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Monday, February 28, 2011

Nope... We have Not arrived....

I like to be peppy... I try to be the optimist and encourager and yet at times I fail miserably. Yep, you guessed it, I am human! Being a human means that I have lots of room for error and also lots of room for growth. It is a beautiful thing called LIFE that God gives us each and every day of our whisked away lives. When Christen and I first began Sassyfras Studios, it was with a leap of faith and alot of prayer... it was with giving away free photoshoots and jumping up and down when someone complimented our images... it was with alot of hard work AND alot of encouragement from fellow photogs around the world.
Lets go back in time 2 years... I will never forget showing my pathetic *and boy were they pathetic* images to Lawrence Chan of Furious Photographers. Looking back on those images, I would be appalled for him to see them again. But, for whatever reason, he reached out to me. He encouraged me more than once and told me to go for it whole heartedly. He even welcomed me to LA for a cup of coffee and tips in shooting any time I wanted. It kept me going and believing in myself. Honestly, anyone in their right minds would have looked at those images I sent him and laughed or even shook their head in amazement of how crazy I was to believe that I had even a tiny bit of talent in photography, but that was not him. I do not know anything about him but I know that he has the gift of encouragement.
Now lets jump ahead to today... No, Sassyfras Studios has not even come CLOSE to arriving in this business... Every day we talk about ways to make ourselves better, stretch ourselves, learn from others. I will say that I am no longer ashamed to show chan my images but I still know I have so much work to do and so much I can gain from within myself and my dreams.
The past two weeks have been so sad to me. I have seen so many photographers all over the web bashing one another... laughing at other peoples pictures and discouraging people. Those photographers may not have the best equipment or knowledge of lighting... they may not use the most flattering poses or your favorite type of editing... BUT, they have a dream. They have something inside of them that says, *Hey, I LIKE this and I want to try it out!* I am so glad that when a child plays with the game operation, we do not laugh at them and tease that they could never be a surgeon. I am so thankful that when someone gives their first speech in communications class, we do not point fingers and say that they will never be an international journalist... and I am glad that we did not jest when people had the desire to fly to the moon.
Stop your negativity and just let these people fly! Give them the chance that someone gave you! If you feel that you are at the point in your career that you can laugh at other peoples dreams then you obviously have perfected the art of photography. I for one am still growing and pray that I will never be that person. And, I ask anyone reading this to remind me if my pride ever gets too big that I forget that we all have dreams and it is MY job to encourage others.

For all you growing photographers like myself, keep flying high and chasing whatever inspires you... Do not give up if someone is low enough to put you down. We were all given a beautiful purpose in life and I pray that you will grab ahold of yours and never let go. Listen to the words of this song or find them here from the movie tangled...
http://www.xtralyrics.com/lyrics/i_ve_got_a_dream.aspx





Much xoxo Pin It Now!

14 comments:

  1. Love it! Thanks for speaking from your heart!

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  2. I hope you don't mind me tweeting this artice but it's a great write up that every photographer, big or small, should read and understand. I'm definitely not as advanced as a lot of other photogs, but I do it because I love it, and I have a dream of being better at it. So thanks for sharing this, and reminding me that just because I'm not advanced like others, I'm still in it because it's something I like to do and pursue.

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  3. wow, love this...thanks for the encouragement! i have lots of work to do, but i wanna get there. really appreciate you sharing!

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  4. Love it! I don't think there is anyone who has arrived. If you have time to bash other people, you can't be too busy working. :-) I read a comment from someone the other day. I think it was this or close... "The only time you should be looking down on someone is to help them up." I would say most people had someone who was more skilled, knowledgeable than themselves, who offered you a helping hand.

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  5. Thanks for sharing this, I so needed to hear this. My word for the year is courage, Courage for me to grow and stretch myself and do what I love :0)

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  7. melissa... i LOVE your comment about helping up people. i have never heard it and it speaks volumes!
    rine 3... i NEED so much more courage! every single day!!!

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  8. That was really nice of you to write. I'm 3 years into my photography business and we all look to others for support and encouragement. We all want to push ourselves to be better and we should always help others live their dreams too. To keep it simple "treat others how you want to be treated".
    P.S. - I love your work :0)

    www.WillowWorksStudio.com

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  9. I guess y'all are sort of my Lawrence Chan then! I'm so embarrassed I ever thought I was good, but y'all never made me feel bad about myself. So thanks.
    I just love you ladies so much!

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  10. This is such a nice post and the responses that you have received are awesome. I love photography and it is just a hobby for me. I am too old to even think of starting a business, but I do encourage my children (who also love photography). We go out shooting almost every weekend and it is wonderful "family time" (even though my children are 20 and 24 yrs old) I just found you on facebook and your photos are very inspiring. I love the angles you choose, the tones and the pp. You have a gift that God has given you and it is wonderful to see someone showcasing their God given talents.

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  11. Cindi... u are never too old to start to do something u love... but it really warms my heart that this is a passion u share with your kids. Photography really brings people together :) just reading that made me super happy :) :)

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  12. I just came across your blog and had to say thank you for such an inspirational post, especially on what feels like such an discouraging day. It helps to know that other photogs go through the same thing and reminded me to not give up. I love the addition of the Tangled song as well, I had to see it 3 times with my daughter but secretly loved it =) You do amazing work! xoxo

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  13. I stumbled across your blog and read this post. Thank you SO much for this encouragement. It gave me the shivers and was just what I needed to hear. Thank you. -beth

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