Kodak Instamatic 404. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have 3,456 photos on my iPhone, but I am perhaps one of the few photographers who have never used Instagram. Its distinctive feature, according to Wikipedia, is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic images.
I am happy enough with the shape my photos are in, but I am leading to a larger point, triggered by an article in the Wall Street Journal by Nicholas Carr.
The subhead of the article asked, “An app for making vintage photos isn’t exactly a moonshot. Are we too obsessed with ‘tools of the self’?’ Mr. Carr is seeking a resurgence in big thinking and grand invention.
And you should be searching for it too. All to often we confuse a “good” idea with a “good-enough” idea. It may be a fine line, but there is a distinction. And though there may not be a definition of the difference, you will hopefully feel it.
One way to get to the big thinking and grand invention Mr. Carr proposes is to, well, think huge. Throw away any self-imposed restraints as to media costs, production budgets, and deadlines.
- We can’t afford to produce it
- We have no time to produce it
- The client will never buy the idea
- It’ll never work in 30 seconds
- It’s too subtle, complicated, obvious
You can always tone down and adapt a good idea; you can seldom improve mediocrity. What would you come up with if you had an unlimited budget, world enough and time?
Go for the good.
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