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My other bridges are not afraid

When it comes to photography, fear is a strong motivator, but often not in the right directions. There is a lot to be afraid of, and a lot to be intimidated by. You can be afraid of not being good enough, of not being as good as other photographers, of taking boring or irrelevant photos. You can be intimidated by the complex controls on your camera, flash, tripod, lens, filters, etc. You can be afraid to make mistakes, to look dumb, to not get any better. Starting websites, building portfolios, submitting to contests (and often losing) all can be intimidating and fear-inducing. Selling, teaching, sharing. The list goes on.

 

I won't tell you to not be afraid. I cannot, or rather you cannot help but be a bit afraid at times. It is natural. And that is what I will tell you, it's natural. All photographers experience some or all of those fears, worries and intimidations at some point in their career. If they tell you otherwise, they are full of it, self-deluded, crazy or some combination of the three. And that is one thing that separates photographers.

 

Fear motivates some to get better, it breeds frustration in others and they put their cameras away, often in exasperation, anxiety or disgust. But the best cure for that type of fear is a combination of time, practice and experience. Those three things will breed confidence.

 

So if you are a beginning photographer, like all of us once were, then yeah, that intimidation is natural, but stick with it and I promise it will eventually pass. It may take a while, but it will be on its merry way eventually.

 

Of course the fears we experience as beginners sometimes evolve as we become more seasoned. Sometimes they become more acute. The fear of failure, leading to an avoidance of experimentation is a common one. As a beginning photographer, you expect to make mistakes. As you acquire experience and knowledge you expect to not make mistakes.

 

All I will say to that is be thankful of your mistakes, you learn from them. Make as many as you possibly can, you will be a better photographer for it.

 

Getting over the intimidation of learning a camera gives way to the intimidation of marketing the photography you have learned to take. The intimidation of starting a business, approaching galleries, creating a website, printing a book.

 

When it comes to this point, there are generally two types of people, those who push forward despite their uncertainties and those who do not. But again, the point is, at some point we have all been uncertain.

 

And again, my advice is limited. But what I do have, I gladly offer. The best piece I think I have is to be happy with yourself as a photographer. Learn to appreciate and love and enjoy what you do with a camera. If you are at peace with your abilities as a photographer, then what others think of those abilities is secondary and not overly important. And trust me, no matter how good of images you make, there will always be people who really don't like them as well as people that really do. When it comes to that, it is just a matter of finding the latter and avoiding the former.

 

The interesting thing about being a beginning photographer is that it is all so fresh and new. There is so much territory to explore. I miss that period sometimes. So when I get to branch out into something I have never done before, like building a website, or printing a book, I avoid being intimidated by instead being excited at the opportunity to learn. I am not afraid to make mistakes, because I am already aware of the unavoidable fact that I will make them, and each mistake made will only make me that much better. I am not afraid of being rejected by contests because I understand that art is subjective. Some jurors will like my work and some won't, but as long as I like my work, then their opinions can remain just their opinions. I don't even fear the fact that I will only live long enough to take a finite number of photos, that sunsets 200 years from now are out of my reach. I instead choose to concentrate on those photos I can create.

 

But anyway, this carries on a bit long. It has just been a topic on my mind, particularly with the teaching I have done lately. I see a lot of anxiety and intimidation and worry. But it is natural, it is alright to be anxious and intimidated and worried at certain points. It does not make you any less of a photographer.

 

But how you deal with it can.

 

Image note:

I don't actually own a Lensbaby. Nifty product but they don't make one for the cameras I would prefer to use it on, so I made my own a while back. Took it on this trip to San Fran. I could be afraid that the technique is a bit gimmicky and avoid it. But then if I did that, how would I ever learn how to surpass the gimmick and use the technique creatively?

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Uploaded on January 15, 2011