Helping hands in this industry.

Photographers are cut throat. Most of the young photographers I have met are a lot like me, struggling to find their niche, their own brand, and a style they can stick with. The industry is so heavily saturated with professional photographers, and amateurs gaining valuable experience quickly (like me) that it's hard to differentiate. Photographers that have been in business for 15, 20+ years are starting to reconstruct their practices because the industry has made a rapid sprint towards social media, networking and branding rather than the old staple of canvas backdrops and studio lighting.

As I lay in bed last night recalling all the blogs written by inspiring photographers that I have been reading, about what the jump from "career" or "school" to full time photographer is like for people, I felt glad. Glad that I had virtually nothing to lose. I was an ambitious 25 year old who was finally finishing her bachelor's degree, I worked in a restaurant and got paid enough to make my house payment. That was all I had. I didn't give up much to make the change. And as I look back sometimes I wonder what actually gave me the big push to go "full time". I think it was an evolution; of my skills, of my client base, and of my interest in the medium. As I learned more, I loved it more. I have many people and blogs to credit for my photography education! Its thanks to the many talented photographers who began posting insider details on blogs, and putting tutorials on youtube and before and after post processing shots in their portfolios. It is them I thank for my education. But my business sense I learned from my own experience. I learned from the mistakes and misfortunes of others in customer service, because after all that's what this business is. I knew from my parents that owning a small business was work. Hard, long work. I knew that my conversations at the dinner table would slowly change from weekend plans to details about current projects. That my time at home was spent at a desk, though in my pjs, I was still working as hard as the lady in the next cubicle would be at a real office. I knew my heart and my soul would be exposed for all to see, and that my morals and ethics would be the staples of my operation. I knew I needed a solid foundation to stand on, only because I've seen what happens when you build on unstable ground. It was this knowledge that lit my path in the beginning. My history and my previous experience in many different businesses, some failing and some successful guided me through the evolution of hobby to business.

It wasn't until I heard of Jasmine Star that I had read about those same ideals and concepts so readily and so thorough, published for all to see, for the photography industry. She's no holds barred. She never claims to know it all, she only presents it just as she has experienced it, for you to read and gather what you wish, and leave the rest behind for someone else.

While she is inspiring, this post isn't about J* in particular, it's about the helping hands of this industry as a whole. Jasmine Star may or may not make up more than 50% of that in my opinion, but it's for all of those inspiring photographers who put themselves out their. It's also about my attempts to be a part of that movement. My goal in writing a blog is for exposure, for my work, but most of all for my personality, as much as it is a mental release and a journal. In a world where quality, above-and-beyond customer service comes by about as often as leap year, I hope to give clients a good idea of what working with me would be like. And in that to like it, or leave it. So, I will continue to voice my opinions, and give advice though I may hardly seem credible. I will continue to educate others of skills and trades I have learned. Why? Because if you were a friend or a stranger, sitting right here in this room, I would do that for you. I bag strangers groceries in the self-checkout lane because they're busy with their 3 small children. I tell people about products I use when they're shopping in the same aisle for like items at Target. I tell people when the dress I'm wearing cost $3 at goodwill. I hope that my helpful gestures are passed on from that person, to another. And the same goes for this industry.

A helping hand goes along way spread by word of mouth, or "word of mouse" (as J* says).

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Jasmine Star, Starting a Photography Business blog post | 7.27.2011


Happy Wednesday!