So this is the third or fourth time I’ve tried writing this damned post. What starts out as a focused thought about one particular thought quickly devolves into a long and convoluted… I dunno… piece of shit rambling. Let’s try again. Here’s this most awesome piece of insight I’ve had about my art and photography in a long time: success breeds success.
I’m not talking about print sales or landing well-paid wedding gigs – I mean the mere act of taking a great photograph. The more great images we take, the more great images we’re going to continue to take. It’s that simple and I don’t know how the hell this realization has eluded me for so long. In every other area of life, I know this to be true!
Success as a Motivator?
Look, photography is a craft that we need to continually work on in order to achieve (on a regular basis) great photographs. Want gallery-worthy images? If you’ve shot 15 or 20 of those in the past 6 months, then it’s pretty likely that you will continue to shoot great stuff. Why? Because shooting great stuff gives us energy and vitality. We get an artistic and intellectual chubby when we nail that shot.
And, if we’re not doing that, then our energy for our craft drops and it gets harder and harder to even pick up our fucking camera, let alone concentrate on getting great pictures.
It’s a vicious cycle. And one that I need to break out of. Been too long since I’ve gotten a shot that I can really claim to be a “success”. I’m promising you all now that I am going to find the time to start getting out, shooting more, and getting back to achieving success through the lens.
Please hold me accountable by posting comments here or over on the Polarizing Images podcast where Tony and Rick can chime in on your thoughts, too!
Wish me luck.
Rob Domaschuk, a professional photographer and educator, is not only the guy behind ShootHybrid.com but also one of the owners of the Chicagoland Digital Photography Meetup Group (one of the largest Meetup groups in the country) and one of the co-hosts on the semi-weekly podcast, Polarizing Images.
Domaschuk has quickly taken hold of the new hybrid imaging era in photography and, drawing upon almost 15 years of corporate training experience, he is now focusing his photo education efforts on helping both the amateur and professional photographer develop their skills in this new area of photography.
