You Made a Mistake...SO WHAT?

by Skip Cohen

All of us have experienced it, the fear of failing: The fear of making the wrong choice, a bad decision and worrying about the consequences. There are even one-liners that instill that fear in photography…

“If you screw up a portrait session you can always re-shoot it, but screw up a wedding and you need to leave town!”

Well, here’s the reality of being a professional photographer. You’re going to make mistakes and some of them will be tough to deal with, but nothing is forever and there’s nothing you won’t learn from. Everybody has a story to tell about not backing up their data, missing an appointment, not having the right lens or equipment failures or simply taking on an assignment that was beyond their skill set.

The trick to being a great photographer is staying calm, making as few mistakes as possible and when you do have a challenge, learning from your mistakes and utilizing your network. The worst thing you can do is withdraw and punish yourself for missing the signs that said you were headed in the wrong direction.

If I’ve learned nothing else in life it’s a simple one liner about everything always working out for the better. I’ve seen it proven over and over again. So, wake up every day ready to take on the challenges of being a great artist. Learn everything you possibly can to strengthen your skill set and most important of all, in the words of Coleman Hawkins, a jazz musician remember:

                                                  “If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t really trying.”

Photo Credit: © olly - Fotolia.com