Fast Food Friday - For Professional Photographers

Click to catch up on any "blue-plate" specials you missed.

by Skip Cohen

If we took all the weekly Fast Food Friday specials and put them in a menu format, we'd have more pages than the Cheesecake Factory! And, every week, when I think we're finally out of things to talk about something new comes along worth discussing.

As always, each "blue-plate" special is meant to plant a seed about how to strengthen your business and your brand. We've covered ideas to fine-tune your blog, website, customer relations and the list goes on and on with so many ideas to help you make 2019 one of your best years in business.

Today's post goes in a different direction, but I'm betting it's a topic that sadly too many of you can relate to. Let's get rid of the "Negators" in our life. Just in case you don't understand how I'm using the word, it's my favorite word for all those people who tell us why we can't or shouldn't do something! They seem to live for the opportunity to wait for you to fail so they can proclaim they saw it coming! 

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Learn to Ignore the NEGATORS!

"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice!"
Steve Jobs

Photography is an art form and so often misunderstood especially by family members and friends. They don’t understand your passion. They assume you’re going to starve in the process. They may never have seen your work and question whether or not you’re good enough. They don’t understand why you can’t just go out and get a “real job”!  Sound familiar?

Scott Bourne and I, on the old GoingPro podcasts, talked a lot about surrounding yourself with people who have positive attitudes. You need to block out the “Negators.” No, it’s not out of Greek mythology, but it should be. Negators are people who are so unhappy in their own lives; their only joy in life is screwing with yours!

The result is most often serious damage to your self-confidence. So, let’s come up with a few things to help you stay focused, pun intended and give you a little reinforcement. You know how to focus your camera, but do you know how to hold the focus on your career path?
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• Look at old images. Go back and look at your very first images. It might have been a party you photographed, a landscape while on vacation or maybe just a few shots of your kids. Now compare them to where you are today. If you don’t see a difference, you’re in trouble, but most of you will see growth in the way you compose and expose today. As you get more experienced, there should be some serious changes in lighting, composition, depth of field, and your creativity.
• Roberto Valenzuela suggested a terrific tool for practicing the craft on a GoingPro podcast once. He suggested you go back to the last wedding you photographed and look at all the bad images.  “Look for what you missed and learn to understand why each image wasn’t good!”
• Enter some images in print competition. This is a personal favorite. Whether you enter prints or not, at least attend the judging at the next convention where it's open to the public. Listen to what the judges are saying about each print. Use their suggestions as guidance for your own work.
• Find yourself a supportive Facebook forum. There are so many groups within photography and while every now and then you'll run across a troll who doesn't like the images you share, just remember, "Beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder!"
• Join your local chapter or guild of professional photographers. Sooner or later, everyone shares the same frustrations. A local chapter of other photographers becomes a support group and an essential part of your network. There’s a lot of good comfort in knowing your peers share some of the same concerns and frustrations.  
• Surround yourself with positive people. Sooner or later the "Negators" in your life will hopefully come around, but for now, those people who are throwing up the roadblocks need to be kept on the sidelines. The only thing they're contributing to your life is stress.
• Listen to your heart. It sounds hokey, but you know what you feel inside. You know what your gut instinct is saying about your passion for being a photographer.
• Don’t respond to trolls! When you do step out into the public forums and get shot at by a troll, don’t let yourself get caught up in the battle. Don’t respond. Your silence is far more effective at driving them mad!

  “Even if you fall flat on your face, you’re still moving forward!” 
Victor Kiam

“If you wait for all the lights to be green, you’ll never get started on your journey!” 
​Zig Ziglar

It’s May and we're back into the "busy season" and business is picking up everywhere. You've got the best part of the year ahead of you. It's time to really dig into your journey. And if you need a little help from one of the industry's biggest cheerleaders - you know where to find me!