How many times have you become frustrated because you weren’t where you wanted to be in your business? Maybe you felt like you hadn’t grown technically, or you are at a standstill with projects because you can’t think of anything new? Maybe you are even discouraged, or have had a series of photo shoots you aren’t proud of. How many times have you compared yourself to other photographers – hoping you would one day be like them?
I am guilty of thinking of or doing all these things, and it took a while for me to realize that these things happen often because I lack inspiration of my OWN. My life was so busy, that anytime I had a moment to think, I was often spending my time on Facebook, and that became a HUGE distraction for me.
I wanted to write this blog post to hopefully help other creatives out there be more inspired in their work. Here are some things I have been doing recently that have helped me. What do you do that inspires you?
- Write down what or who inspires YOU and keep it handy: How often have you compared your work or your business to others in the industry? I used to do it every other week. At least! And it is incredibly unhealthy to do this when you aren’t digging deep into your own heart for your OWN inspiration. Something that helped me stop the comparison game was to just write down what inspires me. Super simple, right? The best part is that by writing down what inspires me, it is unique to just ME. It helps to narrow my focus when my mind starts to wander into the world of Comparison. So, just listen for one sec. This is probably the most important thing I am going to write on this post. You are uniquely YOU! What inspires YOU? Did you catch that key word? It’s YOU! Here is my list, but, more importantly, what is yours?
Stacy’s inspiration:
– Addisyn and Kellan
– Taking pictures for fun with no pressure of time limits
– Families!
– Date nights with Steve
– Reading my bible and journaling
– Finding pretty light
– Learning how to homeschool and do more home projects
– Interior Design/Decorating my house
– Warm & cozy nooks in the house
– Warm autumn afternoons with windows open in my house
– Country living
– Crafting
– Reading my favorite blogs
– Reading in general
– Couples in love
– The connection between two people who love each other
– Exercising to clear my mind and feel accomplished
– Work from Laura Gordon, Justin and Mary, Eric McVey, Jose Villa
- Shut down social media a few hours before you start work: Social media is an awesome tool for a photography business because it is a FREE place to display your work, but it can also be a place to get sucked in. Especially sucked into comparison. I think Facebook is also a great place to be inspired! But, if you don’t intend on being sucked in when you sit down to write a blog post or edit your photos, or before you get ready for a shoot, do not open social media. It can go from inspiration to discouragement pretty fast. Something I did was to delete my FB app from my phone. It was a place that I went to out of habit, but it only left me distracted away from my work and even my role as a wife and mom. Set limits for yourself and stick to them.
- Invest in education: Okay, I probably took this to the extreme this year by paying for three coaching/mentor sessions from three well respected and AMAZING photographers and businesses. I will admit that three coaching session is probably a bit too much, but for me –in hindsight — it was totally needed. Going to three within a three month period allowed me to gather a whole bunch of info and decipher what would and would not work for me as far as the way I want to run my business. Everyone does it differently! And to be honest, there is no ONE way to be the best. Before choosing a mentor session, research the person whose business you most respect. Save up and then purchase that mentor session! I guarantee you will came back from that mentor session super driven and super inspired.
- Disconnect for a day – Are you in an artistic or blogging rut? Then it might be best for you to shut down the business for the day. This is the time to look at your inspiration list and to start doing something off that list. I guarantee you will come up with a handful of ideas — or at the very least, feel good about yourself while you are doing that other activity that inspires you. The other day I started decorating Addisyn and Kellan’s schoolroom, and when I was finished for the day I was so inspired to create things. I wanted to take pictures and hang things and craft and paint. It was fabulous!
- Pick up your camera for fun: This is HUGE for me. Sometimes I come home from a shoot and I look at the gallery and think of a few handfuls of things I should have done, but didn’t. I think everyone gets like that a little bit, and I also don’t think it is a bad thing. When we get too comfortable with our work then there is no room to grow. So being a little uncomfortable and critiquing our own work can be a good thing. But, I have noticed that on the days that I pick my camera up to bring with me on a trip to the local farmer’s market, I have a blast with looking for the best composition or softest and most flattering light. And it challenges me in a whole new way. It forces me to slow down and really look for my shots instead of just lifting my camera to my eye and cropping in post processing. So next time you think you are going to run out for errands, just bring that camera with you.
+1 – Read more books on your craft and your business. I haven’t practiced this tip myself, but I plan to do it this last quarter and ongoing into 2015. Admittedly, this is something I want to be better in. While I read a ton of blog posts about photography, my business book catalog is looking rather bleak. Which is awful!!!
Dave Ramsey says, “The next five years of your life will be determined by the people you meet and the books you read.” If we aren’t being inspired to learn more, then how will we grow our business? If we are comfortable with where we are artistically, how will our love for the art of photography get deeper. We need to challenge ourselves and start reading from those who have walked the steps before us. I just ordered two books on Amazon this week so I can’t wait to read them this quarter. I plan to give book recommendations in the future.
XO!
Stacy
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