For Photographers: Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle

For Photographers

April 24, 2013

Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle”
-unknown

I heard this quote a while ago and although I can’t remember who said it (my bad!!!), I thought it was super appropriate to blog about this today….because today is the two year anniversary of the very first wedding that I shot! Happy two year anniversary Tara and Dave!!

When I first started shooting, I remember feeling so disappointed that the images I was taking weren’t the quality that I wanted. They looked NOTHING like the work of the photographers I admired and looked up to for inspiration. Honestly? They were kind of BAD. But that was okay, because I was starting out, learning how to use my camera and the light, and I wasn’t charging much at the time. All of my clients knew that I was starting out and by hiring me they were taking a risk on someone new. But I wasn’t happy with my work. I compared myself on every level to people who had been shooting for years and then would feel so terrible about myself. My work wasn’t all that terrible considering I literally just picked up a camera one day and started shooting friends for free, but I was comparing myself to photographers who had been honing their craft for some time. Obviously their work wasn’t going to be the same as mine. It’s good that I saw their work and it gave me something to strive for, but I don’t think it was helpful for me to constantly beat myself up because I wasn’t on their level already after shooting a couple of months.

When I say don’t compare your beginning, I’m not just talking about your work…I’m talking about your business in general! I JUST RECENTLY bought a full frame camera even though I’ve been shooting for two years now. When I was starting out, I was really ashamed of my camera! It wasn’t the best, top of the line camera….it was a prosumer body that no one I looked up to owned. A lot of times GUESTS would be shooting alongside me with better cameras…awkward! But as I wrote before,owning a 50d first taught me A LOT and I believe it really helped my photography skills develop faster because I had to learn that camera inside and out to push it to achieve the look I wanted. So the real reason I was ashamed of my camera was because I was comparing myself  to other photographers who were more established. Comparing myself to people who had busted their butts to save up for those mkiis and mkiiis.

Here’s an image from 2011.

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And here’s a similar one I took this year:

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Big difference right??? The poses are kind of similar, but the lighting, compositions, aperture I was using, etc are totally different! It took me a couple of years to get to this point, but to be completely honest with you guys, I’m JUST NOW getting to a place where I look at my work and think to myself, wow I actually did a good job! Maybe I’m overcritical of myself, but I know I’m not the only one out there:) This post is just as much for me as it is to help anyone else! Haha. But seriously.

When I compare my current work to my past work, I feel really proud of how far I’ve come.Photography really is a JOURNEY!! And comparing yourself to yourself is a much better barometer of your skills than comparing yourself to someone who may or may not have been shooting a lot longer. Give yourself a break and keep working hard! It’s important to keep in mind that everyone has their own path to walk and almost everyone is at different points in that process! I am still not as good as the people I look up to now, though I am definitely striving to be on that level! I don’t think it’s bad to look up to people and respect their work and even be inspired by them…I think that’s great, and finding mentors and inspiration is an important part of the process too. BUT, I don’t think you should waste your time directly comparing yourself to others. Because guess what? They’re not you…you are.

 

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  1. Tara Shaw says:

    Thank you Katie and I’m very glad we were able to grant you your start. It makes me super happy to know you are chasing your dreams. Xoxo

  2. Kat says:

    This is a great reminder for me and photography…and pretty much every other area of life 🙂 If you have the info, would you mind sharing the settings for the newer photograph? I love your photos how the foreground is so crisp and the background blurry. I still struggle with that balance.

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