I gave YouTube a Year and it transformed my street photography

28mmStreet
Apr 30, 2024
6 min read

Updated: May 29, 2025

May 2024 - blog # 3

I created my Youtube channel back in 2022 and on June 12 the same year with mixed feelings I posted my very first shorts of a couple of windmills shot as a timelapse. The shorts got 500+ views, 20 likes and 8 dislikes!

I had now officially embarked on a journey that had many great things in store for me that would change the course of my personal life and Street photography journey.

September of that same year I posted my very first Street photography POV video. I barely knew how to edit or create content but somehow I manage to put out my first video and as expected it performed below average - but I was very satisfied.

I was satisfied because I’ve created something from scratch, something I wanted to do for a long time, but couldn’t find time for, couldn’t justify it or even dare to be vulnerable for the whole world to see and judge.

Subsequently I posted a total of 13 POV videos sporadically until a day in April 2023. I decided that I wanted to commit to 1 weekly video as long as I could manage.

I’ve given myself a challenge - something I’m known to do to myself, to push myself outside my comfort zone.

Why this is my modus operandi is a whole separate topic :)

From casual to serious content creator

So now I committed to give this Youtube thing a serious try. The problems quickly started to pile on.

I wasn’t really good at editing, color grading or even recording voice overs for my POV’s. For the latter I didn’t have the best mic or recording setup.

Then there was the whole content side of issues. What to shoot and how to find time for it with my 50+ hour work week?

It started really to be a challenge in itself and of course this happened because I had no overall plan, direction or roadmap for where I wanted to go with my Youtube channel or my videos.

So unlike me..

My many unfair advantages

A term used (maybe coined?) by a very successful doctor turned YouTuber. I really resonated with this approach and started to fill the gaps by identifying all my unfair advantages.

Basically an “unfair advantage” is a skill or skillset that you already have that can be utilised to gain the “upper hand”. Luckily for me I leveraged my experience as a management consultant and used as many of my “unfair advantages” I had at my disposal.

In my humble opinion I’m a master planner, I'm used to storyboarding, creating coherent storylines and being on very tight deadlines only motivates me further.

I do this for a living - I can be a mean and very efficient machine if I want to.

I wanted to…

The long winded process

I started to treat my Youtube commitment of 1 weekly video as a project that had to be delivered - no matter what, no excuses were allowed. The customer was of course my potential audience.

Long story short I started to do a deep dive into learning all about the editing process, colouring and sound engineering. All vast and complex fields on their own, and I just casually wanted to master them all.

On the content side of things; I wanted to do more than just Street photography POV videos. They are more and less the same as other Youtubers are making.

I quickly realised that I needed something in addition to them if I wanted to compete in the very saturated field of Street photography.

I had like most new or aspiring YouTubers a few reservations on being on camera for the world to see.

I have a professional reputation to be mindful of. My name is my reputation in the industry.

As all these thoughts where in and out of my mind I decided that this is the way forward. I had to be on camera.

And just like that I started to make talking head videos ranging from gear reviews, tips and tricks, photography techniques and POVs.

Pretty standard content but a really big step in the right direction for me and my channel.

Still below average views but it felt right, it felt good.

Another thing I spent a great deal of time on was figuring out the raison d’etre for my channel. The underlying objective and aim with my channel is still the same today as when I devised it.

This is a channel about Street photography for street photographers taught by a self-taught street photographer.

I want to help new or aspiring street photographers get better at their craft by sharing my own journey as sincere and truthful as possible.

A pivotal turning point

By this point I was feeling confident in myself and the system that I had built up around me - my workflow. I had improved my editing, coloring and sound engineering skills so much that I could put out videos in a constant and very efficient manner.

It almost started to feel easy and strangely comfortable.

But there was this voice in my head that kept telling me I need to do more “be more authentic” “your content is like everybody else's”.

So I started to entertain the idea of creating a new series. A completely different and new format both in terms of “studio”, the look and feel of it and with very different content.

After a few soul searching weeks I came up with the idea of Street photography VLOGs. It took some tries to figure out and nail the type of content and topics that I wanted to share.

My vlogs are all Street photography related topics, ideas, questions I either think about or had thought about in the past - most importantly they are very personal to me and my Street photography journey.

The turning point for me as a street photographer and my channel has undoubtedly been when I decided to post 2 weekly videos.

"Youtubing" made me a better street photographer

As of writing this blog post I have uploaded 2 weekly videos for the past 3 months. And 1 weekly video for 52 weeks consecutively since I committed (in April 2023). I plan to continue as long as I have great content to share.

Beside all the practicalities of being a YouTuber and content creator. Having my own Street photography channel taught me many important lessons.

Here are a few I want to share with you:

So many “low lows” and “high highs”

I can best describe it as being on a rollercoaster ride with no supervision or means to get of. You just hold on for dear life and hope to make it to the other side in one piece.

I have also learned that clinging too hard onto my videos especially if they tank - doesn’t matter.

Best to let them go and move on to the next video and hope it performs better then the previous. There is always some learning in it even a tiny one.

Learn as you go

I've always had this idea that I if researched a topic or field extensively I would land on my feet. To some degree this is still true for me. But as a YouTuber and street photographer the best thing I have done for myself is to learn as I go.

This means I now only seek to have a basic understanding. I’ll go from there and learn the things I need to learn as they present themselves. It’s called a learning curve for a reason and most of the time it’s steep, mind you.

So so hungry to learn

All my videos but especially my vlogs pushed me so much. I've always been on a clock to either come up with ideas, write scrips, record, make b-roll, edit, think about thumbnails. To do this twice a week and restart this whole process all over every single week for 3 months has both been exhausting and rewarding at the same time.

This process also forced me to put my money where my mouth is. It opened the flood gates for me to pursue Street photography and content creation at a different level than I was used to.

Being able to develop necessary skills to operate at that level e.g. getting out of my comfort zone, embracing my shortcomings and fears and last but not least to not accept being content when it came to my Street photography, ever.

Metaphorically I’d been full after feasting on a big meal when it came to my Street photography for the past few years - I'd become lazy even.

I feel like I’ve woken up from a deep sleep with a strong appetite. A hunger that can only be satisfied by prowling the streets with a different mindset and desire to capture street photographs I can’t even dream of making.

I created my Youtube channel back in 2022 and on June 12 the same year with mixed feelings I posted my very first shorts of a couple of windmills shot as a timelapse. The shorts got 500+ views, 20 likes and 8 dislikes!

I had now officially embarked on a journey that had many great things in store for me that would change the course of my personal life and Street photography journey.

September of that same year I posted my very first Street photography POV video. I barely knew how to edit or create content but somehow I manage to put out my first video and as expected it performed below average - but I was very satisfied.

I was satisfied because I’ve created something from scratch, something I wanted to do for a long time, but couldn’t find time for, couldn’t justify it or even dare to be vulnerable for the whole world to see and judge.

Subsequently I posted a total of 13 POV videos sporadically until a day in April 2023. I decided that I wanted to commit to 1 weekly video as long as I could manage.

I’ve given myself a challenge - something I’m known to do to myself, to push myself outside my comfort zone.

Why this is my modus operandi is a whole separate topic :)

From casual to serious content creator

So now I committed to give this Youtube thing a serious try. The problems quickly started to pile on.

I wasn’t really good at editing, color grading or even recording voice overs for my POV’s. For the latter I didn’t have the best mic or recording setup.

Then there was the whole content side of issues. What to shoot and how to find time for it with my 50+ hour work week?

It started really to be a challenge in itself and of course this happened because I had no overall plan, direction or roadmap for where I wanted to go with my Youtube channel or my videos.

So unlike me..

My many unfair advantages

A term used (maybe coined?) by a very successful doctor turned YouTuber. I really resonated with this approach and started to fill the gaps by identifying all my unfair advantages.

Basically an “unfair advantage” is a skill or skillset that you already have that can be utilised to gain the “upper hand”. Luckily for me I leveraged my experience as a management consultant and used as many of my “unfair advantages” I had at my disposal.

In my humble opinion I’m a master planner, I'm used to storyboarding, creating coherent storylines and being on very tight deadlines only motivates me further.

I do this for a living - I can be a mean and very efficient machine if I want to.

I wanted to…

The long winded process

I started to treat my Youtube commitment of 1 weekly video as a project that had to be delivered - no matter what, no excuses were allowed. The customer was of course my potential audience.

Long story short I started to do a deep dive into learning all about the editing process, colouring and sound engineering. All vast and complex fields on their own, and I just casually wanted to master them all.

On the content side of things; I wanted to do more than just Street photography POV videos. They are more and less the same as other Youtubers are making.

I quickly realised that I needed something in addition to them if I wanted to compete in the very saturated field of Street photography.

I had like most new or aspiring YouTubers a few reservations on being on camera for the world to see.

I have a professional reputation to be mindful of. My name is my reputation in the industry.

As all these thoughts where in and out of my mind I decided that this is the way forward. I had to be on camera.

And just like that I started to make talking head videos ranging from gear reviews, tips and tricks, photography techniques and POVs.

Pretty standard content but a really big step in the right direction for me and my channel.

Still below average views but it felt right, it felt good.

Another thing I spent a great deal of time on was figuring out the raison d’etre for my channel. The underlying objective and aim with my channel is still the same today as when I devised it.

This is a channel about Street photography for street photographers taught by a self-taught street photographer.

I want to help new or aspiring street photographers get better at their craft by sharing my own journey as sincere and truthful as possible.

A pivotal turning point

By this point I was feeling confident in myself and the system that I had built up around me - my workflow. I had improved my editing, coloring and sound engineering skills so much that I could put out videos in a constant and very efficient manner.

It almost started to feel easy and strangely comfortable.

But there was this voice in my head that kept telling me I need to do more “be more authentic” “your content is like everybody else's”.

So I started to entertain the idea of creating a new series. A completely different and new format both in terms of “studio”, the look and feel of it and with very different content.

After a few soul searching weeks I came up with the idea of Street photography VLOGs. It took some tries to figure out and nail the type of content and topics that I wanted to share.

My vlogs are all Street photography related topics, ideas, questions I either think about or had thought about in the past - most importantly they are very personal to me and my Street photography journey.

The turning point for me as a street photographer and my channel has undoubtedly been when I decided to post 2 weekly videos.

"Youtubing" made me a better street photographer

As of writing this blog post I have uploaded 2 weekly videos for the past 3 months. And 1 weekly video for 52 weeks consecutively since I committed (in April 2023). I plan to continue as long as I have great content to share.

Beside all the practicalities of being a YouTuber and content creator. Having my own Street photography channel taught me many important lessons.

Here are a few I want to share with you:

So many “low lows” and “high highs”

I can best describe it as being on a rollercoaster ride with no supervision or means to get of. You just hold on for dear life and hope to make it to the other side in one piece.

I have also learned that clinging too hard onto my videos especially if they tank - doesn’t matter.

Best to let them go and move on to the next video and hope it performs better then the previous. There is always some learning in it even a tiny one.

Learn as you go

I've always had this idea that I if researched a topic or field extensively I would land on my feet. To some degree this is still true for me. But as a YouTuber and street photographer the best thing I have done for myself is to learn as I go.

This means I now only seek to have a basic understanding. I’ll go from there and learn the things I need to learn as they present themselves. It’s called a learning curve for a reason and most of the time it’s steep, mind you.

So so hungry to learn

This process also forced me to put my money where my mouth is. It opened the flood gates for me to pursue Street photography and content creation at a different level than I was used to.

Being able to develop necessary skills to operate at that level e.g. getting out of my comfort zone, embracing my shortcomings and fears and last but not least to not accept being content when it came to my Street photography, ever.

Metaphorically I’d been full after feasting on a big meal when it came to my Street photography for the past few years - I'd become lazy even.

I feel like I’ve woken up from a deep sleep with a strong appetite. A hunger that can only be satisfied by prowling the streets with a different mindset and desire to capture street photographs I can’t even dream of making.

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