Category Archives: Motivation

February 15, 2012

Real Life Real Lessons for Photographers: Fine-Tuning Your Listening and Appointment Skills

By scottbourne

There’s a great saying, “You’ve got two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you talk!” I really could end this post right here, but lately I’ve run into a few photographers who don’t listen to much of anything. I can’t help but wonder what happens with their clients when the images aren’t as requested, details of the album are wrong or they simply miss dates and times for appointments.

We all get busy and accidents absolutely happen, but here some ideas to help you avoid embarrassing yourself when you do have the control:

• If there is even the slightest doubt in understanding what a client has told you, just ask them for clarification.
• When you’re finished with the conversation, repeat what you understand you’re going to be doing. It’s the perfect way to confirm your next step.
• Confirm back to the client in an email – then you’ve got a written confirmation as well.
• Log key dates and appointments into your calendar. However, there’s a key to making this work – you have to remember to look at your calendar and pay attention to things that are scheduled in advance.
• Don’t confirm appointments without consulting your calendar first. I’ve done this a few times in my career, usually with conference calls.
• Stay away from exact times if you’re setting up a meeting at a convention. Everybody gets tied up for longer than anticipated when you’re at a trade-show. It’s just the nature of the beast, but if you give yourself a little room and it doesn’t have to be more than 5-10 minutes, you’ll be happier and so will the people you’re meeting with.

While it might seem this is a post about listening and scheduling, there’s a sidebar that’s really more important. We all just need to slow down a little. So often people are so busy and have other things on their mind – they’re hearing you, but just not listening!

2 comments   |  tags: | posted in Motivation

February 13, 2012

Dealing WIth The Mob

By scottbourne

In the last few years, the Internet has become awash with trolls, bullies and mobs aimed at denigrating photographers. It’s been going on forever, but it’s now worse than ever. Some of these trolls spend hours each week posting to forums and blogging. I’ve been contacted by more than a dozen photographers about this – each perplexed and upset that they have become targets. They don’t understand why. The trolls have no doubt themselves failed miserably at the business of photography so they have lots of spare time to spend attacking others. At some point, if your work rises to any level of prominence – they will absolutely attack you.

Here’s how to handle that.

1. Feel sorry for them – they are failures who can’t get traction for their work the way you have so they lash out at you in anger rather than applying themselves and learning how to succeed. They deserve your pity because believe me, they are lonely, unhappy, bitter, angry, miserable people with a quality of life that borders on being worse than dead.

2. Ignore them – they are desperate for ANY attention. ANY mention – even in anger – is like gold to them. Ignore them because it’s wasted energy on your part and it feeds their lust for recognition in a very unhealthy way. It’s not good for you or them so ignore them. Chances are they have little influence outside their sphere of other angry trolls.

3. Block them – don’t let that negativity into your life. Block them on Twitter, Facebook, et. al. Set their email addresses to SPAM. It won’t stop them from attacking you but it WILL stop you from having to be exposed to it. They want to bring you down. Why let them? They have the misguided idea that if they can somehow bring you down to their level, they think that elevates them in some way. It doesn’t. They always have been, are now and always will be bottom-feeding trolls. If you engage with them in any way you will steal from your own creative energy and you won’t help them because frankly, they don’t want help.

4. Recognize their affliction – they don’t want help because to achieve any level of success in this business, you have to work very hard, very long hours. You have to risk rejection and ridicule, you have to study, practice, devote yourself, invest in yourself and you have to deal with all sorts of problems that make being a professional photographer hard work. These trolls are lazy. They are afraid to work. They don’t know how to work. It’s easier to sit back in your sofa, watching daytime soap operas, eating chips and armchair quarterbacking everyone else’s efforts than it is to get off their rear ends and earn some business. They are afraid – they are cowards – they are disaffected toward any successful photographer and it makes them miserable. Knowing all this you should also realize you can’t help them. Their affliction is 100% self-imposed and only they can cure themselves. I’ve tried to help a few. They rejected my help. They are happy in their anger.

5. The best way to kill weeds is to grow great grass – surround yourself with positive, like-minded, supportive, talented, creative, caring people who – like you – want to make a difference in this world. If you have no room for cowardly, jealous trolls in your life, then they are less likely to sneak in. You realize that you have to work hard. Find other people who agree and avoid that ever-growing segment of our population that feels it is ENTITLED to success. Find the folks who know that success is something you earn and then hang out with them. That will lessen, reduce or eliminate your exposure to harmful troll radiation.

The Internet has made it easier for these bullies and mobs to gather because they face no real consequences. Don’t worry – these people aren’t 10 feet tall. They are jealous people who are angry at the world. They wouldn’t ever, ever, ever have the courage to come out from their mom’s basement where they hide behind their computer and anonymous log-ins and actually say anything to your face – when attached to an Internet account they feel the strength of King Kong – otherwise they are simple cowards. Keep that in mind as you are faced with their mindless attacks.

The trolls really do deserve our pity but that’s about all we can do for them. DO NOT ENGAGE with these people. Eliminate them from your life. No matter who they are or how painful that may be. Banish them. If you can avoid them, your career will skyrocket. If you spend any time at all trying to deal with them you’ll slow yourself down. Remember, they have all day to play at this. You don’t. You’re actually shooting and getting paid. Stick with that.

Be positive. Care about people and making a difference. Do your best. Be all about protecting memories and putting others before yourself. Haters are always going to hate. Do not let that get to you and more importantly, do not become one of them. You’ll live the most miserable life possible.

This Post Sponsored by: Smug Mug

4 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Motivation

February 8, 2012

Real Life Real Lessons for Photographers: Don’t be a Whiner!

By skipcohen

I was talking to a supplier who I hadn’t spoken with in some time and realized what we used to joke about this guy was still so true.

“If he won the lottery his first comment would be, “Do I have to go pick up the money myself? Can’t they just deliver it to me? And is it all going to be in small bills?”

The photographic industry is really very small. We all go to the same rubber chicken dinners. We’re all at the same conventions, often read the same blog posts and so many of us know the same people and deal with the same challenges with the economy and technology.

There’s nothing wrong with being frustrated with your business, your clients and the industry. Just remember when somebody says “how are you?” they’re not really looking for a very detailed answer. They’re showing they care. They’re being polite and that’s it. They really don’t want to hear about everything that’s a problem in your business or your life.

In fact, the expression “How are you?’ should be banned from conversation and instead should be replaced with , “Wow, you look great today – what’s going on?” You’d get a far better response going in upbeat right out of the gate!

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This Post Sponsored by: Smug Mug

6 comments   |  tags: , | posted in Motivation

February 7, 2012

Real Life Real Lessons For Photographers: Sometimes You’re Just Out of Bandwidth

By skipcohen

It might be one of the hardest lessons to learn… You’re only one person and you can’t do it all! It’ll save you mountains of frustration if you just do the best you can with everything you have on your plate.

Here’s my own challenge from time to time. Every now and then I simply hit overload. Sometimes it’s my fault for agreeing to a few too many projects. Other times it’s just the nature of our business and convention season. The real lesson though is to see the signs when you’re on overload or as good friend Julieanne Kost at Adobe says, “I can’t do it because I’m out of bandwidth!”

Here are some suggestions to help you avoid the overload blues:

• Before you agree to take on a project look at your calendar, talk to your staff, assistant and even your spouse, whoever is involved in the business.
• Don’t be afraid to delegate other tasks to free up more of your time and utilize your expertise.
• Don’t waste time on things that honestly can be done later when you’re on deadline.
• Keep an eye on the low-hanging fruit – projects that are easy to implement and can be taken off your to do list easily.
• Learn to see the signs that you’re approaching burnout. Even more important do what you need to step away and clear your head. When you work too fast and let the pressure get to you, you make mistakes. A clear head will always help you with a fresh perspective on everything you’re working on.
• Keep associates informed of the status on time sensitive projects. This one is a key, because so often we all get caught up in thinking since we promised we’d be on time with something nobody will understand if we’re running a little late. I’m not saying you should make excuses, but just keeping a client or associate informed will help ease some of the pressure.

These days everybody loves to use the word multi-tasking. It’s one of the most abused concepts in business today and in fact, I found a great quote…

“Multi-tasking – Screwing everything up simultaneously.”

It’s okay to have a lot going on in your life, just remember that you can’t do everything at once!

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This post sponsored by Adorama – More than a camera store

2 comments   |  tags: | posted in Business, Motivation

February 3, 2012

We become what we think about most!

By scottbourne

“We become what we think about most.”

The quote which serves as the title of this post was given by singer Alex Boyes. He’s got one of the biggest voices I’ve ever heard. He is an inspiration to many.

But this post isn’t about him – it’s about what he said. It really struck me that emerging photographers who want to become professionals need to take this and run with it.

It works all ways. If you think about yourself becoming something good – you will. If you are like me; you eat, sleep and breathe photography – then you will become a photographer.

But some of you are thinking about revenge, envy, jealousy, etc. If you spend more time complaining than you do producing… If you’re mad because you don’t have as many Facebook/Flickr/Google+/Twitter followers as some else… If you try to get even with competitors that earn business you didn’t, well then you become that revenge, envy or jealousy.

The choice is simple and clear. Just like the old saying “You are what you eat…” You become what you think about most. Think about something positive, meaningful, helpful, relevant and important. And that’s who you will become.

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This Post Sponsored by: Smug Mug

4 comments   |  tags: | posted in Motivation

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