I’ve had some recent lessons in letting go of self-criticism and stepping up to own my expertise and talent as a photographer.It has taken reminders from several different sources to realize that:
- I’m not alone in having difficulty embracing that I’m good enough. I hear it from friends, online acquaintances, and family members who do many different kinds of work. They too struggle with feeling that their work is good enough. Looking back I see how this refrain has played out in many aspects of my life, and I see how it has been playing out in my photography as I often apologetically share my work.
“If it keeps coming up, it’s something you need to learn from” — Sue Bryce
- Enough already. Of course I am not Ansel Adams (are you?) There is always room for improvement and growth, but right here, right now, I am good enough to claim my expertise as a photographer (Insert your own expertise here please!)!
“We surrender our wholeness for a variety of reasons. Among the most compelling are our ideas of what being a good person is all about… The natural self, a complex living interchange of seemingly opposite characteristics, gets whittled down against some acquired standard of social and spiritual acceptability. Few of us are able to love ourselves as we are. We may even have become ashamed of our wholeness.” — Rachel Naomi Remen M.D., Kitchen Table Wisdom
If I compare myself with others I will always come up short. But when I look at my work and ask myself,
Do I like it?
Am I sharing the beauty I see in the world?
Am I making a positive difference?
The answer to all is “Yes!”
Your questions may be different questions. It depends upon what is important to you. But in the end, only you can decide to believe that you are good enough right now, right here, as you are this very moment.
This is a decision I make over and over again as I find it easy to slip into comparison, judgment, and that all too prevalent, “Who am to be …” mindset.
I am good enough—
- To call myself a professional photographer.
- To charge a fair price for my portrait photograph services.
- To stop comparing my work to the work of others in a negative way.
Why is it so easy for me to see all the flaws and things that could be improved in my work, and not see the joy that it already brings to me and many others?
Why do I think that because I developed this passion for photography later in life, that I need to apologize for my skill level? I’ve only been seriously doing this work for a little over 4 years. But look how far I have come in that time!
Actually, I don’t care about figuring out why. All I care about is going forward with positive confidence in my ability. Of course I will still make photographs that don’t work and make mistakes. That is part of the process.
Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.
Morihei Ueshiba
Life is a learning journey. I’ve always believed that if I’m not stretching myself and learning and growing, then I’m dying. We all die eventually, but focusing on staying at the learning and growing edge makes my life so much brighter and more interesting.
Based on my recent realization of how I was not owning my expertise and ability I’ve put together a list of intentions to remind me of how I want to be in my photography business:
It is my intention to:
- Value myself and my work.
- Develop a pricing model in my business that takes into account cost/profit/sustainability of my work.
- Confidently share my price model with potential clients
- Confront how I receive money as a photographer including my fears
- Continue to see beauty in myself, others, and the ordinary miracles that surround me every day
- Seek that which brings me joy in my work
Is there some area of your life where you need to claim that you are good enough? Isn’t it time to give up your worn-out stories and self-criticisms? Try saying with me now, “I am good enough right now!”
May you walk in beauty.
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