Shooting for love not money
I wrote about this recently and wanted to open it up a little more.
The process of becoming a more professional photographer, however you choose to verify that, is always a different path for everyone. I was speaking to my mum the other day and she asked if our students received any kind of certificate for completing the course, and I couldn’t help immediately think, ‘but how would that help them?’
I know there are perfectly quantifiable photography qualifications out there but I honestly feel it has to be more about the joy and connection you feel from taking photographs that light you up, rather than having a qualification which confirms you are capable. One of the perfectly acceptable ways is to earn from it however.
In the beginning we shot for love, some weeks every single blooming day! We planned people, places, clothes, I did the makeup if needed, and we just kept shooting. There was an excitement, and it definitely wasn’t because we thought someone might book us, but more that we LOVED the experience of being with people, listening, watching, learning , shooting and seeing the results.
At the end of last year we were so tired. After three years of pivoting our business from Wedding photography, which didn’t suit the lifestyle we needed for our kids - to teaching online, writing books and trying to figure out which other areas of photography would fit in. Not only the financial needs we had, but also the creative needs too.
It may sound a bit, well, spoilt, but we were trying things out, searching for genres of work that would fit in with the time we had built and the style we so wanted to keep and nurture. I will be honest and tell you that it wasn’t all stars and rainbows. There were jobs we put our ALL into, that put us in terribly awkward positions, those trembly knee moments when you think, ‘why on earth did i think this was a good idea?’ Times when we were completely out of our comfort zones, personally and even technically. We would spend hours researching studio lighting set ups, product photography, fashion, families and even estate agency photography. But the one element we kept forgetting was where our JOY and LOVE had gone in the midst of it all.
Lots of times we reminded ourselves that working on things you don’t really love to do is just the way. So many other people go to their jobs each day and don’t necessarily LOVE their work, but it provides food, security, holidays, and sometimes things we couldn’t even imagine being able to look forward to. So often we follow the work, not just for the money but for the verification that we’re doing ok, we’re professional.
But what if you could shoot for LOVE not MONEY and the JOY you feel can be felt by others too? What if you broke that chain of work = money and could even just once a week or once a month choose to shoot for you? because for most, I’m sure picking up a camera was more of a joy in the beginning? Maybe the light you bring back in, the doing it for you and only you could make a difference to the way you approach new work in the future? or perhaps someone you didn’t expect will see and feel what you wanted them to?
It’s all a risk, ALL of it. And never a right way. But if all we ever did was chase the cash to feel qualified in some way, I have a feeling it might be the wrong way to go about it.
I’m interested to see what you could create if it was only for the LOVE?
Camera \\ Sony a7iii
Lenses \\ Sony 55mm, Sony 35mm
Editing Presets \\ Cine
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