Image in your head

What do I do when the image in my head doesn’t match my output? Keep trying, adjusting, reworking. All of this until it does. Sometimes it never does. I had an experience a few months ago where I was creating images for an upcoming event. They didn’t work. Something was off and after my husband looked at them he noticed one thing. “your hearts not in it” he said. I asked him what he meant. What I had done was lacking the overlays of botanicals I usually use as I felt they weren’t appropriate for the content. It didn’t work at all. The images felt contrived and flat. Even in black and white, where I played more with shadow and light to try and bring the objects to life it missed the mark. In the end I abandoned the project and decided it wasn’t the right venue for me. Lesson learned. Stick to what you love.