Everyone's a photographer now. So why does it all look the same?

The Terrible Photographer is where working creatives come to remember why they started, and figure out how to keep going without losing their souls.

The Terrible Photographer Podcast – Stories, rants, and revolts for working creatives.

.Each episode is part essay, part confession, about what it means to keep creating when the algorithm is louder than your instincts. It’s not about gear. It’s about guts. New episodes every Tuesday.

Lessons From a Terrible Photographer

A field guide for the creatively over-it.

This isn't another photography book. It's a creative survival guide for the rest of us.

Lessons From a Terrible Photographer is part memoir, part manifesto, part therapy session for anyone who's ever wondered if they're actually cut out for this creative life. It's not about gear, presets, or building your personal brand. It's about staying human in an industry obsessed with perfection.

Through brutal honesty, dark humor, and hard-won wisdom, this book tackles the stuff other photography guides won't touch:

  • Why chasing perfection is creative suicide

  • How to find your voice when everyone sounds the same

  • The real reason most photographers burn out (hint: it's not the work)

  • Why being "terrible" is actually your superpower

  • How to build a career that feeds your soul instead of crushing it

If you’ve ever felt like you’re falling behind, making the wrong kind of work, or wondering if you’re even cut out for this — this book is for you.

Because the real lesson? You’re allowed to be terrible.

That’s how you get good.

  • "The hardest truth about photography isn't about mastering exposure or understanding light. It's this: every great photographer, every artist who's ever made something worth remembering, started as a beginner, making work that would make them cringe today."

    Lessons From A Terrible Photographer – Chapter 1 – Embrace the Terrible

  • "The more technical knowledge you have, the more creative freedom you have to create compelling and interesting work."

    Lessons From A Terrible Photographer – Chapter 4 – Gear, Fear, & Peers

  • "The hard part isn't learning how to operate a camera; it's figuring out WHAT you want to say and WHY it matters. Unfortunately, camera companies haven't invented a button for that yet."

    Lessons From A Terrible Photographer – Chapter 5 – Why Shapes How

  • "The most important images you'll ever make might not be the ones that build your career. They might be the ones that preserve someone's world when that world is about to change forever."

    Lessons From A Terrible Photographer – Chapter 8 – Get Naked

  • If your work requires someone else to feel small so you can feel powerful, it’s not art. It’s cowardice in disguise.

    Lessons From A Terrible Photographer – Chapter 17 – Rules, Power, and Responsibility

  • Sometimes, what you've built—the portfolio, the process, the way you work—is the very thing holding you back.

    Lessons From A Terrible Photographer – Chapter 16 – Burn It Down

Join the Field Notes Newsletter

Your weekly reminder that you’re not crazy. The system is.

One email a week from Patrick Fore. No spam. No algorithms. Just a short burst of creative encouragement, stories behind the podcast, and tiny revolts against the bullshit.

  • Real talk, no bullshit — Honest reflections on creativity, burnout, and the weird emotional rollercoaster of being a photographer in 2025.

  • Creative prompts & Light Leaks — Gentle provocations to help you reconnect with your instincts and make work that feels like you again.

  • Useful stuff you’ll actually use — From shoot checklists to business tools, you’ll get practical downloads to help you work smarter (not just prettier).

  • First looks & behind-the-scenes — Get early access to podcast episodes, new writing, workshops, and anything else I’m cooking up.

WHY TERRIBLE IS THE POINT

The antidote to photography's creative crisis

Photography has an unspoken problem: the slow death of creative voice. Most photographers are caught between chasing trends, undercharging for work, and building Instagram feeds that look like everyone else's.

Terrible Photographer exists for creatives ready to reject that game. We stand for honest work over hype, voice over imitation, and the radical idea that your photography should sound like you.

We're not here to teach you presets or promise viral success. We're here to help you make work that matters, to you first, then to the world.

The call is simple: Stop performing. Start creating.

Community, Not Followers

Join the conversation

This isn't about building an audience. It's about finding your people. The ones who still ask hard questions. Who make work because they have to, not because it trends. Who believe photography should mean something.

Terrible Photographer is where those conversations happen.

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Meet the Author

Patrick Fore is a commercial and portrait photographer with a background in graphic design and art direction. Known for his bold use of color and storytelling through light, Patrick shares the lessons he learned the hard way so you don't have to. Patrick lives with his family in San Diego.

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