Dear new photographer….   a special reminder just for you

“I feel so behind in photog life”  she said to me.  

I have a combination of two emotions when I hear these words…. 1.  Excitement for her and her eagerness to improve.   2.  A little bit of a heart-drop because I want to badly for her to embrace every little step and not wish it away.  

There is something truly magical about those first few years.  And I constantly tell women that I mentor or work with.  Don’t wish it away!  Enjoy! Enjoy these moments where you have a small victory daily or weekly.   All those “first”  my first image with bokeh, my first image sunflare, the first time I understood skin tones, my first REAL client, my first profit….. The list goes on and on.  

Those firsts are so FUN and so important.  We can’t just skip by all those milestones big or small.  Plus people sometimes underestimate the power of sharing our journey….. The failures and the successes.  The messy half to the success. 

Is it more fun to read someone’s real story or just their end result?  The whole thing right?  It’s not that interesting to just show up one day and be amazing.  It’s WAY more interesting to talk and share about what is hard, what makes us unique, and what separates us from the rest.  

I think sharing the journey in the beginning for me was more about having NO idea where I was going.  I didn’t pick up my camera and just know that I wanted to shoot weddings.  There was an evolution of events (and people) that kinda led me there.  

There is a difference in liking the idea of something vs hiking on a rocky beaten path daily to get us somewhere.  Trust me the rocky beaten path will take care of the end result if we focus on the path and not the pot of gold.  Plus, in my experience that is the fun part…. 

So enjoy every moment, you are not alone or left out, or behind.  You are just right.  And if you are learning and investing in your dreams, then trust me, the outcome will take care of itself.  

I still feel “behind” in many things, but that feeling often propels my desire to get better… which is why I have that excited emotion for my sweet photog pal.  But I also so badly want her to look in the mirror and realize how perfect, and on time, she already is.  

Now booking Spring mentoring Sessions!