Boats on the edge of the Ganges, Varanasi
Great artists, whether they’re photographers, painters, musicians or anything else, have one thing in common. Passion. Van Gogh didn’t choose to paint because it made him rich, Jimi Hendrix didn’t spend five years of the chitlin circuit for the fame. What drove them was passion for their art.
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As a photographer this is what can push you to new heights. As Chase Jarvis described it “Create, Share, Sustain”. Create work that you love, work that inspires you. Share that with the world. It’s not just images you are sharing, it’s also your passion. Finally, find some way to sustain that process. That may be possible within the field of photography or it may mean working a day job and devoting all your free time to your passion.
Consider two similar images, one created by a passion-driven photographer, the other by a photographer who’s heart is not in it and who has shot the photo solely for the money. While they might be the same technically, which one do you think will be better overall?
As you progress in your photography career, learn to say no to work that doesn’t excite you. I know the global economic situation is still a bit shaky and many photographers are feeling the tough times, but saying no to work that doesn’t inspire you can be very liberating. It frees you up to shoot the images that you want to shoot and to pursue the clients that you want to work for. If you can, don’t just say no but say no while offering a solution to the buyer. Recommend another photographer that you know does shoot the kind of work that’s on offer.
I’m sure that almost all working photographers have, at one time or another, taken a job solely for the money. You may have found yourself just going through the motions and doing the minimum possible to get the job done. Why? Probably because you’re not allowing your passion to guide you. When you look at the resulting images, you know that your heart wasn’t in it. Guess what. So does the client. If it happens too often you’re going to find that nobody approaches you with any work at all which will leave you in a much worse place financially than if you’d said no in the first place. If your heart is not in it, if it doesn’t excite you, say no. It will ultimately benefit your career as well as your creative drive as you free up time to focus on what you’re passionate about, and also can help the career of other photographers as you’re freeing up jobs that don’t excite you and leaving them for those who are excited by them. Aim to become a passion-driven photographer.
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