| “Stop waiting for perfect conditions. The perfect shot doesn’t exist — the taken shot does.” — Peter McKinnon |
There’s a version of this that photographers apply to their craft but refuse to apply to their business.
They understand, behind the camera, that the window closes. The light moves. The kid stops laughing. The moment dissolves. You shoot now, or you miss it forever.
But when it comes to launching their website, raising their rates, or following up with a lead who went cold, suddenly, the perfectionism kicks in. The site isn’t ready. The pricing isn’t dialed. The email doesn’t sound right yet.
The perfect shot doesn’t exist. Neither is the perfect business launch.
Who Is Peter McKinnon?
Peter McKinnon is a Canadian photographer and filmmaker whose YouTube channel helped him build one of the most recognizable personal brands in the photography world. He’s known for his energy, his directness, and his habit of showing work-in-progress rather than waiting until everything is polished. That approach — shipping early, learning fast, iterating in public — is exactly what this quote is about.
The Business Lesson: Perfectionism Is Procrastination With Better PR
Perfectionism feels productive. It feels like you’re being rigorous, careful, and professional. You’re not sending that follow-up email because you want it to be just right. You’re not launching that pricing page because you’re still researching what competitors charge.
But from the outside — from your potential client’s perspective — perfectionism is invisible. All they see is silence. A photographer who didn’t respond. A website that doesn’t exist yet. A business that isn’t quite real.
Every day you wait to send that follow-up is a day that leads to another photographer who did send one. Every week your pricing page sits as a half-finished draft is a week where inquiries that could have converted didn’t — not because your prices were wrong, but because there was no price to look at.
McKinnon’s audience grew as fast as it did because he shipped content before it was perfect. He’d post a tutorial that wasn’t his best work because he understood that consistent presence beat intermittent perfection every single time. The photographers who built audiences alongside him made the same choice.
The same principle applies to your follow-up cadence. A follow-up email that goes out three days after the initial inquiry — even if the wording isn’t perfect — will convert infinitely more often than the perfectly worded one you’re still editing two weeks later.
Real-World Application: Send the Imperfect Follow-Up Today
Go through your inbox right now. Find every inquiry that came in over the last 30 days that you haven’t followed up on. Not the ones you already converted — the ones that went quiet.
Send them a follow-up today. Not tomorrow. Not after you write the perfect version. Today.
Keep it short: acknowledge the time that’s passed, express that you still have their date available (if you do), and give them one clear next step. That’s it. Three sentences are enough.
The taken shot beats the perfect shot every time. The sent email beats the drafted one every time.
Take the Next Step
OTODEO’s Follow-Up Script Templates give you the exact language for re-engaging cold leads, following up after proposals, and checking in with past clients — so you never have to stare at a blank email again. Get them for free.
