Today came through a post that peaked my interest : The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Photographers
With a hat tip to Stephen R. Covey, here’s a list of seven habits I’ve noticed in effective photographers.
1. They find a niche and they stick with it. Arthur Morris is capable of photographing just about anything well. But he’s known for his bird photography. He has few peers. Artie has realized that doing one thing well pays off. This doesn’t mean you can’t shoot more than one subject or style. It means you concentrate on one genre of photography.
That’s a great point, as all 7 of them are.
Not only for photographers, but also pretty much anyone. Here is one more point:
5. They don’t wait for permission. Unless you work for “the man,†you can’t afford to stand around and wait for someone to tell you to go out and shoot. Pick up your camera, go out and make images, show those images. It’s up to YOU to make something happen. Don’t wait around for someone to tell you what to do. Do SOMETHING and do it now.
Just doing what you do best, are passionate about, and there is an economic engine that works for you – is important. Everyone needs practice.
Now look at what I said that is different from the post.
I said “everyone”.
It does not matter if you work for “the man” or not, you need to practice, improve, and increase your ability to produce.
If you are working for “the man,” one thing that can help you is to think of yourself as working for yourself and contracting out your work to “the man.” Ways to increase your skills, might be through training provided by “the man”, Â podcasts, volunteering with a Scout program, or even a part-time gig.
The key is what he said – don’t wait for permission.
All the seven habits for photographers are great & I will be working to apply them to my life.
