The Pathway to your Success
Which of these three photography stages are you in now?
What should you be doing now if you are trying to get to the next level with your photography? That depends on what stage you are currently in.
Photographers always say I want to go to the next level. But what is the next level? What is this level?
The phrase next level has always been a pet peeve phrase for me because it is the ultimate in fluff. It is a feel good cliche that really says nothing. What’s the next level? What’s this level?
You deserve a better answer than the next level, so I created a framework to help bring some clarity and direction to this concept. It will consist of three levels or stages. It will be our Success Path.
Why is this important?
It will provide us some direction. Think of the way a map helps you get from your start point to your finish or goal most efficiently.
It will help you see the big picture and the steps along the way. It should make it easier to measure your progress and identify which training is created for you.
You might see yourself in one of these stages, and you’ll know what you need to do next.
Three stages: Emerging Photographer, Enthusiast Photographer, Entrepreneurial Photographer.
Stage 1 - Emerging photographer
Characteristics.
You are new to photography. I was in a room at a camera store where everyone was learning their Canon cameras. Most people were very basic. How do you use the autofocus. How do you choose the right shooting mode? BUT…. most people were there because they were actively trying to learn….to solve the problem.
You have decided this is something you really enjoy. You find that photography speaks to you or appeals to you in some way. You are looking forward to the next time you shoot.
You are looking for any possible opportunity to shoot and learn about photography. You are in several Meetup groups. You follow lots of podcasts, blogs, YouTube videos.
You are experimenting with everything you can shoot.
You are learning your camera. You are learning yourself.
General advice
You just want to shoot pictures as much as possible
Don’t worry about only taking great photos. It’s more important to shoot photos.
Take bad photos. Learn from them.
Enjoy the process of shooting.
Explore different genre’s of photography
You will start to notice significant progress over time
You don’t know what your style will or should be but you are starting to think about it.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass
Next Steps
Join at the Chilling membership level. Go on as many Meetups an photo workshops as you can. Attend the free webinars live. Start a Project 365 or Project 52 challenge.
Action Items — Do the work
1 - Shoot as much as possible. Put mileage on that shutter finger.
Set it up so it is easy for you to be successful.
Create a routine
Shoot and post on a schedule
Choose a theme. Self assignment.
Start project 365/52 or some kind of journal. Provides some structure to the volume.
2 - Look at a lot of images.
Look to see what kind of images inspire you.
Look to try and deconstruct what the photographer might have done.
Think about how you might approach a similar challenge differently
You are building a visual database that you can draw from
3 - Find an accountability partner. Find someone else who knows what you are doing and is paying attention.
Not there to praise or punish. Just someone who will check in on your if you miss too many days.
Goal: Volume. You get better and begin self discovery.