But it’s right there, this little shutter button, this is where the magic happens.
It’s like a tiny portal that freezes a moment in time from your point of view that will never happen again. It’s kind of wild when you think about it. You don’t need some perfect plan to press it.
Just go and shoot what you see. It’s in the unexpected, the imperfect, the things you didn’t plan but instead, discovered along the way.
Here’s the thing, everyone gets caught up in this idea of the ‘perfect shot.’ Perfection. It’s overrated. Honestly, it’s boring. The stuff that makes a photo or a video special? It’s the quirks. It’s the flaws, the unexpected angles, the unplanned moments that give it that character. The imperfections. The stuff you notice that others might overlook, or the same thing, but in your unique way. Don’t let that stop you from getting it.
A lot of the time I go out and shoot something, I have no idea if a shot’s gonna turn out or even if I’m going to get anything worth shooting. But that’s the fun of it. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta trust your gut, hit that shutter button, and move on, because later, when you look back at what you captured. That’s when the magic reveals itself. Sometimes, the magic isn’t obvious right away. It might take weeks, months, or even years to see it. But it’s always there, waiting for you.
A while back, I shot at a couple of locations. At first, I wasn’t thrilled with the photos, so I left them sitting on my laptop. Months later, I came back with a completely different feeling towards them and in that time, my creative understanding of my own photography had changed, which meant I’d obtained this new sense of how to edit my photos in a way that gives me that magic.
If you’re looking for that great shot? Remember, It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about whether someone else will like it or whether it’ll go viral. It’s about how you see it. While it took me months to find the beauty in my shot and found it eventually.
Most of the time, you don’t have to wait for that perfect moment. Trust me, if you’re always waiting for perfect, you’ll miss everything. Just shoot what you see.
That’s the beauty of photography, videography, or any kind of creation, it evolves with you.
The world looks different to everyone. The way you see it, the way you capture it, as you grow, your perspective deepens, giving your work new layers of meaning. That’s the power of the shutter button, it’s like your voice, but visual.
The shots you think are ‘meh’ in the moment. They can sometimes end up being your favourites later. That’s why you’ve gotta just keep shooting. Don’t overthink. Don’t second-guess. Just go.
That’s why you have to trust your instincts. Just click. Just shoot. I’m sure it will surprise you later.
The way camera quality is these days in something like your phone, it now means that it’s not always about expensive gear. It’s not about perfect settings. It’s about being present. Letting your perspective shine. I don’t always shoot with the fanciest setup. Sometimes it’s just my phone, overtimes it’s my camera.
Grab whatever camera you’ve got, your phone, a dedicated camera, whatever. Just grab it and shoot something today. Anything. It doesn’t have to be deep or make sense. Just shoot whatever catches your eye, because that’s where the magic lives, in the way you see things.
In the end, it’s not about the camera, the settings, or even the subject. It’s about you. Your perspective. Your voice and how you interpret that picture or that video into the message you’re trying to convey. And that’s the true power of the shutter button.
And remember: The power of the shutter button? Your lens, your perspective, your voice.
Think back, what’s the last moment you wish you’d captured? Don’t let the next one pass you by. Pick up your camera, and start now.
It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. Just look for the magic in what’s around you. Maybe it’s a shadow on the wall or the way the light hits your coffee cup.
Every moment you capture is a moment that you’ll never regret preserving. The only shots you’ll regret are the ones you didn’t take. So go. See and then shoot. So, grab whatever you’ve got, phone, camera, doesn’t matter, and find one thing today that you see differently from everyone else and capture it.
If you want to see the video version of this article, check out the YouTube link below: