A deep passion for photography is essential for success as a professional photographer. Without it, you risk being stuck in a difficult profession that you don't enjoy, feeling resentful and envious of others with better-paying jobs.
The concepts of “passion”, “drive” and “determination” are deeply fascinating to me, and central to my work as a marketing coach as I strive to help photographers gain more clarity in their businesses.
If challenged about this, the same photographers get rather defensive (understandably) and say things like, “but I REALLY DO have passion for it! I love it, and can’t imagine doing anything else…”
Please, be sure you watch the whole thing before reading on… and pay particular attention to the words the photographer uses that communicate his burning passion for what he does.
“Our goals as photographers… is always to inspire people… if you’re not sharing your work, then what are you doing?”
“The best images are not necessarily the most beautiful, but the ones where I come back and felt like I really gave something of myself to get that shot…”
Photographs are the universal language of our era. Everyone has hundreds, maybe thousands in their pocket. Weightless, they turn the scale when the argument is: What happened here? Images don’t age or warp.
I have spent my entire professional life creating, editing, critiquing or teaching photography and working with photographers. It has been the way that I have experienced much of the world.
I still believe in the power of journalism and photojournalism to spark positive change — in a world where the pursuit of self-interest is prioritized by so many, its role speaking truth to power when all other avenues fail is unparalleled.
