I find myself often thinking either during a shoot or after a shoot how someone different may have shot the same scene. Was the lighting actually poor or was I not exposing the available light correctly? Would someone else have positioned a couple differently that would have been more flattering? Questions and doubt flood my mind until I have a harsh conversation with myself and tell myself to STOP IT already.  

The thing I’ve learned is this: You can never duplicate. Not how you indended to, anyway. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been nervous heading into a shoot only to quickly look up other photographer’s work for a quick burst of inspiration or even a mental cheat sheet only to walk in to the shoot and find that duplicating does not work for me; it feels more like the first time I made out with a guy: awkward. 

Before I crossed over from hobby to business, I used to ask my friends who allowed me to photograph them to send me ideas for their shoots. They’d send me images from pinterest, mostly, and I’d do my best to give them what they wanted. It didn’t take me long, however, to realize that it wasn’t me. I didn’t really want to be told what to do nor could I find inspiration in the images I was looking at. In hindsight, I had the vision but not the confidence. As I shot more, I gained more confidence and now, finally, I’m able to allow my own visions to come to life.

I could sit here in regret that I didn’t trust my own insights sooner, but we all travel a different road and so long as we get to a place where we trust and have faith in ourselves as artists than who cares?

I no longer ask my clients for ideas and find, more often than not, that they’ve hired me because they like my vision. And nothing feels as good as that. 

“If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), “Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?” chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.” -Steven Pressfield