14 May 2026

The Value of Quiet

It’s been a quiet period for me lately, specifically from December through to March.

If you’re a freelancer, you know that being quiet can be scary. The money stops coming in, and the silence gets a bit loud.

I’ll tell you what I didn’t do: I didn’t hide my head under a blanket and hope that the work would just magically reappear. I also didn’t start freaking out and selling all my camera gear.

I’ve been in this business since 2008. I’ve been around long enough to know that the work comes back—as long as you’re constantly pushing yourself forward.

To stop pushing is to stand still, and to stand still is to become antiquated.

It is vital that we, as photographers, are constantly developing—our styles, our lighting, our camera work, and our retouching. When you’re in the middle of a heavy run of advertising, packaging, or editorial shoots, you don’t always have the headspace for that.

I used this downtime to rest and let the creative juices flow. I’ve been testing, collaborating, and talking to my peers. I’ve been checking out AI and figuring out how—not if—I should work it into my business.

Testing is where I get to try something new. Something different. Something that isn’t normally “me.” It’s about finding outlets for creativity that don’t have a client brief attached to them.

I’ve spent this time planning, thinking, and resetting. I’m back at it now, but I’m glad I had the quiet. It’s what keeps the work from going stale.

I’ve shared some of the results of those tests below.