So many times I hear people say to me when I tell them that I am a photographer...
'oh me too... But I am just an amateur really'.
or
'oh, I'd love to do that... but...'
or
'I used to do some photography too'.
Replace Negative with Positive
Hearing all of those things make me a little bit sad, and here is why- most- not all- of these statements, are fear-based. You're not an amateur! You have a camera, you love photography, you've spent time reading and learning about it? Then be positive about it! Tell me that you LOVE photography and that you want to learn more!
You'd love to do photography? Well, DO IT! Of course, we are always busy, with our other jobs, our children, our interests... but if something really, really grabs your attention- it is worth holding on to, because in my experience you really DO want to do it, so don't let the opportunity pass you by.
You USED to? Well, what happened? Did you never really love photography in the first place? or did you just let it go? Perhaps you never got those pictures published, or you shot a wedding and it was harder than you thought, or styles changed and yours didn't.
What would you really LOVE to do?
This I hear time and time again- but not just about photography. Oh I would LOVE more children...I just don't have the time right now. Oh I would LOVE to learn about that... but I'm so busy. Oh I would love to bake like such and such... but I'm just not a baker. I'd love to travel.. but we don't have the money.
I know it is hard to hear, and hard for me to write about- but harder still is hearing how much people would LOVE to do something, and just don't for whatever excuse they can come up with.
And generally, 9 times out of 10, the real reason is rooted in fear. Whether it is fear there is not enough time in your day, fear you will miss out on other things, fear of stepping out of your comfort zone or the fear you will be broke and poor and hungry, or the fear you will simply not be good enough.
I know about this, because after leaving university after studying photography for three whole years, I was too scared to pick up a camera again until about a year ago. Isn't that ridiculous? I felt my work was so challenged at University that it just was not good enough for ANYONE else to see. So I stopped photographing for about 4 long years. Of course I always snapped away here and there, but never really set myself projects, wrote a blog, researched and learned more, read my zillions of photography books... my 13 cameras sat unloved in a box gathering dust. (It was rididculous- of course my work was challenged, it was University, that's what it was meant to do! Challenge you to make you and your work better).
Now of course I am back into my full on love affair with photography again and do you know what, I wish that I had never let my fear stop me doing what I wanted to.
WRITE IT DOWN
This is hard to even write about; it's a personal experience. I wanted to write it to encourage you that if this is you, if you feel that your work isn't good enough, or maybe you feel not even good enough to start something; that there is no better time than right this very second to write down what you'd like to achieve, stick it on your fridge, give yourself a deadline, and get on with it. Whether it's starting or improving your photography, learning to bake, travelling the world- Don't let fear turn into excuses, busy-ness, or a missed opportunity. You will not lose out on anything- you will only gain.
Don't let fear hold you back.
Charlie x CKB Photography x
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