Why You Should Photograph Your Boring Life
So, you think your life’s too boring to photograph? Nah. You’re wrong.
Forget the influencers sipping espresso in Paris. Forget the photographers jetting between LA and New York. Forget the perfect lighting, the curated feeds, the whole “aesthetic” thing.
You, stuck in your sleepy little town or tucked away in your corner of nowhere—your life deserves to be photographed.
But I get it. The big question that stops most of us from picking up the camera is: why?
Why photograph the “nothing” that’s happening around you?
It really hit me during lockdown. One minute I was out shooting with mates, free to roam and create whatever I wanted… and the next, I was borderline alcoholic, stuck in my parents' attic, the highlight of my week being a Zoom quiz.
We all had our version of that mess.
At first, all the inspiration was gone. Street photography? Nope. Portraits? Nope. Everything sucked. But eventually, after a few weeks of wallowing, I picked up my camera again. Sometimes I’d shoot on my daily walk, other times from my bedroom. But from that day on, I had my camera with me all the time.
The Art Of You
That’s when I had my first big realisation:
No one else is living your exact life. Sure, there are plenty of 20-something ADHD/OCD photographers out there (hi, gang), but no one is you. No one sees what you see. And that? That’s a reason to document it all.
Your photos show the world from your perspective—how stuff feels to you.
But that was just the start.
Eventually, I started seeing everything differently. No, not in a “look at the world through a new lens” kind of way—let’s chill with the puns—but seriously, I began looking at my surroundings photographically.
Oh yeah, we’ll I’ve got you here, you should definitely take a look at this film photography course that I put together, it’s essentially the course I wish I had when I first started shooting and it’ll take you from a complete beginner to a confident film shooter in no time!
It Makes You A Better Photographer
Let me explain it like this:
Imagine fishing in a river full of fish. You drop your hook, boom—instant catch. That’s like photographing on a cool trip or in a big city; there’s visual candy everywhere.
Now imagine fishing in a river where you can’t even see a fish. You’ve got to work, try different baits, techniques, angles… and maybe two hours later, you get one bite.
That’s what shooting your everyday life is like.
But here’s the thing—it makes you a better photographer. You start looking at everything around you differently. You stop waiting for the photo to come to you, and instead, you hunt for it.
And if you can train your eye to find something interesting in the most “boring” parts of your day? You’re leveling up.
Anyone can be inspired when they’re on a beach in Portugal with a €1 beer. But if you can find a moment worth photographing in your commute, your walk to the shop, or your Tuesday morning coffee routine—then you’re really growing.
New Meanings
Here’s something else people don’t talk about enough:
These photos you take of your “boring” life? They’ll mean something different in five, ten, twenty years.
You’re saving little slices of your life—not for the 'gram, not for followers—but for you.
Your family, your mates, your pets, your home.
One day, those photos might be some of the most precious things you own.
Your Task
So here’s a little assignment for you—and maybe one of the most important projects you’ll ever do:
Maybe it’s your friends, your family, your job, your walks. Maybe it’s the house you live in, the street you walk down every day, or the takeaway you order way too often. Photograph it.
And if you want to take it a step further—put it together in a zine or a little photo book. I used to make friendship zines, and I know they’ll mean so much more to me in 20 years than they did the day I printed them.
You’re not doing it for fame or clout. But you’re building something that’ll grow in value over time—for you and the people around you.
So, yeah. Photograph your boring life.
There’s magic in it.
And honestly, you probably don’t have anything better to do right now.