Take 3 minutes to watch me deliver this information or read below.
If you’ve been watching photography content nonstop and still feel stuck, this post is for you.
But the truth is, you're probably not learning—you're drowning. You’re not building a photography career. You’re building a digital swamp.
I’ve mentored hundreds of photographers, and the ones who grow fastest aren’t the ones who consume the most—they’re the ones who commit to a single system.
They follow it. They build something with it. And they win.
In this post, I’m going to break down the difference between a digital garden and a digital swamp, show you how most photographers are unknowingly setting themselves up to fail, and give you one move you can make today to finally grow with clarity.
What Is a Digital Garden vs a Digital Swamp?
A digital garden is intentional. Every piece of information supports the next. It’s designed to grow. Like a professional portfolio—cohesive, deliberate, evolving.
A digital swamp is accidental. You don’t build it—you fall into it. Random PDFs. YouTube shortcuts. Contradictory advice. No system. No results. Just mud.
You think you’re researching. But what you’re really doing is delaying the work. Consuming instead of creating.
The Myth of “Diverse Input”
People love to say, “I like learning from lots of people. I want different perspectives.” But when every photographer has a different philosophy, you’re not learning photography—you’re learning confusion.
It’s like having 12 personal trainers all shouting different things at you during one workout. You’re not going to get fit. You’re going to quit.
And this is why you're stuck. It's not your talent. It’s your sources.
Why One Trusted System Beats 100 Tips
If you follow one proven system all the way through, you get results. You build momentum. You connect the dots.
With 100 disconnected pieces of advice? You end up trying to build a house with 40 different blueprints. It collapses.
This is why I built the Carty Method. It’s not about me being right—it’s about you having a system that connects everything together.
Your work. Your brand. Your income. Your future.
How to Tell If You're in a Swamp Right Now
✅ You’ve got hundreds of watch later videos on YouTube you’ve not yet watched.
✅ You follow 25+ YouTubers calling themselves photographers and don’t know who to trust.
✅ You’re still asking questions about how to get photography you should’ve answered 6 months ago.
If that’s you? You’re not building a business. You’re building a swamp.
Swamps trap you. Gardens grow you. The difference is structure.
Stop building a swamp.
Start planting a garden.
Are you in a swamp right now?
👉🏾 I’ll show you how to change that swamp into a garden inside Phase 0 of The Carty Method. This is your starting point. And it’ll help you lay the groundwork for a career that’s actually going somewhere.
Go to TheCartyMethod.com/thesystem and start building something that grows.
See you next Saturday.
P.S. If you want to stop flailing and start building a real photography career, you need to stop sourcing advice from everywhere and start building with intention.
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