Last Summer I decided that I wanted to become a better pet photographer. I am consistently good, with moments of being very good, but I want to be consistently very good with moments of genius. (Not a well-defined goal, I know!) There are so many incredible pet photographers in the world, and looking at all the amazing work out there, I knew I wanted to keep learning, to keep improving my craft.
So, the first thing I did was work on becoming a Certified Professional Photographer. That was a journey that helped me learn all the fundamental skills that as a self-taught photographer I had sort of known, but didn’t really know. By the time I earned my certification, I knew so much more, and felt ready to start working on the artistic side of photography,
To start working on developing my artistic skills, I signed up for Embark, the first of three pet photography classes through Unleashed Education. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but the challenges seemed pretty straightfoward. And how difficult could it be to submit one image every two weeks for 6 months? (Hah!)
However, to paraphrase Terry Pratchett, the challenges were a lot more complicated than they looked from the outside. There are layers of complexity to each challenge, and what started off as a “how hard can this be?” question, became a case of “wow, these are really tough!”
Which, in fairness, was exactly what I needed. If I was doing something easy, it wouldn’t have been much of a challenge, and I wouldn’t have learned so much.
The other photographers in my class are all extremely talented, and it was inspiring (if a bit discouraging at times) to see the amazing work other people were producing. Not only did they extremely creative takes on each of the challenges, but their technical skills were amazing!
I won’t lie, after the first couple of challenges, I had pretty much lost all confidence in my skills, and I was frustrated. What I was doing wasn’t working, and what seemed so “easy” began to seem impossible.
I was over-thinking every challenge, shooting, and re-shooting (and am extremely grateful for my very patient friends – I’m so lucky that they put up with my madness!). I questioned everything I did, and began to wonder what exactly I was doing in this class. Images that I thought were amazing were pulled apart by Craig and Charlotte, with them pointing out issues large and small. But, this was constructive criticism, and this was what I had signed up for, so I kept working away.
And I had an interesting shift take place. I began to realize that if I was going to keep focusing on the ‘prizes’ (Top 20, Top 10), all I was going to do was continue to be frustrated. While I had a few images that did fairly well, in comparing myself with my classmates, I was getting sucked into the “Compare and Despair” trap. Rather than fixating on how much better my classmates were than me, I realized that I could appreciate and be inspired by their work while focusing on my own journey.
So, about 3/4 of the way through the class, I stepped back and looked at my own progress. I even made a list:
- I began thinking more about the scenes I saw through the camera, and I was taking better photographs than I had been only a few months ago.
- As an introvert, I had started to reach out to “strangers” (neighbors I had only seen while out walking dogs, people on my mailing list who might have come to an event I was at years ago, people on Nextdoor, even going to dog parks and introducing myself, hoping that I wouldn’t look like a crazy like with a camera) and met really cool and interesting people – my camera and I were making real friends with people with dogs.
- I started revisiting the Uintas and rediscovering the magic around me was life-changing. I moved to Utah 35+ years ago to go to college, but fell in love with the moutains. But I stopped going into the ‘high moutains’ . I think since I live Park City I was a bit spoiled by all the amazing scenery out my front door and I just stopped exploring for a while. Now I’ve started again.
- I began exploring other ‘nearby’ areas, and found the joy in discovering (and rediscovering) places new to me.
- I rekindled friendships and strengthened bonds with people.
And, most importantly, I realized that when I wasn’t so obsessed with the ‘outcome’ – “Did I make the Top 20? If so, did I make the Top 10?!?” had become a bit of a madness – I realized that I was having fun.
In going new places, meeting new people, and putting my images “out there” every two weeks for feedback, regardless of the outcome, I was getting out of my comfort zone, stretching myself, and growing. Yes, I am a better photographer than I was 6 months ago, but I am also more grounded. I have amazing friends, I have met wonderful people, and everyone is on their own journey with photography.
Yes, I would like to be able to make some of the amazing images I have seen, and I will keep working on developing my skills and my creative eye, but the biggest thing I learned is that for me the joy is in learning new things – about myself, about what makes me happy, how to overcome self-sabotging thoughts, and of course, learning new skills.
It’s a cliche, but it really is all about the journey, not the destination.
These last 6 months have been frustrating, confidence-shaking, exciting, and, well, challenging. But, as I read somewhere, if you aren’t challenging yourself, you aren’t changing. I look back at images I took even a year ago, and while they don’t suck, I’m a better photographer now. And in another year, I will hopefully be saying the same thing again. I believe that while it can be uncomfortable at times, life is truly experienced outside the comfort zone.
I’m glad I took the leap on Embark and got “uncomfortable”. I look forward to Emerge next year, where, I am sure, I will have many of the same frustrations, but will also have opportunities for personal growth, as well as continued improvement in my craft. And, honestly, when I stop looking at “where I would like to be” (comparing myself to others) as a photographer, and look back at where I have come from (looking at my own growth), I am so proud of my progress, and am excited to keep growing and improving.
For anyone looking to develop as a photographer, and to grow as a person, I highly recommend Embark.
Dogumentary Pet Photography
