Lessons From A Terrible Photographer

What They Don’t Tell You About Photography, Growth & Success

Photography isn’t just technical. It’s existential. This book is for the ones trying to make honest work, stay curious, and get paid—without losing your mind or your soul in the process.

What’s Inside

This book is divided into three acts—like any good hero's journey.

Part 1: "The Wanderer" (Embracing the Creative Journey)
Break free from the myths holding you back. Learn why gear obsession is creative quicksand, why "terrible" is actually your starting point, and how to develop the mindset that separates photographers who grow from those who quit.

Part 2: "The Alchemist" (Transforming Technique into Voice)
Move beyond copying your heroes to finding your own visual language. Discover how constraints spark creativity, why vulnerability is your secret weapon, and the difference between taking pictures and making images that couldn't have been created by anyone else.

Part 3: "The Sustainer" (Building Longevity and Meaning)
Learn to show up professionally, price your work like you mean it, and build the relationships that actually sustain creative careers. Plus: when to burn it all down and start over, how to write your own rules, and what it really means to leave something behind.

You'll get:

  • Real strategies for breaking creative paralysis
    (not inspiration porn)

  • A framework for developing your authentic voice
    (beyond "find your style")

  • Honest talk about money, pricing, and building
    sustainable creative work

  • The truth about networking, critique, and professional growth

  • Permission to experiment, fail, and make weird work
    that matters to you

This isn't about perfect techniques or trending hashtags. It's about staying human while building something that lasts.

Chapter 6, The Voice Inside (pg. 63)

“An uncomfortable truth about my own creative identity came during a seemingly ordinary conversation with Alex, a New York photographer who approaches his work with care, emotion and intelligence.

One day, we were chatting and in a moment of pure honesty he said something that I'll never forget.

"Patrick," he said, his voice lowered but unmistakably clear, "you're not really an artist. You're more like a technician." He paused briefly, realizing how harsh that sounded, but went in for the kill anyway. "You can shoot anything, you're technically proficient—impressive even—but what you make isn't art."

The world around us seemed to go silent. I felt heat rise from my collar to my face, my hands instinctively tightening around my phone. I wanted to laugh it off. To tell him he was wrong. But I couldn't.

The truth is, I had started to feel it too. That hollow, gnawing question: What am I actually trying to say with all of this?

I had gotten good—clean, polished, dependable—but I had no idea if I had a point of view. And that terrified me. Because without a voice, I was just a camera operator with expensive taste.

But as the initial shock subsided, something more unsettling took its place: recognition.

I didn't have a comeback. Because, deep down, I knew he was right.”

Hear it. Read it. No strings attached.
Download the first chapter (PDF + Audio) now.

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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