Patience

Even in the fast-paced world of sports photography, patience is the quiet by-product nobody warns you about. Waiting for the one moment that holds the essence of the shot comes down to one thing. Patience.

Sometimes the athlete you're tracking slows down. They look like they're doing something mundane. Then, before you know it, they do something absolutely sublime, and that's the shot. That's where the magic and the story come together, but only if you're still there, watching.

Knowledge and experience are patience too. Having the patience to learn the sport you want to shoot. Having the patience to pick up settings and tips from your peers. Making mistakes and learning from them? Also patience.

We've all seen a spectacular landscape shot and thought, "wow, they must have an incredible camera", or "they must have been so lucky to be in the right place." Both have some truth to them. But the fact is, they had the patience to know where to be, what time to be there and how to capture it.

I used to know someone who would head into the desert, build a hide and sit there for hours hoping to photograph one particular animal. I'm not sure I could ever match that. Kudos to them, and to everyone who lets us see rare and beautiful creatures from the comfort of our screens.

There have also been shoots where I was simply asked to record, and the creativity belonged to the client. As creatives, we feel we should have input and the final say. Don't get me wrong, I still do. But sometimes patience here means accepting what is and learning from it.

The most important patience, though, is the one we give ourselves. Be patient with your progress. Be patient in how you judge yourself. There will always be people who are better, or further ahead. But there are also people looking up at you, hoping that one day they'll get there too.

Here's to waiting for the shot. And to waiting for ourselves.