Inspiration

One of the most consistent traits I see in successful business people is that they are committed to not taking other people’s opinions personally.

This one’s a bit more personal because, while it applies to life in general, I try to stay focused on business rather than becoming a psychological or spiritual teacher. But it’s fitting because rejection is something we face all the time in this business. We send emails that don’t get responses, we bid on jobs and don’t get them, we try for portfolio shows and don’t make it in.

This isn’t something to take personally—it’s information to help guide us to do better. If you didn’t get the job, ask yourself why. Do you need to bid differently? Does your portfolio need to shift and change? Do you need to test more and bring in new images that will get you the job? That’s what I mean.

If your creative goal is to be comfortable, don’t become a photographer. 

The photography business is not one to get into if you need to be comfortable. We don’t know where our next money is and it’s a lot of freelance work, but also we have to stay ahead of the times. We are the people that are leading the trends. We in the photography business have to keep it fresh because even the creatives at ad agencies who are creating these ads need to know that we can do better for them. A photographer is going to shoot more than they ever thought of or could dream of when they came up with their concept.  Photographers, you can’t be comfortable. You have got to keep pushing it and stay fresh and think young at all times.

The difference between an A-level & a B-level photographer is focusing on something & getting really, really good at it.

If you say too much, no one will hear you.

That dissatisfaction you feel, is what an artist calls drive.

No matter how you feel, keep it professional.

Set aside a few unplugged minutes today to contemplate.

The word “work” does not just mean paychecks. 

Keeping yourself open to the unexpected may bring success.

Part of your job in a creative field is to feed your ideas.

As Director of Operations at SternRep, I spend a lot of my time looking through photographers’ images. 

Sometimes as I am examining someone’s body of work I find a magic spark somewhere in their portfolio. Something pops out at me. An image or series that is set apart from the rest. 

Something highly marketable, different, bold, unique, and really well done. But mixed in with lots of other stuff in their portfolio. 

Sometimes it’s actually about cleaning out your portfolio, of anything that does not have this magic spark. It’s about finding your spark and then expanding your portfolio based on what makes your work strong and different. It’s kind of like your own magical thread that you need to follow to be successful in the commercial market, explore more, grow, and expand.

But if the photographer can’t see or feel or want to follow it, there’s no forcing it…

Guest Post: Olivia Katz

Director of Operations, SternRep