Rules Kill Creativity 12/6/25

As a business major, I’ve always found it difficult to be creative, which is why I rely so heavily on art and photography to turn my thoughts and feelings into something tangible. I’ve never taken a photography class. I hear people casually use technical terms I don’t fully understand. I’ve never taken an art class either. I don’t know if I clean my oil paint brushes correctly, or if the techniques I use are technically “right.”

For a long time, I believed there was a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. I thought creativity required total understanding, that I couldn’t create unless I knew everything first. I was also too afraid to admit when I didn’t know something at all.

The truth is I don’t know everything. I know some things, but not much, and I’ve learned to be okay with that. Of course, I still want to learn more about photography and art, but I no longer judge myself for knowing less than others. I’ve realized that I make my best art and take my best photos when I’m not following rules, but instead trusting what my mind and body find beautiful. When I look back at the art I made as a kid, or at work made by other children, I’m always struck by how creative it is. I think that’s because kids don’t worry about rules; they just create whatever comes from their imagination in whatever way feels right to them.

Overall, I feel confident calling myself both a photographer and an artist. You can be either or both even if you know less, even if you’re less skilled. Sometimes the best art comes from instinct rather than instruction. More often than not, rules don’t refine creativity, they limit it.