Playing a good mind game with our work

This week, I explore a positive “mind game” you can play in your photography that can inspire you to see your work differently. These mental strategies can motivate you to approach each shoot with fresh energy and purpose. Your approach as you head out the door says a lot about your work. Are you looking for things, emotions, ideas, or concepts? What you set up as the basics is what will come out of the work. Recognizing how your mindset shapes your focus can help you aim for deeper, more meaningful photography. So if you want deep work, look for something more than just a thing. Part of our mindset as we head out the door will ultimately determine what we photograph that day. It isn’t uncommon to head out thinking about things we want to photograph. Places, people, and natural elements are all common things I myself want to go photograph. However, what if we shifted away from things to photograph and toward a feeling or an idea we want to photograph? Would that make for more meaningful images? Would that have us connect to our work differently? Focusing on feelings or ideas can deepen our engagement and bring new perspectives. No matter the seed we plant in our minds as we head out the door about what to photograph, it affects everything we see through the lens. If we make a more conscious, more focused effort to consider what we might photograph, we may discover what truly matters to us when we take a picture. It might surprise us that the essence isn’t just about the object itself. Upcoming Events: Adventures in the Palouse Workshop: Join me in the Palouse from June 21st to 26th for an immersive photography adventure. One spot left “In Practice” Exhibition: If you’re in Seattle, don’t miss this exhibition at the Photographic Center Northwest, running from April 2nd to June 7th. I’ll be there for the artist reception on April 9th at 6 pm — come say hi! Stay Connected: Newsletter: Sign up on my website, danieljgregory.com, to stay updated on classes, webinars, art sales, and studio happenings. Podcast Updates: The Perceptive Photographer podcast drops every Monday. Don’t miss out on new episodes and the “In Conversations” series with amazing photographers like Ken Carlson, Rachel Demi, and Jenny Hansen. Thank you for being part of this journey with me. Your support means the world! d-

You can listen to Playing a good mind game with our work online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Playing a good mind game with our work is an episode from The Perceptive Photographer by Daniel j Gregory.

This episode is 13:09 long.

This episode was published on Mar 16, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Perceptive Photographer when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.