Success is About Believing in Yourself

We're moving into a new year and it's another leap of faith.
But, it's a whole lot easier if you believe in yourself!
Unknown Author

by Skip Cohen

We've been in a new year for almost four months, but we're moving into prime seasonality. The bottom line - You have to have faith in yourself.  You have to believe in what you’re doing.  You have to understand not only the craft, but the human spirit. And, it’s the human spirit that should be at the top of your list.

For most of us, the definition of the ultimate photograph is one that moves people. You can’t move people and create images that tug at their hearts if you’re not comfortable with your own heart.  So, it all becomes sort of obvious – it’s faith in yourself that creates confidence and builds your strength of character and gets your heart where it should be.

The challenges in the outside world right now border on being overwhelming. All of us are at times filled with doubt as a result of so many things outside our control. But what is in control is your faith as an artist!

1. No career field, with the exception of modern medicine, gives the world what photographers do!  What would a newspaper look like without photography?  Or, a wedding album? The list goes on and on.
2. A wedding album is the first family heirloom of a brand-new family! The dress will never be worn again.  The food is gone.  The band has stopped playing, but the wedding album will last forever, sadly,  longer than half the marriages performed today.
3. Your images capture memories. You’re the eyes of your client.  You’ve been hired to capture the moments they missed, whether it’s at a wedding or a "day in the life" shoot of their children.
4. Your clients have hired you because they trust you. Think about the meaning of the word “trust”.  No matter what you’ve ever done in your life, right or wrong, here’s somebody who has simply put their faith and trust in your abilities to tell their story.

And for those of you who think you're going to be replaced by AI...it still takes a master storyteller to capture memories, regardless of the tools you use to create the finished product. I’m constantly accused of being one of the industry cheerleaders, but honestly, this is an easy job.  What could be more incredible than working with people who put their trust in you?  What could be a more wonderful job than being a storyteller?

Nobody can teach you to have faith in yourself – it’s caught, not taught.  So, how to catch it and keep it?  Stay focused on your career path and your subjects.  Learn every possible technique you can.  Make it a point to understand photography before you push the shutter button. Know your gear – know your lighting – know your lab – know your clients.  And never ever compromise on quality!

"Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created.  It is a major force in explaining man to man." Edward Steichen:  

"I wish more people felt that photography was an adventure, the same as life itself, and felt that their individual feelings were worth expressing.  To me, that makes photography more exciting!" Harry Callahan