I am a professional photographer, the question I am often asked is if I do photography full time, and I wish I could say yes. However, in an economy where professional photos are a luxury many, many professional photographers have a second job for a steady income. So the question becomes how do we make time for photography when we have other jobs, family, and social lives to maintain too?
Sometimes, it feels like we live to work and are on the go constantly with zero downtime. We call this time our busy season and for some photographers it is longer than others. And still yet other photographers figure out the key to earning money, balancing all aspects of their life and having the time to do the photography they dream of. What is the secret?
Integrate Photography Into Your Daily Life
This one is pretty simple, it is basically the bring a camera everywhere with you sentiment. This doesn’t always mean your professional body, it just means any camera. So cell phones count. The idea it is to take a picture daily that speaks to you that is meaningful in some way or just pretty.
I have been so guilty of missing shots because I don’t have my professional body with me so I don’t try even though I have literally taken award winning images on tragically terrible cell phones. It is hard to break away from the logic that is has to be our very best camera.
I will say do not let your self get sucked into trying to capture every little thing. Sometimes living the moment beats a bad photo of the moment.
Time Management
It goes without saying that in life you have to manage your time wisely and yes that means defeating the procrastination dragon too. And yes I realize it is hard to manage your time when some of the things you want to do with a camera relies heavily on a model or another party and they never make time.
So hassle them, or find someone else to complete the project. Find a way to make it happen and you will be happy you do.
Overcoming the Need for Perfectionism
We are artist and as such sometimes we get in our own way. We want our art to be perfect. We want to easily bring to life the vision in our head and can get burnt out, frustrated, and let down when our skill level doesn’t match the artist we are in our head.
Believe me I have been there. I have wasted time mentally berating myself for not being perfect and nailing every shot. For not bringing the image in my head to life. And you know what that did to me? It made me put the camera down for extended periods, it made me sad, and stressed, ultimately it affected my abilities more than accepting that I. needed more practice, more time with a camera so I could live up to the artist I am in my head.
Do not let the idea of perfectionism cause you to practice less. You reach perfection when you learn, practice, and enjoy what you do. Perfection is impossible to maintain, and to achieve. Nothing is ever truly perfect. But you know what is?
Magical images that speak to viewer and artist a like. Images we didn’t even imagine or fret over. Images we didn’t know we wanted to create but did because we didn’t let the idea of perfection hold us back.
Make It a Habit
When you make photography a habit, then you do photography more. It really is that simple. But go further make it a habit that you do for you. You do not have to share all your images with the world. You don’t even have to make it a habit you do well 100% of the time.
Make it a habit to take bad, good, and great photos.
Just make it a habit to create and the rest will come with time. One photo a day is still a photographer working even if its a grasshopper resting on the ledge of a brick window sill at your day job.
Finally, Have Fun With It
Photography is meant to be more than a job. It is meant to be fun, relaxing, and a means to let our artistic selves thrive. Yes we work for clients, and do events, and get run ragged but we have to keep the job alive that initially drew us to photography in the first place.
That means doing fun, creative sessions for ourselves. That means taking a holiday dedicated to something we want to do if we are taking a camera for the sole purpose of creation.
That means saying no to photography clients or assignments that do not bring us joy. We can always make time for things we love, but forcing ourselves to make time for things we tolerate sucks the joy and ultimately has us falling into a cycle where we just do not have the time for photography.