When I started my photography business about 3,5 years ago I was lucky
enough to come across Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai’s article: “What Every Aspiring
Photographer Should Know”. It is by far the
best advice that I have received so far. Every once in a while I re-read
the article again. Thank you Cheryl for you encouraging words! Your work is
inspiring!
Cheryl’s beautiful
work can be viewed at:
http://www.cheryljacobsportraits.com/ and
http://photodino.wordpress.com/
What Every Aspiring Photographer Should Know ~ by Cheryl Jacobs
Nicolai
These are my thoughts, nothing more and nothing less.
I get asked all the time, during workshops, in e-mails, in private messages,
what words of wisdom I would give to a new and aspiring photographer. Here’s my
answer.
- Style is a voice, not a prop or an action. If you can buy it, borrow it,
download it, or steal it, it is not a style. Don’t look outward for your style;
look inward.
- Know your stuff. Luck is a nice thing, but a terrifying thing to rely on.
It’s like money; you only have it when you don’t need it.
- Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. Nobody can tell you what you
should love. Do what you do brazenly and unapologetically. You cannot build
your sense of aesthetics on a concensus.
- Say no. Say it often. It may be difficult, but you owe it to yourself and
your clients. Turn down jobs that don’t fit you, say no to overbooking yourself.
You are no good to anyone when you’re stressed and anxious.
- Learn to say “I’m a photographer” out loud with a straight face. If you
can’t say it and believe it, you can’t expect anyone else to, either.
- You cannot specialize in everything.
- You don’t have to go into business just because people tell you you
should! And you don’t have to be full time and making an executive income to be
successful. If you decide you want to be in business, set your limits before
you begin.
- Know your style before you hang out your shingle. If you don’t, your
clients will dictate your style to you. That makes you nothing more than a
picture taker. Changing your style later will force you to start all over
again, and that’s tough.
- Accept critique, but don’t apply it blindly. Just because someone said it
does not make it so. Critiques are opinions, nothing more. Consider the advice,
consider the perspective of the advice giver, consider your style and what you
want to convey in your work. Implement only what makes sense to implement. That
doesn’t not make you ungrateful, it makes you independent.
- Leave room for yourself to grow and evolve. It may seem like a good idea
to call your business “Precious Chubby Tootsies”….but what happens when you
decide you love to photograph seniors? Or boudoir?
- Remember that if your work looks like everyone else’s, there’s no reason
for a client to book you instead of someone else. Unless you’re cheaper. And
nobody wants to be known as “the cheaper photographer”.
- Gimmicks and merchandise will come and go, but honest photography is never
outdated.
- It’s easier to focus on buying that next piece of equipment than it is to
accept that you should be able to create great work with what you’ve got.
Buying stuff is a convenient and expensive distraction. You need a decent
camera, a decent lens, and a light meter. Until you can use those tools
consistently and masterfully, don’t spend another dime. Spend money on
equipment ONLY when you’ve outgrown your current equipment and you’re being
limited by it. There are no magic bullets.
- Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography.
Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection.
- Never forget why you started taking pictures in the first place. Excellent
technique is a great tool, but a terrible end product. The best thing your
technique can do is not call attention to itself. Never let your technique
upstage your subject.
- Never compare your journey with someone else’s. It’s a marathon with no
finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress
more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your
journey, not a competition. You will never “arrive”. No one ever does.
- Embrace frustration. It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your
horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold. Nothing is
more dangerous to an artist than complacency.