When you think of photography, you think of a solitary journey. We often find ourselves alone when creating images and developing our craft. However, consider the inspiring and motivating personal development opportunities that the photography community can provide.
It’s not just about the enriching experiences, the ability to meet and work with like-minded individuals and the doors that can open up your creative journey. Photography communities can provide a platform to share your work, receive constructive feedback and learn from the experiences of others, which can greatly enhance your skills and creativity. Friend.
Photography, a solo pursuit
Creating images is largely a solo activity. We use it as a self-reflection to challenge ourselves and find creative independence. In challenging times, we are on our own, trying to get out of a creative rut or find a solution to a difficult situation. Why do it yourself?
I started growing as a photographer when I found my community. I gradually built a small but mighty creative community that I surrounded myself with regularly. I always believe that quality over quantity is best. Having a small community that I can count on is more important than having dozens of communities. When times get tough, I know they will be there with the feedback and support I’m looking for and can count on. I won’t text dozens of people who are just acquaintances but allies. This community has improved my technical skills and accelerated my personal growth, pushing me to explore new perspectives and challenge my creative boundaries.
Inspiration and Motivation
At some point in your creative journey, there will come a day when motivation and creativity will be lacking or non-existent. Having a community can help you navigate these waters by providing much-needed motivation to bounce back. I have a few photographers that I will call or meet in person for coffee to vent or bounce ideas off of, especially when self-doubt has set in and lingers more than I can handle. care about.
Learning and Development
I’m not someone you would meet with another photographer while on an adventure; it seems to affect my style and I’m not 110% focused on the task. However, you’ll find me meeting up with the Coffee and Clicks community once a month, discussing photography for a few hours over a cup of coffee. We bounce new ideas off each other, what we have or haven’t captured. Mobile phones are passed around, displaying the latest images to get feedback. While all of this is going on, we are learning and helping each other grow in our craft as a team! They even help you in those “I didn’t think of that” moments when you’re trying to find a solution to a problem.
Support and encouragement
It’s human nature to not want to put ourselves or our image out there, especially in today’s internet world. We need that community to lean on when things get tough and we need a helping hand to bring us back down to earth and dust ourselves off. Self-doubt and self-worth go hand in hand as a creator. Self-doubt will come to your door and your community will be there to clear away any lingering doubts. I’ve had people reach out and say I’m selling XYZ for this amount of money and they came to my rescue and said, “You’re selling this to me” and gave me much needed feedback! Because I like to overthink and doubt almost everything I do.
Critique session
We all know that if we ask our mom to critique a photo, that photo will always be the “best” photo and the next photo will be even better. Not to hate my mom, but she’s not the most trustworthy person when it comes to critiquing our photos. Having that community rely on and ask for constructive feedback helps us do more important work because we’re asking a community with a shared passion and knowledge to give it to us. I respond honestly. If your community doesn’t come back with honest and constructive criticism then they’re not your community.
Network
The biggest thing is the network. I can’t count how many people I’ve connected with who said they had an opportunity for me and they wanted to pass on it because it wasn’t their thing! I was talking to someone else and someone said, “Hey, I know someone who can help you with that.” The more you connect, the larger your circle becomes. You talk to this group all the time, but sometimes they’ll think of you for a job they don’t want to do and believe you’re the best candidate.
Ultimately, having a small but mighty photography community around you will help you become a better photographer and put an end to pursuing photography alone. Sometimes it opens more doors than you can handle. You’ll start to see growth in your work, an increase in your creative freedom and confidence, and a new way of looking at things with a few new friends!
