June 5, 2013
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Experience and the Best Type of Friends to Have
Junshien recently posted this status update on facebook:
“I’ve been doing this for so many years, which makes me better than (insert name)!!!!”
Whatever the industry, that’s pure nonsense. I know photographers who, within a year or two after they first picked up a camera, were creating mind-blowing work. And I know photographers who’ve been at this for more than a decade, and are still producing the same quality of work they did years ago.
It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about programming or business or music or writing. If you’re new, don’t let others look down on you for it. Work your ass off and earn your place at the table. If you’re an old-timer, don’t get complacent, and never hide behind your “many years of experience”, because it alone doesn’t mean jack in the big scheme of things.
RESULTS is the name of the game.
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Bold and encouraging words. There have been times when clients did not book me after asking questions like “How old are you?”, “When did you graduate college?”, and “How many years have you been doing photography?”. People DO care about how long you’ve been in the industry and how many years of experience you have under your belt. I know I look young and I know I’m not a seasoned pro… but I show up at meetings my game face on and portfolio to back myself up.
On the other hand, there is something to be said about experience. Yes, maybe “it alone doesn’t mean jack in the scheme of big things,” but it sure as hell has some weighty importance to it. Let’s face it – I have not shot hundreds of weddings like many of my friends in the industry and therefore haven’t been exposed to as many challenges as they have.
And that is why I am SO grateful for my wedding photographer friends. It is energizing to be around them, converse with them, and learn from them. Junshien and Sarah came over to my place on Friday night and though it was just hanging out with friends, of course we talked about business. I always laugh and tease Junshien about how my one-year mentorship is up and how he can stop with all the serious business advice (for the record, I don’t want it to stop; he just gets very serious when he’s in the zone and I have to remind him to lighten up!). To be honest I have always had an attitude towards authority and to my surprise, this indeed carried over to my mentorship with him. I hate being told what to do. But I am obsessed with pleasing people. So when it comes to authority, my behavior falls somewhere between those two.
Anyway, Junshien if you’re reading this, I do appreciate you shaking your finger at me and giving me stern looks about how to improve my business. Hahahaha.
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Sarah slept over on Friday night because we were shooting a wedding in Yosemite the next day. She’s a Xangan too, but I never crossed paths with her until much later (after she had long stopped using it). We spent the entire weekend together and again, I am just incredibly happy and grateful and blessed to be surrounded by friends who have the same profession/lifestyle as I do. Not only that, they’ve been doing it for at least twice as long as I have… AND they’re kind enough to pass along some of the knowledge they’ve picked up on the way. Over the course of the fun-filled weekend we chatted about clientele, posing, pricing, customer service, and challenging yourself as an artist, to name a few.
My advice to you, especially those who are just starting out as entrepreneurs: surround yourself with people who are more experienced than you. You will gain so much from it. I’m not saying to seek out others to use them, but rather to have a mindset of challenging and improving yourself to be a better person. And being humble enough to ask for help.
Junshien and Sarah on our Hawaii birthday trip, August 2012.More to come on the wedding we shot on Saturday!
Comments (6)
I can understand both sides of the experience argument. If you’re looking at the artistic aspect of an artist, it cannot be measured in years because 1. it’s subjective and 2. I bet you there are some kids with a camera who are more creative and artistic than seasoned pros.
But when it comes to be a wedding business professional, hell yes, the years and the numbers of weddings you do matter. And sadly so does age. I’ve been on both sides of this, as a young starting out artist, then as a seasoned artists, then as a client. There is a shit ton of stuff that can go wrong or simply lacked planning and you know a season pro who has dealt with hundreds of weddings before you will know how to handle it seamlessly. Can’t tell you how many weddings I had to make hard calls for the bride to other vendors, or diffused mother daughter tension, or be the voice of reason and convince the bride to eat a little something something, things I know none of my assistants would never know to step up to do .
Dealing between a new company versus a seasoned company is apparent from the minute you shoot them an email. Their response, their package structure, their contracts, their advice on timing and other customs, everything shows. And none of these has to do with how “good” the vendor is at their craft. It’s how good of business people they’ve been forced to become. I mean, ALL my policies in places were results of shit shows in the past, things that were only learned with time and the amount of weddings that I did.
As a wedding client, its hard in that you get ONE chance for everything and you paid like 5x as much than if it were a normal day. As a client, you want to find a happy medium, an amazing artist who also happens to be a great seasoned business person, which can be rare as we know artsy types aren’t always the best numbers peoples
Wedding in Yosemite? Nice. I see a lot of weddings there during the summertime.
Experience does count, but it’s not everything. Photography is just a media, a tool, in the hands of someone creative, anything can happen.
Experience certainly does make a difference. I’ve read interviews with filmmakers in their 70′s that still say they learn something new with every film they make. You certainly have the artistic talent. It’s executing it that counts. I think the execution part is something you get better at with experience. The approach to capturing a wedding as well as a bride and groom could be taken from so many different angles. And I guess it really depends on the bride and groom and what they want. I guess with experience you get a sense of how you might approach it better. Anyway, I’d HIRE you.
BTW, I forgot to send this to you. It’s the greatest wedding day photo ever taken!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/samjparker/the-greatest-wedding-photograph-ever
@youngvan - Damn girl, you wrote a lot!
I agree with everything you said. Sometimes I try to help weddings go smoother based on my previous experiences, oftentimes in areas not even related to photography. And it’s so true what you said about customer service. I hope that my communication with my clients comes off as professional.
You are one of those rare artists who is creative, skilled in what you do, AND a good business person. I’ve seen you in action! Like the time you helped out at my street fair booth. lol.
@sf2slc - I’m excited to blog about it! It was a memorable wedding in many ways.
@misuterihomme - Experience is crucial in this profession, for sure. There are so many variables that play into both the event AND the photography at a wedding. Thanks!! Hahaha I did see that photo on facebook – too funny. The bridal party did a great job acting out their parts.
Glad you are writing again! What a fun photo!
Being lucky helps too! Who knows who you’re able to connect yourself with.