The #1 Life Lesson to Learn From Photography
A love letter to disposables, doormen, and dumb luck
Day 1 of my first college photography class, my professor walked in and said:
”There are only two quotes you ever need to know about how to be a good photographer.”
If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough”
-Robert Capa (roughly 1936)
and
If your pictures aren't good enough, get farther away”
-Coudnt find who said this quote
The gist of my professor’s message can be summed up by this third quote:
A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
- Ansel Adams
This gets at the #1 lesson that photography has taught me.
The quality of your photos has nothing to do with equipment. You can take fire photos with disposables. You can fire photos with an iPhone, a Nikon Z9, a Canon F1, a potato with a hole in it…
The quality of your photos has nothing to do with editing. It could be black and white, it could be overexposed, it could be blurry. It could even be inverted
The quality of your photos has very little to do with the work you put in. The trick to good photography is:
being in the right place at the right time.
If you were standing behind the ring when Muhhamad Ali knocks down Sonny Liston. Your photograph is going to be phenomenal.
If you were standing at the finish line when Roger Bannister crossed the finish line under 4:00 for the first time. Your photo is going down in history
If you're standing below Donald Trump as he raises a fist after getting shot at. You may have just taken the best photo of the decade… Sorry, I Hate donald Trump, and wish this wasnt the case… but it is.
My point here is that we think about photography all wrong.
We teach which lens to use and when to us it. We teach when to use BW and when to use color. We teach how to use Lightroom. We teach shutter speed and Sunny 16. We teach the history of famous photographers without examining how they got into those places.
We should be thinking all differently. We should be teaching where to be and when to be there. And, most importantly, how to physically get yourself there.
We teach Ansel Adams as a photography legend. We break down his photos for striking composition and his incredible technical skills.
We don't break down the fact that he explored deep into the high sierras when very few others were doing that, and during a time which perfectly aligned with an environmental rights boom. He was right place right time.
To prove this, look at Carlton Watkins’ photos
They are on paper PHENOMANAL… he was basically, the first person with a camera to enter Yosemite… some of his photos are straight up better than Ansel's…
But he died broke and not famous…
America did not care about environmentalism then… photography was not cool then. He was right place… wrong time
I know this is a gross oversimplification of Ansel Adams vs carelton watkins
But these examples are clear as day, and they’re everywhere:
Robert Capa: While an amazing photographer, he is not famous because he got closer to the subject, despite his quote.
Robert Capa got famous because he was in a literal war zone at the peak of human interest in the war
Dorothea Lange: Again, amazing AMAZING photographer. But she’s only as famous as she is cuz she was documenting the great depression in America. Right place, right time.
I could go on and on. Google your favorite photographer; this idea likely applies to them, or their most famous photos, too.
How This Lesson Applies to Life:
Success in anything isn’t about being the best, like at all. It’s about access. It’s about being the room where something important is happening.
This is inherently unfair. I could get into that. But for now, i’ll just state it and move on
In life, being there beats being perfect every time. The right moment is what makes an ok photo an Iconic piece of history. The same goes for careers, ideas, movements, friendships, and even relationships.
The thing is, the “right place” is not going to be waiting with a welcome mat, at least for most of us.
Take this as you will:
(btw these are all metaphors and for legal reasons not my actual advice
You should photoshop a pass (see Micheal jang)
You should sneak in
You should make friends with the ‘doorman’
You should bring a clipboard and a high-vis vest
You should act like you belong until someone tells you you don’t
You should send the cold email with no shame and all delusion.
You should do EVERYTHING you can to get into that room
And if you can’t
You should give your ‘camera’ to someone who can get in.
Regular people don’t get handed front-row seats to history. You have to be scrappy.
This way of thinking reframes everything. Instead of asking, “How do I be better?” the more useful question is:
Where should I be standing?
My final advice:
Buy a plastic disposable. You can sneak those things in anywhere, and they usually come with a flash. Then, never let it leave your pocket
You’ll never know when you're in the right place at the right time
And it’s better to have a disposable with you always than a fancy mirrorless f1.2 camera with you sometimes.
Or in non-photography terms:
Always be ready. At some point (probably a few points) in your life, you’ll find yourself in the right place at the right time. Don’t be caught flat-footed. Don’t stress about being the most talented, the most polished, or the most prepared.
What matters most is that you’re there, standing in the spot where the moment is about to happen.
Zach Litoff
May 27 2025
Loved this. Best photos are from the best moments
What a great article, Zach!