I Need To Shoot More…
So I got caught up in thoughts of work, and taking daily actions this morning… and somehow that ended up with my spending hours perusing food and stock photography websites.
Not only did I browse a lot of sites from other photographers, but I started taking some hard looks at my own too. And I again found myself torn about where I want to go with future efforts.
I love taking pictures. Whether I plan to just use them on my own websites or put them at my online stock agencies for licensing, I simply enjoy the process. I want to make more money with those pictures too though, and that’s where I always find myself between a rock and a hard spot.
On the one hand I need to do the day to day drudge work that brings in regular money. And for me at the moment that involves writing. A lot. Writing a lot of content each day takes away both time and energy from my photography though, so too often I find myself going for days - sometimes weeks - without having done any new shoots. And that’s where the catch 22 comes into play… How am I supposed to make money from my stock photos if I’m not building my portfolios every day, but how am I supposed to have time for building those portfolios if they’re not yet making enough money to support us?
And then of course there’s the whole will power and self discipline thing. Once upon a time I had no problems focusing on getting things done. A lot of things done. In fact, it was nothing for me to work 12 hours a day or more regularly. These days though, I seem to struggle just to make myself work 4 hours.
I’m pretty sure I’m just going through an adjustment period in life though. Now that three of the four kids are grown and gone, I don’t have the daily panic about being able to provide for them, and there’s not as much urgency to make sure more money is flowing in to cover the bills. I’ve actually gotten things decently stable for the most part, and I’ve gotten way too comfortable in the process.
I’m fooling myself though, because that stability is only there if I continue working the way I have been all these years. If I decide to change it all up and do something completely new, then most of the existing income falls to the wayside.
Another part of my problem I think, is that I’ve been working for the money over the last 10 years. Instead of doing things I enjoy and making money from those things, I’ve been doing things which I knew would pay the bills. And that has just served to make me feel burned out, restless, and bored.
So I need to make the transition - finally - to doing more things that I enjoy and simply letting the money take care of itself. Instead of writing content about stuff I have no interest in so that other people can grow their websites… I need to start doing more of my own stuff again. Taking pictures, writing about stuff I have an interest in, and generally just living and enjoying life more.
I have a blast taking food pictures for instance, and I started a food photography blog a month or two ago as an attempt to showcase some of those photos. Originally I think I’d hoped to inspire myself to do food shots more often, but that hasn’t really happened much yet. And this morning I started wondering: why not?
And I think my answer is: I’ve been lazy.
With a little bit of effort, I can push myself into the habit of taking daily pictures. Hell I could just choose a recipe each day, and cook it then shoot it, and I’d be much happier with the progress of both my food photo site and my stock portfolios. Plus I’d be doing something I enjoy much more.
Many productive, successful writers have a mantra: 1000 words per day. In other words, come hell or high water, they write a minimum of 1000 words every single day. On bad days those words might be pure junk that’s destined for the trash can, but the point is: They make themselves do it. Whether they feel like it or not. And that habit usually serves to push them forward no matter what else is happening in their lives.
I need to do the same with my photography. Obviously it can’t be 1000 pictures a day, but it could be something as simple as 10. Or even 1. One good photo every day would move me forward inch by inch.
Breaking past my laziness is the biggest obstacle of the moment, but I think given enough time and effort, it will be more than worth it.
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