Work Alone

This is a chapter from the book A Lesser Photographer.

“Artists work best alone.” — Steve Wozniak

About forty years of research on brainstorming has shown that idea generation is most effective as a solitary activity. Collaboration has been shown to aid in refining ideas, but groups tend to create fewer and lower-quality ideas when compared with people creating on their own.

My experience tells me that the work itself is also better when I’m alone. This could be dangerous if your chosen field is wildlife photography, but your brain doesn’t care as much about your subject matter as the way it’s approached.

As much as other humans may give us comfort by telling us we are on the right track with an idea, art is about pushing ideas past where others are comfortable.

Together, we remain comfortable. Alone, we remain unique.