In the first article in this series on how to become a professional photographer we discussed that very first step: making the decision to go and why it’s so important. In part 2, we’re gong to look at identifying the barriers that might prevent you and what you can to to remove/avoid them.
Step 2 to become a professional photographer: removing barriers…
Congratulations! Now you’ve made your decision to go, you’ve officially the first step on your journey to become a professional photographer. You’ve also elevated yourself above all your peers who would love to do something like this and lack the courage and conviction to even open their front door. Watch out for them though as they’ll be sure to offer you their ‘advice’ by telling you you’ll never succeed (more on that in a later article). Now it’s time for step 2: identifying and removing the barriers that will prevent you from succeeding.
What do we mean by barriers?
Your barriers are all the things that can and do get in the way, preventing you from progressing on your journey. When I made my “decision to go” back in 2008 I sat down with my wife, the lovely Mrs. LightMatters, and together we worked out what our barriers were. In our case they fell neatly into distinct categories…
- Emotional barriers
- Expertise barriers
Emotional Barriers
Your emotional barriers stem from fears, concerns and objections.
In my own case, I made my decision to go whilst I was on the M6 motorway. I was returning home having attended a studio lighting course and was so excited I phoned my wife, the lovely Mrs. LightMatters, from the car and told her the good news. Needless to say it was met with an extreme silence from the other end of the line. Mrs. LightMatters was worried. Very worried. We had a young family, a mortgage, credit card debt and she was concerned about how we would survive if I quit my job. Nevertheless, she was supportive and that evening we brainstormed our gating criteria: i.e. what we needed to do and achieve for it to be viable.
For example, the biggest blocking issue we had was money. Most of my income went to servicing our debts so we devised a strategy to get rid of them whilst I was still at work.
We identified other issues too, many of which were very simple to remove. One of the hardest I had to overcome was a lack of support from my closest friends. Many of whom thought I was nuts and proceeded to tell me in no uncertain terms. A lot of this stemmed from their own insecurities and jealousy as they lacked the courage to do something similar.
Expertise Barriers
Expertise barriers are much simpler to overcome, once you’ve identified them. Skills and expertise can be learned and acquired. Tasks can be delegated. Advice can be sought.
We are very fotrunate insofar as we live in the internet age where good quality content is freely shared and available. It’s important to do your own research and make sure the source is credible before taking advice and acting on it.
I knew I was competent with a camera and could make good images but I still invested time to learn more about the craft of photography, seeking out leaders in the industry to learn from and get inspired by.
I also knew I knew virtually nothing about running a business, marketing, sales, accounts. These gaps in my knowledge were me own expertise barriers but by identifying them they were no longer showstoppers. Having identified the gaps I was now able to plug them.
Homework
Now it’s over to you. What are your barriers? What are the things stopping you from embarking on your journey? Take some time to think this one through. Identify your barriers. Ask yourself “why can’t I become a professional photographer?” Then once you have a list, cross out the items that really don’t matter to you personally. These are just excuses. They’re not worth worrying about here.
For everything that’s left, identify the show stoppers. You now have your top priority items. These are the ones you need to work out a strategy for to either remove them or avoid them. It’s not an easy task but it is something you need to do. If you don’t, you’ve just identified another barrier!
Conclusion
Your own personal barriers are anything that either can or will stand in your way and prevent you from making your dreams come true. If you want it, it’s your responsibility to make it happen. Every day you will encounter negativity and resistance and you have to push through it. Other people’s points of view don’t matter. You don’t need permission from anybody else to become a professional photographer. You just need belief in yourself and an unquenchable thirst to succeed.
You don’t need permission from anybody else to become a professional photographer (Click to Tweet)
It’s up to you to make it happen.
In the next article we’ll be looking at Mindset. Setting up on your own is very, very different to being employed. Until then let me know what you think. Leave a comment below. Tell me your biggest barrier and more importantly what you’re going to do about it.
