It’s an old Spanish proverb and ironically it’s engraved on a pewter plate given to me by relatives who no longer speak to me, because in their judgment I guess I was living “too well”. Sadly we all have to deal with people’s assumptions, especially when they make them in vacuums and without taking the time or making the effort to ever consult us in the process.
Why would I write a post and start with one of my own personal frustrations this morning? Well, we’re coming up to the biggest photographic convention on the planet for professional photographers, WPPI. It’s been especially attractive for new photographers and aspiring professionals getting ready to take the plunge into the pro category. I’m getting a lot of questions from photographers who are trying to decide whether or not to go to the convention because they’re being side-tracked by family members or friends who just don’t get it.
Photography is an art form and so often misunderstood by family members and friends. They don’t understand your passion. They assume you’re going to starve in the process. They may never have seen your work and question whether or not you’re good enough. They don’t understand why you can’t just go out and get a “real job”! The bottom line is they just don’t get it. Scott Bourne and I, on GoingPro podcasts, have talked a lot about surrounding yourself with people who have positive attitudes. You need to block out the “Negators”! No, it’s not out of Greek mythology, but it should be. Negators are people who are so unhappy in their own lives their only joy in life is screwing with yours!
The end result is your self-confidence needs constant reinforcement. So, let’s come up with a few things to help you stay focused, pun intended. You know how to hold the focus on your camera, but do you know how to hold the focus on your career?
• Here’s an easy exercise and you’ll have a good time in the process. Go back and look at your very first images. It might have been a party you photographed, a landscape while on vacation or maybe just a few shots of the kids. Now compare them to where you are today. If you don’t see a difference, you’re in trouble, but most of you will see serious changes in the way you compose and expose your images today. As you get more experienced there should be some serious changes in lighting, composition and depth of field, just to name a few.
Roberto Valenzuela suggested a terrific tool for practicing the craft on a GoingPro podcast recently. He suggested you go back to the last wedding you photographed and look at all the bad images. “Look for what you missed and learn to understand why the image wasn’t good!”
• Enter some images in print competition. This is a personal favorite, but whether you enter prints or not, at least go to judging, if it’s open to the public. Listen to what the judges are saying about each print. Use their suggestions as guidance for your own work.
• Join your local chapter or guild of professional photographers. Sooner or later, we all share the same frustrations. A local chapter of other photographers becomes a support group and an important part of your network. There’s a lot of good solid comfort in knowing your peers share some of the same concerns and frustrations. SmugMug has meetups going on all all over the country every month. Find out where there’s one near you and get involved!
• Surround yourself with positive people. Sooner or later they’ll come around, but for now, those people who are throwing up the road blocks need to simply be kept on the sidelines.
• Listen to your heart. Okay, it sounds trite, but you know what you feel inside. You know what your gut instinct is saying about your passion to be a photographer.
• Get involved in some of the various forums. Here’s a great one and one of my personal favorites. After Skip’s Summer School last year, Brent Watkins started a Facebook page called, Skip’s Summer School. Today it’s a hundred people who have been to Summer School, plus a few who weren’t there, who just help each other out. It’s similar to some of the larger forums, but without the trolls!
• Don’t respond to trolls! When you do step out in the public forums and get shot at by a troll, don’t let yourself get caught up in the battle. Don’t respond, because your silence is far more effective at driving them mad!
I found a great quote a few weeks ago and Tweeted it already, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s become a personal favorite from Victor Kiam:
“Even if you fall flat on your face, you’re still moving forward!”
And the big favorite of them all from Zig Ziglar:
“If you wait for all the lights to be green, you’ll never get started on your journey!”
It’s time to start your journey. Time to be happy and in turn you’ll find you’re living well, which brings this full circle in response to those people who feel their choices in life should be yours too. Living well really is the best revenge.
____
This Post Sponsored by: Smug Mug