Make Sure to Always Make Space to be a Beginner Again
On rediscovering curiosity through mistakes and fresh starts.
My professional career began in 2012, and two years later I switched paths to become a designer. It’s been over a decade now working as a digital product designer, across different companies, team sizes, and all kinds of dynamics. I’ve been through the ups and downs, solving countless problems along the way.
Also, in 2016, I picked up photography, always on film. Hard to believe it’s been nine years of shooting film already.
With both design and photography, experience has trained me to react almost automatically. For example, If something moves too fast? Zone focus. No light meter on hand? I calculate it in my head. Cloudy skies? Push the film without hesitation. At this point, it feels less like a choice and more like muscle memory. My brain pulling from the past and guiding my body before I even think.
And maybe that’s the problem. It’s been a long time since I last felt like I was truly learning, fumbling, or being a beginner. With years of experience built into me, I’ve fallen into the role of “the one who knows”, the one expected to guide others.
But then I realized something…
The Realization
I realized it had been a long time since I truly learned something new outside my usual expertise. That moment came with videography and video editing, especially when I decided to pause my YouTube production for a whole week just to dive into a new tool: DaVinci Resolve.
I wanted to see for myself if it was really worth switching from Adobe Premiere Pro. Could it actually make my editing workflow faster and better? Some people swore by it, others said it was basically the same.
Those four days were honestly a struggle. The biggest challenge was learning the color grading tools. But that’s also where I was blown away, the flexibility and depth of DaVinci’s color controls were incredible. It pushed me not only to learn the software but also to revisit color theory on a deeper level.
But maybe I’ll save the details of DaVinci for another time.
Noticing
Sometimes comfort makes me rigid, less playful. For a while, I felt like I’d been staying in my own safe box. But the moment I step outside of it, I start noticing details I used to overlook when I was too confident.
It’s been about a month and a half since I dove into learning color theory through DaVinci, and it’s already changed how I see light with my camera. Before, my process was simple: “The light looks like this, okay, I’ll use this shutter speed.” Now, my mind goes a step further without me even planning it: “The light looks like this… but the shadows are stronger there. Maybe I should adjust the aperture to balance the shadows without losing highlight detail.” It happens naturally now, as if the learning rewired my instincts.
It also reminded me of when I first started using a large-format camera. On that format, guessing settings carelessly can cost a lot. That forced me to slow down, be mindful, and not lean too heavily on the comfort of my usual light meter-in-my-head approach.
The struggle and the joy of learning have pushed me to grow, and I’ve come to realize that growth only happens when I make space for these moments again and again.
Just this week, I bought a 45-chapter course on content planning and storytelling. I guess I’m a little addicted to learning. But at the same time, I still want to keep the wheel turning, writing here, producing YouTube videos, taking photos. So I’m planning to juggle it all.
And maybe that’s the point. The best way to keep moving forward is to always allow myself to start over.
Anyway, let me share my color grading learning results here as well 😎
Thank you for reading! Let’s connect through some of my social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube!
And if you want to support me on my journey, you can buy me a film roll, buy my photobook or my prints (ship worldwide)! ❤️
I’ll see you again next time!
Cheers,
The grading looks phenomenal, those videos really do a great job of showing the lift you get from that hard work. Cool to get some insight into your work and photography too.