I work with photographers on a one to one basis. I will only work with those who are really interested so we have a discussion on what is expected from both sides before the engagement.
This weekend I had a conversation with a young photographer who wants to be successful in the worst way. Actually… I mean that exactly as stated… the WORST way. Her answers and comments were all about how she knew it couldn’t be done, and how everyone on Flickr thinks she isn’t ready, and how much she owes for her car and her apartment and how this and that and something else will simply not let her go.
OK. I get that. I really do.
So?
Bad decisions were made, bad advice taken, bad directions followed. So what. Today is the day when all of that can be left to ‘yesterday’s screw ups’.
“…Regrets I’ve had a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption…”
— Frank
So today we move forward and make things happen “Our Way”… we live an exceptional life. We believe in our work and our own ability to make things happen. We force the changes needed in our selves to make things happen.
Make. Things. Happen.
My partner, Robin, has a vanity plate that is “MKITHPPN” – and she knows EXACTLY how to do that. Every day. And she is in such demand that it is amazing. (I am so happy that she is my partner and not my competition… heh.)
But not everyone wants to make stuff happen. Not for others, and not for themselves. I get that too.
So today on LIVE we will discuss these very well documented ways to remain average, unremarkable, mediocre and safe. Just for those who want that desperately – like the young lady I spoke with this weekend. Oh, for those of you who may NOT want to be unremarkable… join us. You will learn a great deal too! 😉
(Got this link today from a twitterer… Cool T-shirts for photographers who value their work.)
HOW TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY UNREMARKABLE AS A PHOTOGRAPHER:
1. Visit Photography Forums and listen to everyone there, taking their word as gospel, their critique as legitimate. Do no research on those telling you what to do.
2. When someone who has a great photographic reputation states something, simply accept it… and adopt that strategy as your own. Never question or filter. Never alter for your personal situation.
3. Go to Photography School and incur a huge debt that will have to be dealt with by doing things other than photography (in most cases). Yep… you can get a job at a local QuickiePrinter as their ‘layout’ guy… you gots a degree!
4. Never travel outside your small sphere of influence. Both physically and metaphorically.
5. Only shoot one thing… Glamour, or Architecture or Still Life. Concentrate and be single minded in your approach to photography. I mean, that’s what the ‘experts’ tell you… or at least that is what you thought you heard.
6. Never quit your day job and be satisfied with shooting occasionally on the weekends (if, of course, the models actually show up). Day jobs are so much more reliable. Except, of course when they are not and you find a pink slip on your desk after lunch one afternoon.
7. Don’t keep a journal – either online or in a book. None of the really successful people do. Heh.
8. Buy lots of stuff. Go deep into debt on cameras, houses, cars, bigscreen tv’s… oh hell, there is so many things you can owe money for while watching the value decrease. Many of our friends and neighbors have turned into a life style.
9. Spin wheels. Find excuses. Dig deep for failure. Create strawman arguments against success. It’s a litany, but all are guaranteed to help keep you mediocre.
10. By all means necessary, do nothing to make your work, your vision, your thoughts, your images stand out. Take great care to keep all of them to yourself. Probably not any good anyway (see number one above.)
As you have probably guessed, these are NOT the ways to become successful. We can read them and chuckle, but then we remember the people we have met and currently know who are actively working on one or more of the above. Far too many have adopted most of the above as a strategy.
And that’s not a strategy for success.
That’s a strategy for never failing.
Here is our audio discussion from Wednesday’s LIVE show, February 9, 2011.
UPDATE: Just saw this video with one of my main influences, Seth Godin. Excellent.
Follow me at Twitter, see the Workshop page at Learn to Light for workshop information, and catch me this week at Selina’s Clarion Call 2011. Next up for workshops is Austin, TX, Sacramento, Omaha and West Palm Beach.
Excellent post. The one area that causes me problems (which I’ve self-explored deeply to overcome) is making the mistake of thinking someone else’s path can work for me (it can’t and never could, we carve our own through our experiences and choices) and thinking about stuff like debt/bills/stress. Thankfully I never got caught up in lurking forums and buying into celeb tog gospel because I think those are harder to break.
All of these items suck and should be avoided. The part you don’t mention is the level of PAIN it causes to do any of these things. Being unremarkable is painful and depressing and that alone should be enough to work to create and to be something more, let alone that the latter leads to a better photographic experience and life.
Thanks so much for these words. Appreciated.
Don, thanks for this. The only thing I would add is that for some reason the actions you’ve listed are also often viewed as the “easiest path” and they have the wonderful benefit of allowing us to blame just about everyone but ourselves when things don’t turn out right.
Are you saying that many people find outside sources to blame for personal failures? Really?
😉
Yeah… it was epidemic, now I believe it has become an acceptable behavior. One I find totally unacceptable. It is always hard to realize that we are where we are because of actions we took, and decisions we made. Right or wrong, planned or not… we made decisions that led us to the place we are. Much better to FOCUS on the NOW and how to change than to simply abdicate all to the bad choices we made earlier.
That’s my plan anyway.
You covered a common behavior with some uncommon sense Don. So many don’t look into their future and plan or set goals. They expect things to just happen…and happen right now, right this minute.
I found controlling my own life seemed a lot easier than letting outside influences pull me in so many different directions.
Good read! Thanks!
Yes. The thing about outside influences is that many times, they have an agenda all their own. And it may – or may NOT be – with your best interest at heart.
I try to keep myself focused and motivated because I have my own self interest at heart.
Well… except for Corona’s and Cohibas… 😉
+1 and hello from Russia. It seems this is one global theme for all countries. Let your soul to lead you by life (sorry for bad engl.)
🙂
No problem Ilya… yes, it is quite universal. Thanks for reading.
This is *so* true, Don! Making it on one’s own in any field requires an abundance of self-motivation and self-assessment; it’s too easy to allow externals to pull one off course.
One of the most helpful resources I’ve run across is Steven Pressfield’s excellent book “The War of Art,” in which he lays bare many of the self-defeating modes we get into, and shows us how to overcome them. I did a mini-review of his book on my blog: http://fillyourglass.com/2011/01/26/review-the-war-of-art-by-steven-pressfield/. I actually use my blog as one of my tools to keep engaged and motivated, by finding and sharing interesting and inspiring things (take that, #7!).
Thanks for the constant inspiration, Don.
Gordon.
Yeah… “War of Art” is an amazing book. I have one that I love as well, “Effortless Mastery” by Kenny Warner. Although it is written by and for pianists, it is an amazingly inspiring book on more than just piano. It is about the creative process as well.
Lol, I like the attention grabbing post title, head nod. I think that # 1 , #4, and # 5 are some of the key points I had to overcome starting out. This new year 2011, I’m making “get outside of your comfort zone” the mantra to work toward..and I believe it will be the single thing that propels me forward.
Thanks for the tip, Don; I’ll have to check that one out. So many of these books really do apply much more widely than their “target audience.”
Again Don, STOP YELLING AT ME! 😉 I have been struggling with these negative thoughts and it has been a slow process for me to overcome them. The feeling I get when “shipping” (as Seth Godin puts it) a product or idea is unlike any other. I have felt the pain that Trudy mentions and she is right, we, not all though, fall into the self loathing trap and make up excuses. I am climbing out of that trap. I think it can take more effort to blame an outside influence than it is to actually do what needs to be done. For one, you have to keep stating why you didn’t do it, where if you had done it in the first place you wouldn’t have to come up with an excuse. Just do it. Easier said than done; for me anyway.
Well, now that I have gotten my self all worked up over this, I need to reflect on it and put it to good use. Thanks again for a great blog post Don.
Carlos, I am doing the same thing, although have been lagging as of late. Time to get back on the horse.
“Again Don, STOP YELLING AT ME! ”
No. It’s my job.
😉
Sorry for the rambling in my previous comment… It just hit me like a ton of bricks that I could be doing so much more with my photography and am falling into those traps of mediocrity and blending in.
In the spirit of this post, I’m going to take from this what is useful for me and throw away the rest and I hope you’ll forgive me for it : )
Number 5 actually works really well for me in this stage of my development as a photographer. I only shoot what I love. I don’t fit naturally into one box of fashion, or advertising, or fine art, but I follow my natural momentum of the things that interest me. To my mind, pushing yourself outside your comfort zone has become a huge cliche and a very good way to be mediocre at a wider range of things. I’d rather be outstanding at one thing.
The problem, for me, is that so many people believe that there is an easy way. They believe that the best photographers were either born with a freakish amount of innate talent or got lucky, and they believe that photography is easy. That attitude devalues what all of us do.
I don’t always agree with everything Seth Godin has to say, but I do think he is at his best in this video.
“They believe that the best photographers were either born with a freakish amount of innate talent or got lucky, and they believe that photography is easy.”
Yes. The “those people are ‘special’ syndrome.” It has been with humanity for a long long time, but it seems to be so much more prevalent these days. Maybe it is because there are more people, but that ‘only the lucky or special’ mentality is so damaging and debilitating.
All the more so because it is so untrue.
Had to comment after seeing the comment from Gordon Runkle above, The War of Art. FAN-FLIPPING-TASTIC book. It has caused me to stand up against the monster called “Resistance.” I highly recommend!
And I have been eyeing the book Linchpin by Godin…I think I just got the shove to get it. 🙂
And Don, this post gets an A+ ! Inspiring as always.
Thanks!
I always thought to myself if your really good at something you wouldnt have to worry about making it. Your passion will drive you through. I remember when I just started out, people would tell me that it can’t be done and photography is just a hobby and i couldnt make a living out of it. They have already defeated themselves by saying can’t. I was one of those that said I will. It’s a shame though that i know persons that do at least 7 out of the 10 points but it’s what defines and separates us from them, that extra drive and passion. Cheers from Jamaica
Rye
Jamaica!!!
I have some followers in Jamaica!
We need to do, uh… a workshop there in Jamaica.
Looking more and more like a Trinidad workshop is in the mix, so Jamaica would be cool. And St Bartz, and the Bahamas and … I can think of so many places in the Caribbean that are NEEDING my workshop… heh.
Your worldwide 😛
Contact me after your Trini workshop if you wanna do a workshop here in Jamaica. i’ll gather up all of the strobists together with some nice Jamaican food for our lunch break lol
Don, I mentioned this on Twitter and I’ll say it again here: Screw “safe.” Self-doubt (both internally and externally created) is killer. As you and many folks here have said, it’s easier to blame our “bad lot in life” and never risk anything, when of course the opposite is true.
I have direct, personal experience with this. I won’t take up the space here to talk about it, but I did write a blog post for a friend’s site where I describe my wake-up call. It’s here: http://sabrinahenry.com/2010/07/05/doubt-stuart-sipahigil/
Because I took the risk, I’ve sold prints, had a gallery showing, and published an ebook with Craft & Vision. Sure, these things didn’t magically happen—I had to work for them—but they would have never happened had I continued to follow the “rules” you outline in your post.
I don’t say this stuff to brag, but to let others know that it is possible to succeed in this crazy industry *if* you put aside the doubt and self-defeating thinking and just try. Sometimes you’ll stumble, but just learn from that and keep moving. You only fail when you give up.
Cheers,
Stuart
“Sure, these things didn’t magically happen—I had to work for them—”
What? You too?
I have found that similarity in everyone I know who is successful.
Who would’a guessed that?
Heh.
“You only fail when you give up.”
Or… you succeed in never having to fail – or have to deal with the difficult work of staying successful.
Giving up is so much more devastating if it is not done for the best reasons, or if it is permanent.
When I started my career I believed in the myth of the “natural athlete” – that I was competing against peers who were inherently more talented than I was. It lead to great disillusionment and stress. Luckily for me a mentor sat down with me at the end of a job and gave me some insight – natural athletes are generally self-made, not born, and that I could become one if I was thoughtful about myself and my goals. It was pretty straightforward advice but it really changed my perceptions of myself and my work.
Great list that you’ve pulled together.
Thanks…
Of all the debilitating thought patterns, the one of “only special people” succeed is one of the most devious. It can suck the soul right out of us.
Glad for your mentor. I wish there were more mentors in our industry.
“Dig deep for failure” – lol!
I think my biggest failing is looking at others’ work and envying their equipment or the wildlife they have access to… and no, I would be afraid to quit my day job. I’m addicted to eating. 😉
This is so true. Thank you for this article!
Very true about cutting out all the time wasters, i recently did a 365 project that I though I would never be able to accomplish because I kept saying I didn’t have time to do it.
Seriously, I stopped watching TV, made myself take photos once a day during work, lunch, as soon as I got home, and sometimes late at night just to make it work. Incredibly, I never missed a day. I have a day job, wife and kid, and a host of other responsibilities….but that project proved to me that ANYONE can do it, you just have to do it!
Thanks for sharing!
I don’t understand why you would argue against getting a degree in photography. Seriously, I would like to know the reasoning behind that statement.
Hi Raymond.
I will certainly explain:
I have other reasons, but those are the most stated ones from me.
I say again, not discussing PJ degrees. I have little to no experience with PJ. But getting a degree in photography is like getting a degree in rock guitar.
You got chops – or you don’t. And the ‘credential’ means very very very little.
Well I’ve been looking for jobs recently and I’ve come across a few (photographer for some name brand apparel companies such as Quicksilver) that required a degree. All in all, I agree, but I also can’t get others to agree with me, and it’s so hard to find people who want to pay for my services these days it’s seeming more and more that having some credential behind you will get some more respect and confidence in people to trust my abilities. Maybe I should just take some marketing classes or something instead? 😛
I should note I’m an upstart (a few years experience starting to try and make it a full time gig) though, not much word of mouth out there about me yet, and getting the name out there isn’t something I’m terrific at. Everybody just seems to point me in the BA direction so it’s all I see right now for where I need to go. What would you say is the best way for me to promote myself?
Raymond,
You do NOT want to work for anyone who wants you to have a degree to shoot their clothing. That is one of the most lamest things I have ever heard of. I just can’t imagine it being any more than a drudgery of a job.
Are you following project 52?
Our goal is to get photographers to fully understand what is needed and how to get their portfolios in shape for the real world.
What kind of work do you want to do? Genres can be a wildly diverse world of gatekeepers and ease of entry. Some are easier than others, and some are flat hard to get into.
Let me know what you are wanting to do.
This is actually the first I’ve heard of project 52 and this website actually. I followed a link to this article from the 1001 noisy cameras site.
I have a website (www.rwdphotos.com) that showcases some of the stuff I’ve done. So far I don’t have a specific clique or genre I connect with or market to, but I’ve been researching how to get in to wedding photography professionally. I’ve done events (including one wedding), portraits, real estate photos (not really architecture, but I understand the fundamentals and that genre greatly interests me), and I could see myself doing anything really if I can find a job doing it. I have little experience with studio lighting though (my knowledge in that area is more academic), mainly cold and hot lights; most of my experience has been in natural light, but I’m trying to improve on that.
I’m planning on making a specific site just for weddings so I can get listed in wedding photographer directories for my area. I made the decision to do weddings because I felt I most understood how to get in that market more than doing product or architecture or fashion.
I have to admit, that I’ve been caught up in the ‘Flickr attention seeking’ loop on and off since falling in love with photography. I would post a few of my very best work, photos that friends and family would drool over and praise me highly for, and on Flickr you could hear crickets chirping… nope, not a SINGLE comment. It would break my heart and I would think that I sucked as a photographer. I find that the more I avoid Flicker and do my own thing, the better my self esteem 🙂
Janeile,
“I have to admit, that I’ve been caught up in the ‘Flickr attention seeking’ loop on and off since falling in love with photography.”
It will suck the creativity out of what you do. Seeking comments and validation there is like a ballet dancer seeking validation from Amazon tribesmen.
Do your work. Work really hard, and focus on what you want to do.