Monday, November 11, 2013

Who said this is Easy?

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" ~ Winston Churchill


In reality it's only been 3 years since I started by photography as a business. It took me almost 2 years before then to convince myself I had what it takes. And though it should've been reason enough to "hear" that I had a talent for photography from family & friends, it just wasn't.  I felt that my confidence needed to be stronger and I needed to be able to say that I was able and ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead. Best of all I needed to convince myself that I could actually charge a reasonable rate for my "artwork".

There are so many challenges, and so many failures, but amongst the most common issues a photographer endures, such as weather, lighting, composition, corrupt SD cards, software failure, time crunches, editing failures, forgetting equipment, non-cooperating clients (ie: kids, babies), marketing, scheduling conflicts, financials etc, ..............there are EMOTIONAL Challenges & Failures as well.

I walked straight into this business with the confidence I felt I needed, Finally. But I wish I had someone tell me that I also needed the strength, positivity and courage to deal with the "other" hidden challenges. The ones that most keep bottled up or vent to with only their closest and most trusted companions............

Most of us photographers only work alone. We love the fact that we can use our own styles, make our business successful by whatever path we choose; use whatever techniques we want to in order to create that perfect composition or how we will go about marketing ourselves. We never considered how hard it would be to cope with politics, and those devastating, unanswered reasons why a past client went to another photographer after a successful last session with them.
Oh come on! Admit it, we have all had it happen. And if it hasn't yet, it will ;)

Does it mean that you need to pack it all in and give up? Nahhhh. Not at all.
Does it mean that you don't have the right to ask why? or feel betrayed, jealous or hurt? Nahhh, Go ahead. We all have feelings. We all wish we could get the answers right from the source. But in reality, you don't need it. YOU DON'T! Why? The answer is clear...............





Cients will come and go. Some will come to you because you specialize in newborns and go elsewhere because the next photographer specializes in families. Some will come to you before looking at your portfolio and then realize that your style just isn't their preference. Some will go to those that charge less. Some will go to those only because they received a gift card for another photographer. There are many reasons why........try not to let it get to you.








Now, who would've thought that being in your OWN studio, in your OWN home editing or out on your OWN session would land you in the middle of photography politics?? What kind of photographer chooses to judge you for what you post on Facebook, who you use as a vendor for props, what you choose to do with your skills or what clients they get over yours?
Well....... these just may be the ones that DO like your work and feel the need to keep close tabs on you *wink wink*. 




I truly believe that jealousy and competition are on the same team
So try, try, try to NOT get caught up in the middle of it. Do NOT bite back.


It's funny, because I thought that I would have so much to say about "Competition/Politics" but I almost find it's so "simple" it's stupid.

"I would much rather create as many friends within my photography circle as I can. It's so great to work together, share together and feel like you belong to a supporting community." ~ Lindsay Foster Photography











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