Find Your Voice -Advice For New Photographers {Part 1}
by Cameron Ingalls
Every week I get emails from photographers who are just starting out. They usually comment on how much they like my work and/or website and follow-up with a slew of questions about how to get started. These are some real life questions I have received over the past couple of months.
-What equipment do you use?
-Do you market or is it all word and mouth?
-Do you have any advice for getting started?
-I am also a photographer and I am trying to find a good place to start my website. Do you have any suggestions? (bigfolio…duh!)
-How did you make your way to shooting weddings as an occupation?
-Is there any way you can think of that I can shoot a few weddings without the risk of screwing up someone's photos?
I really love helping people out so I try my best to answer each email and point them in the right direction. However, I believe that all of the nitty-gritty details are just that; details. Camera equipment and lenses are just tools. Marketing is just advertising. Lighting techniques are just techniques! All of that biz-nass is not what makes a photographer great. I stumbled upon a anonymous quote a couple of years ago that still echoes in my mind to this day.
‘A typewriter never wrote a great novel any more than a camera took a great picture.’ ~Someone Smart
In this crazy ever-growing industry I find a lot of people that want to discover a shortcut to success or even a get rich quick photography scheme. Sadly enough, there are many new photographers who simply blog-stalk and straight up duplicate other photographer’s creative uniqueness. And there are also a lot of established photographers that are selling their ‘formulas to success’ and banking off of the droves of sheep-ple who will pay any price to be like these rich celebrity photographers. Now I’m not trying to slam blog-stalkers or even photographers that offer workshops or training DVDs. I love both the stalkers and the trainers. Please don’t get offended; bear with me and read on.
As a photographer who spends a lot of time sharing my heart and passion with others, I want to give the newbies some worthwhile advice; find your voice. Take the time to discover how you see the world and people and weddings and photograph straight from your heart.
The world didn’t fall in love with The Beatles because John Lennon sounded like Frank Sinatra. What people are constantly looking for is a fresh take on what has been around for ages; they are looking for a new voice, a new song. The same applies to photography. You could pay heaps of money to sound or look just like someone else, but in the end you will be known for only sounding and looking like somebody else, if not everybody else. As a new photographer you are much better off shooting your heart out and in the process discover what makes you inspired. There is a wealth of tips and tricks to getting a business off the ground, but there are no short cuts to discovering who you are as a photographer. Everybody has got to pay their dues in order to discover their own voice. If you don’t take your time you will risk forfeiting the discovery of your unique identity as a creative photographer.
I really hope that this is helpful to those of you who have a dream to become an amazing photographer one day. And for all those seasoned photographers who are ‘doing it’ could you please comment or email me the advice that you give to up-and-coming photographers? I would love to post your words of wisdom on ‘how to find your voice’. I will certainly give you credit for your profoundness and wit. cameron@cameroningalls.com