Stop Worrying About What Other Photographers Think So Much

Working in a creative field is often full of uncertainty and feeling the need to compare yourself to others. This great video talks about why that's a toxic attitude.

Coming to you from Scott McKenna, this awesome video talks about regret, particularly in regards to a career in a creative field. One of the most salient lessons I learned while studying for my psychology degree was that people tend to regret things they didn't do more than things they did. This led me to make a massive career shift in my mid-20s away from a path I had arguably been on since grade school, finally recognizing that being good at something is not the same as wanting to make a career out of it. Leaving the relative security of the field I was in for the arts at that age seemed ludicrous to a lot of friends and family (and in some sense, it was), but I knew that I wasn't happy and that I would forever regret not at least trying to make it doing what I love. Thankfully, things worked out, and I couldn't be happier, but that's less the point than the idea of following your dreams, even if they're a bit more uncertain than the traditional route. That's not to say one should throw pragmatism totally to the wind, but it's worth giving your dreams a chance too. 

Lead image by Pok Rie, used under Creative Commons.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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2 Comments

Thank you for posting this, Alex. Creatives are particularly sensitive, and I think this sort of message is really valuable, particularly in this community where wonderful images will be harshly graded, for no objectively good reason.

I am reminded of a particular anecdote in How to Win Friend and Influence People, where a well known author (I can't recall who) never wrote again after their, first and only, book was criticised.

I hear you. I'm lucky I went through music school; that made me grow some thick skin.