Why Doing It All Yourself Isn’t the Flex You Think It Is

Because no one creates their best work alone.

Why do we feel like we have to do it all ourselves?

Somewhere along the way, we convinced ourselves that wearing every hat was a badge of honor. That unless we do it all—create the work, print it, frame it, market it, sell it—we’re somehow falling short.

But here’s the truth: knowing your strengths and leaning into them isn’t a weakness. It’s one of the smartest things you can do. Because when you stretch yourself too thin, you water down the thing you’re actually great at.

Recapping last week, it becomes clear that getting to know yourself is a real skill. But there’s another skill people often overlook: knowing what you aren’t as good at, and finding people who can elevate you and your work as a result.

There’s power in connection (that’s another blog post title of mine). The real power isn’t just having amazing people in your life—it’s truly understanding their strengths and leaning into them.

Let me give you some examples of things that have come across my desk recently.

Last week, I got test prints done for my new series from my printer and friend. It’s one of those places where I walk in with a coffee and a pastry, we talk for two hours about life, politics, and sport, and then at the end, we say, “I guess we better print something.”

Now, I can print my own work. I could go out, buy a printer, get the inks and paper, and do it myself. In fact, lots of photographers do. But personally? I think it’s a bit silly.

Not because printing your own work is silly—but because trying to print work as good as someone who does it for a living, and thinking it’ll compare, is.

I go to my printer, who has 15 years of experience—from darkrooms to printing multiple exhibits a week. He has the best screens for printing, he understands exactly how his printer works, and he has hundreds of papers to choose from. He knows how far he can push them while getting the best look for the work. He knows how certain images will react on different papers, and he manually adjusts things like the amount of black in the shadows based on how it will print.

Any good printer is going to have a similar level of skill, and once you start printing work for sale or exhibitions, it becomes more of a partnership. It’s a special relationship. They’re the person who takes your work from “Wow, that’s nice” to “OMG, that’s insane.”

Now, am I just writing this to brag that I have a great printer and my upcoming series will look amazing? No... but it’s nice to let you know that too. Really, I’m saying that while I can print, it’s not what I do. I could learn it, but I don’t have 15 years of mistakes behind me teaching me what works and what doesn’t. I’d rather spend that time photographing and making better work—understanding that when we work together, we produce even better results.

I shoot for how good it can look printed. He prints it and brings that idea to life. Simple.

It’s the same story with my framer. I’ve worked with wood for years; I’ve made frames before. But it’s not what I do.

I have friends I go to for marketing advice, video work, art advice and feedback. Publishers I talk to about photo books. Financial advisors and accountants (I have a degree in accounting, by the way). IT people for website problems.

These are all skills I know enough about to get by—but not enough to work in those fields professionally. And that’s a skill I think many business owners, creatives, and artists need to learn: do the best you can, and know when someone else can do it better. Then lean into them.

We’ve all tried to be the master of everything. I’ve made frames. I’ve designed my own website. I’ve made posters for exhibits. I’ve researched the right language to use for art exhibitions. I’ve made photo books. I’ve tried Facebook and Instagram ads. I’ve tried all of these and more. And I can tell you, wholeheartedly: it’s better to understand where your strengths are and lean into them—just as it’s important to understand the strengths of people in your circle and lean into those too.

What’s the benefit of trying to do it all? Are we really that egotistical that we need to tell people, “I took the photo, I printed it, I framed it, I did the marketing, made the posters, ran the ads, and built the website”?

Now, to be clear: I’m not saying don’t learn new skills because someone else can do them better. I know a little bit about all of the above. But I also know the gap between what I can do and what a specialist can do is massive.

Let’s say you do an experiment.

You have one person do all fifteen jobs: take the photo, print it, frame it, market it, etc., all the way through to the sale.

Or you have fifteen people, each doing their part in their area of expertise.

A) Which one do you think will be better?

B) Which one do you think will take less time?

I’m a big fan of taking my time with my photos and enjoying the process as much as I can. But I can’t stand spending my nights figuring out how to reach more than 100 people with a reel on socials—or why my prints don’t look as good as they did the day before.

Time is our currency. Connection is how we thrive.

And here’s the thing: no one creates their best work alone. The best projects—the ones that really move people—are made by leaning into your strengths and letting others do the same.

So maybe it’s time to let go of the reins.

Not to give up control, but to create something bigger than yourself.

Something you couldn’t have made alone.

Because when we work together, that’s where the magic happens.
Love to all,
Have a great week.

Adam

(some more examples of works from the new project)