Are you in need of some summer time thrills on a fast roller coaster with the biggest twist, turns, ups, and downs? Say no more! I have the perfect ride for you. It’s guaranteed to keep your stomach in knots, take you to the highest heights and some twisting lows. It’s a gravity defying ride that will leave you absolutely terrified but ready to jump back on for another ride. Just pick up a camera or step in front of one.
Ok so maybe that was a little dramatic but it’s a feeling that many photographers, models, and creatives can relate to at times on this journey. People get into photography/modeling for many different reasons but one thing that is shared amongst creatives are the various highs and lows that we all experience. The distances between those highs and lows can be vast. High enough to make you want to take on as many gigs as possible or low enough to make you want to sell everything and seek counseling.
And once you add in the social media dynamic, those feelings get multiplied a hundred fold. It’s undeniable that the dopamine high we get from the likes, comments, and 5 star reviews feel good. You put so much time, effort, emotions and money (can’t forget about the money) into creating your art and you just want someone else to see it and appreciate the work you put into it.
What is also undeniable are the gut wrenching feeling of the lows.
- You dream up a concept, scout for the perfect location, find a photographer/model, create some great shots….and it goes virtually unnoticed by your audience.
- You buy a camera, invest time into getting better, shadow other photographers, create a great looking website, set reasonable prices….but can’t seem to book any clients.
- You go all in!!! Quit the 9-5 day job, invest in some great gear, book some major weddings and events, get the deposits…….just for the clients to cancel on you; thereby, forcing you to lose income.
- You work and work and work but it seems that no matter what you do, you’re not making progress. Your work looks like a 5 year old kid took the photo with an outdated Android phone while the work of those around you grows by leaps and bounds! You start to think, “If only my work could look like….”
I’m sure we all have been there at some point in our journey and some of us are probably there now. In some ways I’m there now.
But where’s the silver lining? In this new age world of positivity and self love, many people would be quick to tell us things like “Don’t compare yourself to others. Keep working and it’ll come. Social media is not real life. Keep your head up. Be yourself. Your work is amazing! Don’t let it get to you….
Don’t let it get to you…
We are all human and these feelings are natural. It’s easy to say “don’t let it get to you” but putting it into practice is a different story. There are times where positive words are just not enough. There are times where encouragement just doesn’t get you over that hump. So what do you do???
Well let me try to use a small military lesson that has helped me get over those negative feelings of inadequacy.
There are two types of ambushes an enemy can spring on you. One is a near ambush and the other is a far ambush. In a near ambush, the enemy is very close to you and has you pinned down. If you hesitate, seek cover, or stay in place you will quickly get overrun and suffer catastrophic loss. To overcome this, you must quickly get up, turn towards the enemy and attack them head on. It’s a shear force of will power and tenacity that allows you to overcome. The same can be done in photography. When those negative feelings <strong><em>ambush</em></strong> you and you want to quit, it’s important to assault through that negativity. You have to pick up the camera during those times you don’t want to. You have edit more, take on more collaboration projects in order to get more practice in. You have to do the very things you don’t feel like doing in order to shake off those immediate negative thoughts.
The other ambush is a far ambush. It’s where the enemy has you pinned down but there is a large distance between you. You can’t just simply rush them head on because of the large open space between. But that distance does give you a small amount of planning time. With a little direction and some planning, you steadily move your forces forward and take breaks in order to fine cover. This is the same when those negative thoughts weigh us down over a period of time. When the grind of editing, impatient clients, modeling or douche bag photographers wears us down. This is the kind of ambush that you can take a step back from your creative work and plan your next move. This is where you can take time and change up your style and the way you’ve been doing things. This is the time you recharge your batteries and approach it again.
But no matter how you do it, the main thing is that you keep pushing and actually do it. We all started this journey for a reason. We can all remember that time that we created or posed for that one photo that blew our minds and the feelings that came along with it. The time where the only person that mattered for us to impress was ourselves. Work for those kind of moments and that original feeling and eventually the negative hump will be a distance picture in the rearview mirror.