Do You Doubt Your Talent as a Photographer?

December 16, 2009

by scottbourne

Welcome to the club. If you’re at all a sincere, thoughtful or introspective person, you’ve asked yourself the question – “Am I really any good?” or something similar.

You’re not alone. Most of us have asked that question at some point in time. You ARE good enough. Now you may not be good enough to get the cover of Time Magazine. You may not be good enough to sell $25,000 weddings, but you ARE good enough to help, and I do mean REALLY help folks who want to protect their memories.

The self-doubt stuff is normal, but it’s not helpful. The energy you expend there isn’t going to make you a better photographer. It’s better to ask more pointed questions. Like, “How can I make myself a better photographer?” or “How can I get more people to understand how valuable my services can be?”

Start telling yourself a different story about your ability. Start writing down your desire to help others. Share your dream to be meaningful and helpful with your friends and family.

Then, stop and be thankful for all the things you have access to that will help you reach the goals.

When self-doubt starts to creep back in, reinforce yourself with positive influences. Excise the people in your life who don’t support you in your goal to become a helpful photographer. Remove any influence whatsoever that gets in the way of your dreams. Seriously.

Lastly, recognize that the camera looks both ways. If you can become confident, happy, upbeat and ready to help, that will translate to better pictures all by itself because the people on the other end of the camera will notice. That will make them more photogenic. And that doesn’t have a single thing to do with gear or photographic technique or photographic experience. It simply has to do with refusing to let your opinion of your circumstances guide your actions. You ARE good enough. Now go out there and show the world.