I’ve been wanting to write this blog post for awhile now but I didn’t know where to begin (I still don’t).  I think as photographers, as artists, we tend to always think we don’t measure up, my work isn’t good enough, I’m not creative enough, if only I had better equipment/locations, props, lighting etc.    I’ve suffered with this ever since I started photography over 10 years ago and still do.  When I was in college, I would look at my peers work and think, man they are so much better than me, my pictures suck.  It’s one of those things when you look at your pictures long enough, they are no longer new, fresh, different to you but what someone else is doing does have that freshness.  I would get to a point that I couldn’t wait to be done with the project and move onto the next one.  At first, I would get super excited about what I was doing and then the same cycle would set in halfway through the project and again I would begin to wonder, is this any good?  And this was an endless cycle.  What I didn’t realize at the time, was my peers felt the same way I did.

Fast forward a few years and I’m diving head first into wedding photography with a Canon Rebel and a kit lens and a cheapo flash.  My equipment didn’t measure up and it made me feel inadequate.  I kept telling myself that its not the camera that makes the photographer but still couldn’t shake that inadequate feeling.  I then felt super cool when I upgraded to a Canon 40D and a dedicated flash (yep still using the kit lens).  I was starting to get noticed by a few people in the Dallas Wedding Industry and then got asked by Bride Associates (a local wedding planner) to photograph this Faux Wedding they were putting together that would be held at the Melrose Hotel in Dallas.  Of course I said yes, then freaked and I mean literally freaked!!!!  Other people in the wedding industry would attend (ie photographers) and they would so judge us on our lack of equipment, they would realize I’m nothing more than an amateur, and critique our every move.  Karey and I decided now was the time to go big and get the Canon 5D Mark II so at least we had the camera that all the other professionals were using (sorry Nikon folks no disrespect, promise).  We shot the event and I won’t lie, I was shaking and nervous the entire time.  I know we both felt like dorks carrying around our cheap, lightweight stands with our flashes loosely attached and our cheap (non radio poppers) attached to our camera’s hot-shoe.  I was so relieved when it was all over and very anxious to see the pictures.  I stayed up all night downloading them and critiquing my self to death.   But I have to say overall, I thought we did a fairly decent job.  I posted the pics on Facebook and was surprised (in a good way) with all the positive responses and messages I received.  Again, I realized it doesn’t matter how stupid or how basic your equipment is, the end result is what matters. The final picture is what will make people take notice. Since then we have photographed countless more industry events and I’m happy to say that anxiety feeling gets less and less with each event.

To see more from the Faux Wedding visit our FB Page

So what I learned was, I have to do what works for me and not worry about what the person next to me is doing.  I had to stop thinking grass is greener on the other side mentality and realize I do have green grass.  So if I can share this, don’t worry about your equipment and if it measures up to your peers, just take what you have and push the limits of it.  I confess up until a few months ago, I was still shooting with a kit 28-135 lens but I worked it. Be different.  If everyone is shooting to achieve bokeh, go against the grain and don’t do that, if everyone is shooting with natural lighting then use studio lights.  At the end of the day, you have to be happy with what you are doing and with the work you are producing.

For me, it’s about the clients and how happy they are.  I’m here to impress my brides and grooms and not other photographers.  I get way more satisfaction when I receive messages from my clients like this one, “Um I really might die these are SO FREAKING AMAZING!!!!! Thank You!!!” – Laura, then if I impress 1,000 photographers.

Always remember that most of your peers are probably just as scared as you. The best thing to do is to take that fear and push yourself to be better, take risks, get outside your comfort zone and trust me when I say, people will notice 🙂