Are you happy?

What am I doing wrong?

Why is this not working?

Why can't I make this work?

Where are all the clients?

Why are my clients being SO DIFFICULT with me?

Are these some thoughts that you have run through your mind? Are these thoughts that are currently an everyday pattern for you? Do you wake up and go to bed thinking about these kind of things? If the answer to all of these questions is yes then it is time to 

STOP!

If these are the thoughts that are running through your head on a regular basis I am assuming that it is because you are struggling somewhere within your business. Something is just not going your way. If everything was going your way I am pretty sure that you would not be here right now trying to figure out if you are happy or not. So lets talk about this just a little bit.

I struggle with this thought process all the time. Part of the reason that I struggle is because I am a perfectionist. I always have been. I want to be at the top of my game, I want everyone in the area to know who I am and that I am good at whatever it is I am doing at the time. I want them to want to be my client. This is a great way to be, but it also bites me in the rear on a regular basis, and here is why. I SUCK at marketing myself. I want my work to speak for itself and I want the word of mouth just to do the work for me, however I have come to realize that word of mouth needs a little bit of help from time to time. Especially in an area where the market is very saturated and it can be a struggle to stand out from others. 

So like you I was trapped in the mind set that I just laid out above. I really believed that there was something that was just not right with me. The sad part is that I was letting this take over and affect me in more ways then one. I was beginning to resent the idea of having a business, I was not touching my camera. In fact I would tuck it away so that I wasn't able to see my bag and that way I could walk by it and "forget" it when we were going places that I should have had it with me. I was coming to the point that I just wanted nothing to do with photography. When I realized this I became very sad.

I was sad and I was disappointed with myself. I had allowed the business end of things to suck all of the joy and happiness out of photography and ruin it for me. I had allowed what I thought was failure and who knows what else to take away from what I was accomplishing. I was providing an amazing gift to the people that I had photographed. Memories of graduations, sporting events and weddings. Things that they would not have had if I had not been there per their request. I did not give myself enough credit for the little wins that I had with my business. 

I realized that I needed to stop and figure out what gives me the greatest joy when it comes to my business and photography as a whole. If I couldn't figure that part out then there would be no reason for me to continue forward and fight to maintain something that was floundering at best in a sea full of photographers that are just as qualified as myself to push that shutter button.

What does give me the greatest joy with photography? The smiles and heart warming thank yous at the completion of a session, especially with the seniors that I shoot. I love being able to give them images that they thought were not attainable, and encourage them and get them to realize that they look great, even when they do not believe it themselves. I take great joy in being able to break the negative thought processes for young ladies, and even if it is only for a moment get them to understand that they are beautiful, despite what is said by anyone around them. I love seeing the sports players get on Instagram and Facebook and show off their photos and talk about how great they are in a sport, and how they proudly show off a photo. (My sports photos are typically action shots or if I do the posed, I try to make them more interesting then the traditional shots). With a lot of words I guess you could say very easily that I get my greats joy from others happiness with themselves. 

Now that you have had time to stop and think about it, and regroup, are you happy with your photography, and with your business? 

What gives you the greatest joy with photography? 

I would love to discuss your answers in the comments below or via email if you are uncomfortable with placing it in the comments below.  I look forward to hearing from you all soon! Take care and have a great week!