Photography Lessons I’m Carrying From 2025 Into 2026

There are things I lived through in 2025 that became larger lessons for my career. Some of them were uncomfortable. Some of them paid off immediately. Some of them took patience. I’m sharing a handful to give you a head start on 2026.

If you’re a photographer, videographer, or creative artist trying to build something real and sustainable, I want you to grab at least one of these and carry it with you into 2026. The full video goes deeper, with stories and context you won’t get here, but this will give you the framework.

Leverage Is Everything

Leverage is the difference between a small check and a big future. When I photographed a major magazine cover (Vanity Fair) and pinned it to the top of my Instagram, I wasn’t doing it for vanity. I was doing it because leverage compounds. That single image changed how people perceived me in real time, including a model I had admired for years. You may not always get paid what something is “worth” upfront, but if you use it strategically, that win can unlock the next one. The mistake most creatives make is scattering their efforts instead of stacking them. Stacking wins is how momentum is built.

Leadership Is Preventing Panic

Leadership isn’t loud. It’s steady. This year, I walked away from my biggest client, and financially, that kind of decision can shake the ground beneath you. What mattered most wasn’t my stress, but making sure my team felt stable and protected. When you lead, your panic becomes contagious if you let it leak. Clients feel it. The crew feels it. Employees feel it. The real move is asking for help privately while projecting calm publicly. That’s how trust compounds. As a leader, do what you can to bring calm and push out the noise. They’re watching, and how you react to a setback or major move can determine the type of work they bring to the table. It’s a win-win.

Finish Clean Circles

Unfinished business weighs more than you think. Old projects, lingering debts, half-closed relationships, even a website you’ve been “meaning to finish” for two years, all take up mental space. I’m almost done with mine! And when your plate is full, nothing new can land on it. Closing loops creates room—room for better opportunities, clearer thinking, and unexpected growth. Trimming what no longer serves you isn’t loss. It’s preparation.

Put Yourself Out of Business

This exercise changed everything for me. Imagine you are your own competitor. What would you offer to replace yourself? What gaps would you exploit? What would you do better? Seeing yourself through the market’s eyes forces innovation. If you don’t evolve your offer, someone else will. The paradox is simple: you have to put yourself out of business to stay in business.

You Are a Product (Whether You Like It or Not)

Standing in a store surrounded by shelves of products made something painfully clear. The best product doesn’t always win. The product that stands out does. Your work might be incredible, but if your branding, website, or presence is invisible, people won’t get far enough to discover that. Removing emotion from this is freeing. It’s not personal. It’s positioning. When you treat yourself like a product, you can refine, repackage, and improve without ego getting in the way.

AI Isn’t the Enemy. Mediocrity Is the Enemy.

Fear sells. That’s why headlines scream about AI replacing creatives. But AI doesn’t replace humanity. It amplifies whatever already exists. If your work is generic, AI will outpace you. If your work is opinionated, human, and rooted in lived experience, AI becomes a tool, not a threat. Natural intelligence leads. AI follows. The creatives who win are the ones who know who they are and aren’t afraid to show it.

Say Yes to New Rooms

Growth doesn’t only happen on set. This year, I forced myself into new environments, new hobbies, and new conversations with people outside my industry. Not for networking—for perspective, and this year it was a hiking group for me. I don’t get hiking. I don’t get camping either, but that’s a different topic. Why did I join this hiking group? Because the people have different hobbies than I do; they see a different beauty and appreciate a different effort than I do. This can only strengthen who I am. Those perspectives change how you see the world, and that changes your work. Sometimes the payoff is immediate. Sometimes it shows up years later. Either way, stagnation is a choice.

The World Believes What You Tell It

This one’s uncomfortable, but it’s true. If you believe you’re not worthy of investing in yourself, of better opportunities, of better people, the world will agree with you. And if you believe the opposite, it will meet you there too. We’re storytellers. Stories shape culture, careers, and outcomes. The story you tell about yourself becomes the one everyone else repeats.

These are the lessons I’m walking into 2026 with. The full video expands on each one with real moments, context, and decisions that didn’t make it into this post. They are lessons from doing things correctly and incorrectly. Like you, I am learning and growing. We should share experiences for a communal win.

If any of this hit, I highly recommend watching it start to finish. Not for motivation, but for perspective. I hope you have a very successful 2026.