Instead of being overwhelmed by potential competition, this gave me hope, and I made another amazing discovery- all in all, this industry is one of comradery, not competition. There's some of both, definitely, but there is actually a weirdly compassionate atmosphere about other photographers in the industry.
So I got hungry for other photographers' experience, work, advice, and stories. I discovered and started following amazing people around the world that do amazing work. STORY TIME: I even met a small group of local photogs last spring, and that was maybe the most nervous I have been in my entire life. I know that in social situations where I know zero people I quite literally clam up and watch everyone else talk, and eventually someone will make a comment about how quiet I am, and I'll smile and be like, yeah, well. And that will be the extent of my interaction with the rest of the group. (That's more or less how it went, but I had a good time!)
Through following these people over the past year plus, I've gained a pretty solid idea of what's hot in the industry these days, got a feel for a few different trends, who's who, what's what; I've expanded my knowledge of the industry exponentially and I feel like my work has improved drastically in the past year.
So why do I now feel more doubtful and anxiety-ridden than perhaps I ever have?
Because there is a fine line between finding inspiration in the amazing work of amazing people, and then comparing your own work to theirs and knowing (not thinking, knowing) deep down that you will never even come close to creating something so awesome, so why bother even trying.
I am so sick of feeling this way and have decided that I need to stop, stop, stop following and comparing myself to other photographers for a while, as much as I will miss seeing some really amazing work. But I still want to not cut myself off completely, so I asked myself: of the few dozen photographers I follow, who truly most inspires me to be 1) a better photographer, 2) a better business owner, and 3) a better person?
It was actually really easy to narrow it down, and I want to share this little list because I think these people's blogs are all worth following even if you're not into wedding photography (though that might help just a tad).
Sam Hurd inspires me to be a better photographer by constantly pushing the boundaries. He'll post experimental images, saying "I'm not sure if this works or not but here's what I did," and it's some weird, awesome idea like inverted silhouettes. Looking at Sam's work makes me think, 'huh, what if I tried this...' And that's kind of the entire point: trial, error, and creative discovery. Using the medium to its fullest potential.
Katelyn James inspires me to be a better business owner. She's a teacher and business coach and also churns out consistently solid, bold, colorful work to her many wedding couples. I find the advice she constantly posts so valuable.
Mary Marantz inspires me to be a better person and keep on pursuing those crazy dreams. I have days where I simply feel like giving up, and then I will read her latest blog post and wonder how on earth she knows exactly what I need to hear in order to keep on trucking.
I hope this is a step in the right direction, and that I'll be a bit more at peace with myself and my work. Just look at this happy face, all looking off optimistically towards the future and stuff.
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