When a person picks up a camera, applies for a business license, and begins down the road of business ownership there is a goal. For some it is to make money, for others it is to make great art, and yet for others it is to make other people feel good about themselves. These are the main goals that a person has in mind with each photo that they take and process. So this leads to the question of, what is success?
I am not sure that this is something that I can honestly answer for everyone that owns a photography business or takes a single picture. Each definition of success is going to be different from person to person and situation to situation. I can really only speak for myself. I can give you my thoughts and my experiences and from there maybe this will help you make your own decisions on your feelings of success.
When I first picked up a camera success to me was having a usable image for whatever I was doing. If it was just creating a memory or if it was creating a project for school. I just needed it to be better then what I could draw, and lets be honest, I am no artist, so that is something that is not hard to beat. However this was success for me as a child with a little point and shoot film camera. Things have changed since then.
Success for me as photographer is so much different then what it use to be. It is more then just pleasing myself, and being able to produce an image of something better then I could draw it on paper. Now it is about how an image makes someone react, how it makes them feel about it, or about themselves. It is more about what another person feels then what I honestly feel, unless of course I am taking the image for personal projects.
For example when I take a landscape photo I want the person viewing it to be sucked into the scene and feel like they are there, that they can smell the dirt, and the plants that are around them, they can hear the stream that is rushing by at their feet. The viewer should have the want in their heart to know where this place is because they want to go there, and dangle their feet in the water, smell the field of flowers and feel the sun dance across their shoulders.
With a portrait I want my client to feel as though they are amazing in their own skin. That what they are seeing before them is a truly beautiful reflection of them in the mirror, but also an honest one. I will admit that I do draw the line with changing peoples appearances to fit their needs versus the truth. But I want people to see themselves as the amazing individuals that they are. I don't think that society as a whole takes the time out to recognize that anymore. Especially women. With the social expectations that are set upon women and girls I think it has created monsters, and I want to break that norm, so for me if I can reach a young lady or woman and show them with a portrait how beautiful they are that is success for me.
Success feels different for each photographer. For some it is based upon the number of clients they have per year. Others it is the amount of money in their bank account at the end of the day and then there are those that are like me. Success is based completely on an opinion of another in hopes to make their day a little brighter, or to give them a moment to escape the hustle and bustle of the world for just a second and remember what it is like to be in the quiet even if it is just for a moment.
What does success feel like for you?
I would love to hear about it in the comments below!
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