Lens 2 Lens: Practice and Performance

With Adam Perler

Adam: I spent the first year and a half of my photography really focused on quantity. My only goal was to create enough images that I could post on Instagram every day during 2024. I figured if I did that I would get enough repetitions and practice in that I would eventually start creating better images.

Now that I have that initial time and work put in, I’m trying to figure out the balance between getting out to stay in-practice, and working on longer term projects. How do you balance the two? Or is this something that you think about too?'

Juliette: I got into a pattern for a long time. When I’d travel, I’d shoot for narrative. Inevitably, I would be able to string together a group of photos to tell a story.

Then when I’d get home, I would snapshot, just amassing one long Instagram-type set of photos that never really told a story. I’m not saying every photo should be part of a storytelling narrative but I have moved away from snapshots and now try to find common threads in the photos I take. I’ve become more “intentional”.

I think that’s got to do with my personal relationship with photography, which has evolved over time. What is your personal relationship with photography like?

Adam: I 100% agree with your statement that a personal relationship with photography is evolving over time. When I first started I just wanted to get some pictures of my friends out climbing, take some pretty pictures of nature while I was hiking, and take some images that showcase the beauty of my neighborhood and city. I’ve realized lately that I really enjoy capturing moments of people while they’re doing something they enjoy.

But I also have this other side where I like to do more than that and really try to showcase what I see when I explore different places, whether those places are a new part of St Louis, a new city entirely, or somewhere new in nature, it doesn’t matter.

And I’ve also started working on and thinking about some longer term projects to add some further meaning to my work. I feel like the exploration of different places and seeing what I capture keeps me moving and practiced and gets me ready when I go somewhere new, I’m working on a project, or I’m able to be around people who are enjoying what they’re doing (and sometimes all 3 culminate in the same outing, which is truly the dream).

I feel like trying to find a common thread like you do, or picking a specific topic for photo walks would make that practice more focused and help to keep me engaged and more likely to get out in the day-to-day between those more exciting outings.

Juliette: Would you say you are more of a documentarian then?

Adam: Oh, I’ve never really thought about that! I’ve never considered it because I’m not always documenting people, but I guess even when I’m out capturing places and things, I’m still trying to capture it through a documentary viewpoint, and specifically my viewpoint and what I find interesting.

I’ve found it hard to really classify what “type” of photographer I am, and at the end of the day I’m not sure that a category matters too much, but it’s interesting to think about.

Do you classify or categorize your own work? If so, do you find that it helps you focus on what you want to create?

Juliette: In part I think life was easier when I didn’t pick a genre. Other Substack writers here have chatted with me a lot on this subject and the idea of pigeonholing ourselves isn’t helpful. Do I classify my vision? Not so much. I just know that photography is something I must do!

So, could you imagine two swim lanes where one is designated for a specific project under a classified umbrella while the other is just random?

Adam: Yeah, I think I worry about pigeonholing myself by categorize what I shoot. I like the freedom that photography gives me to capture what I want how I want, and for me thinking too much about “how would I categorize this” pulls me away from that freedom.

On the other hand, I do feel like I categorize my photography in different swim lanes, specifically when thinking about longer term projects. Tying it back to my original topic, I feel like I have two main categories of “practice” and “performance”, where the practice is probably it’s own swim lane that isn’t broken down much further.

It’s really just about getting out and capturing whatever it is that catches my eye. Then the “performance” swim lane is further broken down into projects, where I apply more focus, and really think about the “why” and the meaning behind the photographs, or what ties it all together. Of course there is also some overlap, at times I will go back through my “practice” work and find common themes or subjects and pull them together into a collection or come up with a more focused project based on some commonality I’m seeing.

So it sounds like overall we are looking at things pretty similarly? What do you think? Where I’ve been struggling lately is how much time to devote and how to keep myself motivated long term to work on the items I have in my “performance” swim lane, and how to motivate myself to keep getting out there and practicing if there’s no goal tied to it. Maybe I need to look at further breaking down that practice swim lane to give myself some goals?

Juliette: I really like how you’ve framed it with “practice” and “performance.” I’d say we’re definitely thinking about it in similar ways. For me, practice time is about freedom and discovery, and performance time is where things take shape cohesively. Using prompts helps.

And with projects, breaking them into smaller steps (review days, editing milestones, etc.) can make them feel less heavy and easier to stick with long term.

Adam: I like the idea of small prompts or constraints for practice sessions. I’ve kind of been doing that by going out with a particular musical album as inspiration for a photo walk, and I could expand on that. Now I’m thinking more about adding focus and pieces to that “practice” swim lane and you’ve also given me some good ideas to start there!

I also feel like breaking the projects into steps is useful and would help me feel like I’m continually making process and accomplishing goals (or having check-ins to see if I am or not).

Juliette: Thank you for bringing this topic up. It helps to think practically. Do you have any other thoughts?

Adam: I feel that I’ve been more focused when I know that I’m performing rather than practicing. So I take just a little bit more time to be more thoughtful with my framing and what I’m capturing. It’s also helpful when it comes to selecting a film stock, as when I’m looking to create my best work I’ll opt for something more interesting or something that works best with the environment and surroundings. It also helps that back in October when I was locked in to “performance mode” I had been traveling and there was an array of great scenes to capture, and good light to work with!

I agree, this has been very practical! I never really spend a lot of time diving deeper into my thought process around these topics, and looking into them to explain them has helped me organize them so much better in my head!

Juliette: Thank you for having this chat with me, Adam. What I appreciate most about this conversation is that it resists resolution. Maybe the work isn’t to solve the tension between practice and performance, but to notice when one begins to crowd out the other—and to gently restore some balance.

Photo by Adam Perler:

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If you’re an emerging or seasoned artist in any genre and you’re interested in participating in Lens 2 Lens conversations with me, send me a message to put you on the schedule. Availability starts after March of 2026.

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