Fuel Your Passion
Are you passionate about carrying around a camera and clicking the shutter to capture whatever person or object happens to be in front of you? What do you do with the images you create? Is there some purpose in capturing those images beyond just doing so?
Do you sell them? Is that what you're passionate about? Making money with your camera? (I've heard the fastest way to do that is to sell your camera?)
Are you passionate about hearing all the positive comments from family, friends and clients about what good pictures you take?
Have you been emotional touched or inspired by a photographic image, and now you want to help others experience that?
Do you like creating beautiful art with your camera? Do you love editing photos to enhance them further and make something artistic? Is it about the art?
Do you just like running a business, all the paper work, marketing, advertising, selling, bookkeeping, etc.? And you happen to be decent with a camera, so the photography business is your business of choice? (After all, it is about 80% business & 20% photography.)
Do you enjoy the relationships you build with your clients? Do you enjoy seeing the relationships they share in their families and capturing those images in emotional, life-affirming images?
This is a challenge I'm putting to my fellow professional photographer in the coming year. As current president of Professional Photographers of Oklahoma, I'm hoping to, first, help our members identify their passion, to find it.
But then what do you do with it? What does it do with you? How do you maintain it? For most of it, it certainly is not the 80% of this business that is business. So how do you keep going when it becomes tedious, or even worse, when the economy, or some other crisis throws you for a loop? Your passion can help sustain you. It's important to feel your passion. Pay attention when you have those moments that make you say "YES." Remember what brought about that feeling, what you did. Then repeat it. If that feeling of "YES" was strong enough to make the challenges worthwhile, pursue it. Persistence pays. (Just ask Flower).
Finally, you need to Fuel Your Passion. Find things that reinforce it. Find ways to grow, to get better. Find other photographers with whom to fellowship. Find mentors. Continue your education. Don't just take snapshots and hope to get a good one here or there. Learn what takes an image beyond what anyone with a good camera can do. Learn to create images in camera that need little or no editing after the fact. There's only so much Photoshop or any other program can do to make a weak image better. If it's important to you, if you are truly passionate about it, it's worth being the best you can be at it.
In 2010, I was asked by Professional Photographers of Oklahoma to finish out the term of the Secretary of the organization, because of another executive officer's resignation. Generally, when you take the role of Secretary, it's the beginning of "going through the chairs." Unless something unusual happens, or you back out, you will likely be elected as 2nd Vice President the next year, then 1st Vice President. When you get to 1st VP, you are also President Elect, because it takes most of your 1st VP year to plan the programs and events for your year as President. As of this past Sunday, I am now officially president of Professional Photographers of Oklahoma. It's almost overwhelming in several ways. For one thing, there's still much to do to complete and implement the plans I've been working on. For another, there are a lot of really great photographers in our organization. I feel my day to day work for my clients is strong, and I'd put it up against just about anyone's. However, I've seen some really remarkable work, especially in print competition, from some of our members - images that awe and inspire and amaze. It's an humbling honor to be leading this incredible group for the coming year.
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