The Art of Letting Go (So You Can Grow)
Your eyes search for all the right angles, all the lines, all the rules, so intensely that you sometimes miss the moment right in front of you. But this isn’t a post about the decisive moment.
This is about growth, about leveling up alongside your photography.
The Oslo rap group Warlocks once said: “Techniques & Styles we combine the two.” That line holds the whole answer. Aristotle would call it the golden path, that delicate balance between structure and freedom. Not a bad philosophy for life, and definitely not a bad one for photography.
I’ve always been a “rule chaser”. Breaking, graffiti, painting, every craft I’ve touched comes with rules meant not to box you in, but to guide you toward your own direction. And that’s the point: to eventually find your own.
The freestyle approach open the creativity, and the technique tie it all together.
In this video I've made a piece built on that freestyle energy and the technique ties it all together in the end.
At one stage, though, my photography fell into a trap. Every frame was divided by the rule of thirds. Every image had a formula, and every image looked the same. Predictable. Repetitive. Safe.
I’m lucky to have a group of photographers around me who helped me slowly climb out of that rut.
I remember being on a mission in London, obsessing over lines and symmetry, doing “photo math” while turning dials like a human light meter.
Meanwhile, The Bae (@katinkarettfrem) just lifted her camera and captured a stunning moment with a smile, no rules, no calculations, just vibe.
*images from @katinkarettfrem Instagram account
She’s always had that natural artistic instinct. For the rest of us mortals, we usually have to learn the rules first.
But the real work starts after that. Because once you’ve learned something, the next challenge is knowing when to let it go.
And that’s the magic: the process never ends.
*always searching for classic frames to shape your own.
When you learn a new technique, remember the Warlocks’ line. Mix it into your style. Let it blend, not dominate.
The truth is, especially on the streets where everything moves fast with light, people and opportunities, your ability to be present matters more than all the technical perfection in the world.
Trust the process. Learn the techniques, yes. But then throw them out the window before you step outside.
Be brave enough to believe that everything you've learned is already inside you. When the moment comes, and you’ve done the work, your technical decisions will appear instantly and naturally.
That’s when the art really begins.
Photography isn’t about choosing between rules or instinct, it’s about learning both well enough that they become one fluid movement.
The real growth happens when technique stops being something you consciously chase, and instead becomes something that quietly supports the moments you’re present enough to see.
Keep learning, keep letting go, and keep trusting that your style will emerge in the balance between the two.
