Investing in other photographers { be savvy }
In a society where we are constantly told to focus on ourselves, buy things for ourselves, only look out for our selves, and to not share our knowledge with others so we can better…. you guessed it, ourselves, Its no wonder why we find ourselves alone. Well Im here to tell you why thats all a lie, all those things you’ve been told to do by this world. The photography industry is so competitive and extremely saturated, and more “keep everything you know to yourself and ignore everyone who asks because you gotta help yourself.” Phew, that was a long sentence but NO. No, you’re missing it. Do you want to know the one thing I KNOW I am doing right? Making relationships with others in this industry, talking about anything and everything with them over coffee and actually being intentional to invest in those relationships, its a breath of fresh air and the greatest gift. Here is three reasons why:
1.Exchanging business:
I absolutely love that in my circle of photographer friends it isn’t all about competition. Honestly, I hope we all make it and get to live out our dreams and have successful businesses! Having a good and trustworthy circle of photographer friends that I can pass referrals onto gives me such a peace at mind knowing that clients will be well taken care of and I am giving a friend business!
2. They will become your best friends if they are not already.
No one gets me like my photographer friends, they get the struggle, they get the joy of finding the PERFECT dress to shoot weddings it, they get how stoked you are when you finally finish editing out pop tart crumbs off a five-year-old’s face. They aren’t going to get annoyed when you want to talk camera nerd stuff and they are the ones who encourage you most when you’re feeling down about where you are at artistically. They cheer for you, they are you’re biggest fans besides your mom probably! I mean, who else is going to laugh at my corny photography jokes and memes?!
3. You are guaranteed awesome head shots!
This might just be one of my favorite things about having photo friends! Trading images for personal or business use is soooo priceless! Whenever I try to get a family member to take a portrait of me, it never fails to be out of focus or cropped weird. Photographer friends to the rescue! If you don’t have a photo buddy. get one.
To sum it up on a more serious note, I am realizing as I get older that none of what I do is about me, but its about others and worshipping Christ with the gifts He has equipped me with. If that also means I can worship Him with the fellowship of other artists, thats a beautiful thing. I love my friends for the beautiful, encouraging souls they are, the pool of knowledge I can count on and the encouragement I know I will always need when trials come my way! Im so grateful God created fellowship and the bond of friendship! To top it off there is nothing like having a friend with the same interests as you, dude! NOTHING beats that when it comes to investing in your art!
Being apart of delight has so drastically changed my art and the way I conduct myself! I type this all as I head to the Delight retreat. Im so in awe of all of God’s handiwork in this ministry! Its here so you CAN have the kind of relationships I just talked about it!
Jesus says in Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Beautiful
Xo, Elizabeth Lauren
