There is no surefire way to succeed as a photographer. However, there are some examples that definitely teach you what not to do if you want to achieve success.
Success in photography has many different parameters and definitions depending on the type of photography you do and your own personal goals. There are people who see overall financial gain and wealth as their form of success. Some see growing a significant audience and client base as a measure of their success, and some see their overall happiness with the work they’ve done as what makes them successful. Whichever one of them you consider applicable, these five photographer examples all prove to be the type you don’t want to be if you want to increase your chances of achieving success.
1. Sorry ink
The kind of photographer you don’t want to be looks like someone who will make more excuses than do anything. This can be seen in two different scenarios. A novice photographer who can’t accept constructive criticism always finds excuses instead of learning from them. A beginner in photography will always have room for improvement, which is why they shouldn’t expect to get top-notch results too early in their journey. At the same time, they shouldn’t expect everything to be perfect right away. Making too many excuses instead of taking and recording academic grades is a sign of being too stubborn in your studies and incapable of admitting mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with not getting the best out of it right away, but not being able to absorb the lessons from feedback sooner or later will be a major obstacle.
In a professional environment, this becomes even more difficult. Even as professionals, one is not expected to always get everything perfect with just one try. However, as a professional, you’ll more than likely know how to get the job done no matter how many times you try. It is important to understand that customers come to us for a need or sometimes even a problem and they come to us because they need us as the solution. Most clients won’t mind how many photos you actually take in a shoot. Instead, it’s important to them that you can get a “good enough” shot to suit their needs and virtually solve their problem. This means that customers will often give feedback to help us understand what they need and want, and a response that doesn’t get the results we want is an excuse.
2. Full-time reviewer
Criticism can often be a good thing and can be seen as a big step towards becoming a better artist. Criticism allows us to identify weaknesses in our output and allows us to find ways to improve on them. However, there are criticisms that can backfire.
With the ubiquity of social media and other online photography communities, seeing “keyboard warriors” or simply people who spend too much time on a computer or device Their mobile to make unrealistic critiques of other people’s work has become all too common. These criticisms may be too focused on a specific detail that dismisses all that is good about a great photograph, or claims tend to impose their own personal preferences on the work. other people. While these people are often just ignored by those they criticize, the reason you don’t want to be them is the fact that they seem to spend too much time looking at other people’s faults instead of actually liking them. Become a photographer and work on their own progress. If you want to be a good photographer, spending more time online looking at other people’s photos instead of taking and practicing will be completely counterproductive.
3. Gear Collection
We all want more devices than we really need and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you have the opportunity to have too many devices or even too much money to spend on equipment, it is safe to assume that most, if not all of us will accept that. There’s certainly nothing wrong with being a collector of camera gear. However, if you want to be a good photographer, the amount of gear you have won’t make much of a difference if you don’t go out and use them and practice. Yes, there are more gear options and every lens you might need that will help you especially when you want to try new things but if all your gear is rarely used, that’s fine. won’t make you a better photographer.
4. Competitors
If you have a passion for photography, that’s for sure. However, excessive competition can be detrimental. As photographers and artists, it’s completely normal to look at the work and accomplishments of other people we might call our peers. It’s completely normal to see how good a particular coworker’s work is and aim to achieve the same quality of work. It is normal to look at the success of others and hope to achieve the same. However, if you treat everything as a competition between you and everyone else, that will leave a terrible stain on your professionalism and overall personality. Being part of a community of photographers is a good way to have a reliable support system whether as an artist or an entrepreneur and has a personality that prevents you from finding happiness in success. of others will prevent you from making meaningful connections with people who may be able to understand your struggles and even help you with certain steps in your process. It’s not a contest unless it’s a real contest. Otherwise, you should socialize, collaborate, and connect.
5. Gatekeeper
Gatekeepers are usually accredited or at least experienced photographers. In many cases, they are masters of the craft who can inspire new generations of photographers with just their work. However, things take a turn for the worse when these experienced photographers treat newcomers as if they don’t deserve respect as if or as if their opinions and/or recognition have no value because they have not proven their worth. At the same time, gatekeepers tend to be extremely insecure with the notion that they deserve a place at the top of an imaginary hierarchy and that they must somehow protect the pedestal they are on. there.
The term “gatekeepers” comes from the notion that they are closing doors and protecting their territory from newcomers who “do not deserve” to be with them. While you may want to gain their expertise or experience, the personal effects of being a janitor can affect your social well-being. This mindset prevents you from truly connecting with your peers and squanders your opportunity to inspire and share the benefits of the profession with others. No matter how young or old you are, no matter how experienced or successful you are, you will always have a lot to learn and improve. Even the most experienced artists can learn something new from a novice if they open their minds to the idea of it.
One of the greatest things about being a photographer is the ability to continuously learn and become better than the artists you’ve been artists with in the past. We became photographers primarily out of a desire to create valuable visual experiences for those who view our work and to provide unique creative solutions to those who hire us. There are a million personal ways in which you can achieve success and greatness both as an artist and as a human being and none of them involve pride, resistance to learning and step on someone else’s foot.
