Time out y’all! Just relax and just breathe. It will all be, in the words of The Little Rascalls,  “OOOOOOTAYYYY”!

Drama. Rants. Attitude problems. Harsh remarks. Antagonizing statuses. Would you believe that this is how some photographers actually conduct themselves online/in public? Not only in front of their peers, but their clients?!

True story.

So sad, but so true!

As photographers we put ourselves, our souls, our hearts and our work on display for all to see. Whether we are just starting out, or 10 year veterans in the industry, it can still be intimidating to post some of our work in fear that it will be perceived negatively or hated by people who’s opinions matter most to us.

As “newbies” are saturating the industry there has been much debate as to whether more established photographers should embrace them, or let fall flat on their faces.

Now, this topic, at least in the photography world, is about as controversial as the next presidential debate….So, in interest of not fueling fire here, I want to state that this blog post is MY opinion and is not to be taken as the thoughts or views of photographers as a whole. They are simply my thoughts.

I have heard from a lot of “newbies” that they don’t know where to begin. They feel intimated. Unsupported. Lost.

Now, unless you were born with the ability to do what you do now, we were all in that place at one time. Scared. Uneasy about taking the first steps to open our businesses, let alone pick up a camera and publish our first “professional photos”.

When I published my first few photos, I had my close and dear friends saying how “beautiful” they were. I had my clients saying how much they “love” their photos. I thought I was off to a great start. But then I got the malicious comments or jabs saying that I was a “joke”. I should “just quit before I start”. I was even told “I was hurting the industry by even calling myself professional and that making a business page on Facebook doesn’t make me “professional.”

Just when I thought the attacks made directly to my face (or directly on my Facebook wall) were bad enough, I heard through the grape vine that other local photographers were actually hanging out, looking at my work, and laughing hysterically at me over a glass of wine.

In the words of Stephanie Tanner– “How Rude!” : )     — Work with my guys, I am so not a doom and gloom negative person so this post is hard to write so I am trying to keep it light : )

Anyway, the nastiness. The sting. The audacity these strangers had,  they left me wounded and speechless.

Regardless, after a few heart to hearts with my closest friends and family, I was left empowered. I was never more proud that my mama raised me with some thick skin and passed on an insane “over achiever complex” to me. The criticism, the hateful words—– they actually helped me. They pushed me to learn my craft. Work hard. Then, work harder. (Believe, I am still working hard–no where near the level I want to be–but still pushing on : P )

The sleepless nights, hundreds of dollars invested in online classes, conferences, and books. Yes– they all helped me in my  budding career to the extent that any knowledge is empowering, but it was the support from members of the industry (more established than I) that actually granted me the right to succeed. They pushed me to try new things. Experiment. Develop my eye.

I swore that if I ever became as good as them, as popular as them, as successful as them… that I would pay it forward. I am no where near their levels of greatness yet, but I am beginning to see that the number of “likes” on Facebook, or the amount of comments I receive on one post or picture, does not denote my success or my ability to or not to help others.

So I think the only way to help and enlighten either the offenders or defenders in this industry it to point out some truths that I think fuel some photographers to be so hateful and truly unprofessional towards others:

Truth One:

What I think, and again this is solely based on opinion, is that some photographers feel as though “newbies” should have to put in as much time and effort as they once did to get to where they are now. Established photographers understand that this business, that this industry, is not just a way to make a quick buck. This industry takes a lot of time, money and sacrifice. Be it those sleepless nights, those lovely start up costs, or the constant investment into yourself and your gear….being a photographer comes with a great deal of personal, financial, physical and emotional sacrifice.

It is only natural for people to be upset or angered by people who do not pay their “dues” and seem to have success handed to them on a silver platter. Either they are getting booked more and faster because they are naturally better or faster learners…. or have more money or have more time to invest than you. Anger could also be stemmed from the fact that others charge less, have a quicker turn over rate, and/or have more connections in higher places. Whatever it may be, jealousy and anger are natural—but also very useless reactions.

Being jealous or angry or hateful towards others doesn’t get you anywhere. And when you call someone out, talk behind their backs in public forums, or even insult them directly…you are only hurting yourself and your business. Like I say to everyone that asks me how I deal with ‘haters’: LET THEM HATE. HATERS GUNNA HATE! Let them waste their time trying to bring you and your business down. Why? Because the more time they spend trying to tear you down, the less time they have to work on improving their own craft/business.

So, what if these “newbies” are ‘technically’ worse then you? Remember, art is subjective. That doesn’t mean attack them and call them “wanna-be’s” or “jokes”. That means, you either help them or you ignore them. Just work harder on perfecting yourself, not worrying about someone else’s journey. SELL THE HECK OUT OF YOURSELF AND YOUR BRAND. No one can be YOU. No one is YOU. So seriously, just rock you to the most authentic of levels and the clients you are meant to have will come.

Truth Two:

The better you are, the more they will find a reason to hate you. Like say you went out and got a new car. You think its fabulous. Its perfect in every way. But then you best friend, whose has money to burn, buys themselves an even better car. An even more perfect car. You feel dejected. Burned. You feel angry and you feel jealous! ALL NATURAL FEELINGS FOLKS. But here is the tricky part.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT? Do you attack your friend by calling them spoiled? Do you point out anything and everything that you can find wrong with the car just to make yours look or seem better? Or do you smile, tell them you are happy for them, and move on? I would hope that you would go and focus on the car that you own that was once so perfect in every way and ROCK THAT CAR! Rock what you got.

(Bear with me—I am horrible at analogies—but I am trying here folks)

Basically–when you see someones image and it is “better than yours” and they are half as experienced as you…you can either choose to find whats wrong in their image or blame their success on beginners luck….or you can complement them, encourage them and respect them as someone whom is truly working on their craft and trying to build a name for themselves in one of most competitive industries there are. In turn–they are improving industry expectations and standards.

 

TRUTH 3:

Sadly, there are people out there that get sincere joy out of putting you down. Sadly, some people need constant validation and there is strength in numbers. Even negative numbers. What I mean by this is, people feed off of drama. It becomes a secret or guilty pleasure to actually participate in bringing someone down, so they themselves, can feel bigger. Say your favorite photographer makes a comment or status update about  another photographer or things they hate that photographers do. When you jump on the band wagon by liking that status, or unnecessarily involving yourself by leaving a comment…you are validating that photographers negative plea for validation and attention. If it has nothing to do with you, just leave it alone.

Again, for some….Negative attention is better than NO attention.

It doesn’t have to be this way folks. When you see negative comments. Drama filled posts and rants. TURN AWAY! Block their statuses from your new feed or block them all together. If you have friends telling you what other people are saying about you or your work—kindly tell them to stop. Why do you even care? Let them talk. Again—more talking about you….less time talking to their clients!

Truth 4:

Success can go to ones head. It takes over your mood, attitude, voice and body language. Confidence, as a photographer is something we should have . Over confidence and cockiness is not! Remaining humble when you seem to be an overnight success….or remaining humble after booking 25 weddings in a year is key. Sure we are all entitled to bragging rights here and there. I mean we work hard and when we reach success and happiness we want to scream from the roof tops that we “made it!”

Here is where there is a misstep in the industry: Success DOES NOT give you the right to talk to others like they are dirt. To talk down to them as if they are stupid. To go all over town saying “Im just that good”. You weren’t ALWAYS that good and chances are that you have a lot of help getting there. Encourage people that success is not an overnight thing. It takes time. Encourage “newbies” that there IS a time to celebrate your success and milestones in the industry. Making strides, improving and learning is what we all should be after on a daily basis. Whether we have been in the game for 10 years or 1, I sincerely hope we are all challenging ourselves to learn something new each day and develop our crafts even further.

 

Truth 5:

There is no cookie cutter mold solution to this. We can all insist that we should be kind to one another. If you don’t have anything nice to say, DON’T say it! If you want to succeed, work hard. These lessons—usually taught to us around the age of 5–seem to completely dissipate in our adult years. The pressures, stresses and insecurities we are faced with in the “real world” and no longer under the protective wings of our parents are scary. Its like trying to fit in in grade school all over again.

 My tips for a relative solution are simple:

1. Never give up. When you feel lost, attacked, defeated and threatened—go back and look at the first “professional” image you ever took. Compare it to your most recent. Have you grown? Have you learned? Have you improved? If you answered yes—then you are in fact succeeding. Just give it time. In terms of haters, take a step back before lashing out and responding right away. Instead of seeking negative attention, surround yourself with people that love you and genuinely support you. That will be all the validation you need…and all the validation that really matters.

2. Make yourself a promise. It is easier to keep promises to yourself that others. Make the commitment to really invest. If you invest 50% into your work and craft, expect to only get 50% success in return. Its all or nothing guys. Give it your all and then give it more….Work hard now so you hardly have to work later : P (Thanks for that lesson gramps)

3. Watch your mouth, because your clients certainly are. People aren’t stupid or blind. Especially prospective clients. You think they want to see you running your mouth about another photographer, talking ill of your fellow colleagues in the industry? You think they want to hire someone that is negative, starts drama, or attracts negative attention? NO! So don’t air your dirty laundry and keep your business drama free!

4. Don’t be jealous of anthers persons success….there is more than enough success out there for everyone. Of course we all want to be the biggest, the best, just plain awesome sauce all around…but some people have to work harder towards that then others. Believe me, I am not the quickest of learners. I have to read, re-read and practice things until I am blue int he face before I can “master” it. Congratulate others on their good fortune and just maybe karma will deliver good fortune in return.

5. BE HUMBLE. BE SELFLESS. Being a selfish and condescending person will get you no where. You will fizzle out and be left behind by those that have offered help and guidance to others without an expectation of anything in return. I may not know it all, but if I am asked a question, I answer it honestly and candidly. I try to help others in any way I can and I actually wind up learning more from them. Never let the success go to your head and get so big and so inflated you miss all the amazingness that is happening around you. Enjoy your success along with your failure. They do in fact, go hand in hand : )

So, here is to failing before you succeed. Here is to being kind and helpful in all that you do and say. Here is to being selfless and not selfish. Here is to being PROFESSIONAL always! Here is to positive attention over negative. Here is to success in whatever time or fashion it appears. And here is to the hard work that is needed for our industry to remain a positive, effective and successful one!

Stay all those things and above!

<3 Kaitlin Noel Photography