Taking the leap of faith
Every entrepreneur's journey begins with a leap of faith. Generally, there is a laundry list of reasons why we shouldn’t take it. As I stood on my own precipice of decision making regarding launching into my photography career, I certainly had a large one.
I was surrounded by photographers. Everyone I knew had a camera. The market was flooded with photographers. Certainly, there wasn’t a place for me.
I had worked as a second shooter for years and the passion never clicked for me. It was fun at times but I could never see myself in the driver’s seat. That seemed way too stressful.
I had tried my hand at so many different hobbies that I tried to make work as side hustles. The motivation to keep them up always faded. I wasn’t consistent enough to run my own business.
The voice of doubt was large and looming and it eventually drowned out all other voices. I walked away from the decision making precipice. I wasn’t going to make that leap of faith. My camera went into a box and I moved on with my life. I got married, I had three kids, and I moved across the country.
Then one eventful day, my friend asked me to take some pictures of her family. I said “Why not?” and used my iPhone for the photo shoot. When I came home from that shoot I had a very different voice in my head.
I’m wasting my talents.
Once again I found myself on that precipice. Should I make the leap of faith after all these years? The laundry list came back, but now I had counter arguments.
Everything had changed. My social circle was completely different. Yes, there were still photographers in town but not in my circle. I could start there and work my way out into the larger community.
Being the lead of my own shoot invigorated me. It instilled in me a sense of pride and unlocked the passion I never had as a second shooter. Stressful or not, I loved it!
I had tried my hand at so many different things which meant that I had a creative urge in me that was desperately trying to get out. I could indulge it without risk. I already had a camera and I could take it slow, invest more only after I had tested myself and knew I could be consistent.
The doubts began to die down. I had a talent and I wanted to push myself to my full potential.
I took the leap.
After years of telling myself, “I could never be a photographer” I started calling myself one. Believe you me, there was a LOT of imposter syndrome. I wrestled with self doubt (still do), but once I took my camera out of its box and dusted it off there was no going back. My passion grew as did my vision and dreams for my career. I’m so excited and grateful to have such an amazing outlet for my creativity. I love that I get to use my talents to benefit my community and I get to work with amazing people to create beautiful photographs. After having grown up around cameras because of my father and mother’s own passion for the art form, it feels like home. Photography has definitely become an integral part of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you find yourself on your own precipice of decision making right now, take a deep breath. It’s a hard thing to take a leap of faith. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, remind yourself that you can say no for a season and come back to revisit that decision. At the same time, don’t be afraid to push yourself. You may be surprised at what you find yourself to be capable of achieving.
God bless!
