My journey to becoming the best possible photographer has been met with many setbacks, but if I honestly consider the reasons why I fail each time, some common elements always seem to come into play. . See if they apply to you.
When I got my first job in Japan, there was a poster on the back of the shared office door showing Michael Jordan soaring spectacularly in the air. And accompanied by that enchanting image is his famous quote about failure: the one about shots he misses, the games he loses and the players hitting the whistle who can’t find the net. Every day, I see that quote, and in the end, I use it with my Japanese students, because they are notoriously shy and afraid to take chances and make mistakes. But, how does all of this relate to why photographers fail?
That question brings us to this great video by First Man Photography, in which he looks at the biggest reason photographers fail. If you cull 20 photographers, regardless of genre, and ask them to think of their biggest reasons for failure, you can come up with a list that includes things like inappropriate equipment, lighting, and the like. poor lighting, inappropriate timing, uncooperative subjects, etc. These things can certainly get in the way of our photography journey, but they’re not the biggest reason for failure. That comes from you and what goes on in your head. To learn more about how insecurities and inner conversation are getting in the way of your photography, watch the video and let me know what you think below.
