Nobody feels as good as you think they are.
By: Magdalena Bibik
Tags: Self Esteem, Self Confidence, Photography, Mindset, Starting

Nick Demou for Pexels

In the summer of 2012 I started taking pictures. Unintentionally really, I asked my husband if there would be a photographer present during an upcoming event and when he told me that he didn’t book anyone, I geared up and went for it. I was not planning on becoming a photographer (I still, 7 years later would’t call myself that), but I actually sold some of the pictures from my very first shoot.

For years I was suffering from low photo self esteem, comparing myself to world class photographers — those with million dollar equipment (my first 3 years I would shoot with a beginner’s camera) and felt embarrassed to even show my images to a pro. And still, the bookings kept coming. I had established a good connection that would provide me with work and there I was, without formal education, with my own “personal style”, supporting myself by taking business portraits. That was until 2016, when another professional project came along and I put my camera away.

Recently my schedule changed and I found some free hours in the calendar. Instinctively, I picked up my gear. However, my skills (whatever I remembered from last time) were long gone — or so I believed — so I put myself at square one and took an online photography class. You won’t believe what happened next!

Everyone starts somewhere.

I was prepared for a photography teacher to tell us exactly what to do and what not to do. And she did — only by showing her early work and analyzing her own mistakes. The images were not bad by any means, but they weren’t as great as I would expect them to be (and she’d still charge for them!). This smart and brave photographer/teacher made us understand that even she started from nothing and that hard word, courage and persistence took her all the way to the top.

I bet that you are comparing yourself to the authority in your industry. But please remember that even they were new and insecure once. Their secret: they kept going. They took risks. They put in the hours. They made bold moves. Regardless of how it made them feel (I bet that they felt scared, worthless and doubted themselves countless times), they never stopped and here they are.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

― Winston S. Churchill

We are our own worst critics. I know I was. But if I could only take one thing from the online course I am finishing (who are we kidding? This course is world class and I finally got the theory behind what I’ve been practicing for the last 7 years minus 3 the year break) it would be:

nobody feels as good as you think they are. You are better than you think you are.

Of course you should never deliver mediocre work if you can do better. But if you are just starting out, you are probably trying your very hardest even if the results scream “decent job”. That is ok. As long as your clients are happy with your work and you are giving it your all, you’ll get there.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou

I spent the last few days looking through my early photography work. And you know what? It’s not too bad. To be honest, it’s actually quite good! I am sure that if you look really closely at yours, it’s not that bad either.