January 21, 2011
I don’t make a very good sick person. Not at all!!! I get very grumpy when I have to stay in bed, but it forces me to stop and look and things that I ordinarily wouldn’t have time to do. Maybe it’s all been for a reason that I have gotten such a bad case of the flu. I know one thing for sure, it’s opened my eyes to so many things around me and most importantly what really matter most in the world. Last night I was so sick, then my daughter poked her head to see if I was ok in the room and it was as if I had never seen anything so beautiful in my whole life. She was breathtaking!!! She’s going to not like that I wrote that, but I have to speak the truth. I found this photo of her from three years ago and I wanted to share it in this post. There has never been a time in her life that she wasn’t beautiful and she just lights up the entire room when she walks through it!!! When you stop long enough to really look at your life, you realize that all that truly matters are the people in your life who you love and who love you.
I spent most of 2010 questioning whether or not I truly wanted to be in business as a photographer. That may surprise the few of you that will actually read this. The reason I feel that way is that the business of photography changed and it changed quite rapidly after I decided to take my life long passion and turn it into something more. Those who tell you to understand business and write a successful business plan BEFORE you get into business are 100% correct. Those who I have seen become very successful and very fast are not only good in business, they are masters at it. I applaud them for what they have achieved. They have marketed themselves into the top 5% of the industry, whether or not they are the best. Honestly, this exists in all professions but I have seen it first hand in mine. This qualifies as all three: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – depending on the perspective you are coming from!
I learned many things about myself and made many mistakes this past year. My generosity is both my best asset and my worst at the same time. I gave of myself to the point where I “gave it away.” Never, I repeat never, under charge a client because of what someone else charges or because you don’t have the nerve to charge what you know the product is worth. What’s the worst that can happen if you tell a client that something is going to cost double what they are willing to pay? They simply say “no” and you remain true to yourself. I realized this past year, and this is really a tough one for me to say, but I finally have accepted that I have talent. There, I said it…….and yes, I truly didn’t believe it for the longest time. The longer I look at other people’s work, the more I realize that my hard work has paid off. It’s hard to be good in photography. You can’t fake it. You can’t Photoshop your way out of it. I allowed myself to get discouraged at the small-minded mentality I saw in many potential clients I came across. I hear from so many photographers that things are the way they are so you must find a way to incorporate it into your business. Handing over a cd of your images to a client just goes against all my beliefs. This issue has been discussed SO much, but it’s just crazy that this is where things are at. I have spent years, many years, perfecting what I do. Purchasing the best camera equipment, computers, the latest and greatest software, software training, seminars, workshops……..on and on and on. When a client asks you to hand over your images for free what they are really saying is that they don’t put a value on what you do, what you have spent in both time and money or respect your artistic ability. It costs money to be in business, if you can’t make a profit then you don’t do it!
Some great and wonderful things happened in 2010, without a doubt. I photographed many events for the wonderful Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts, the program both of my children are a part of at Huntington Beach High School. I have come to love those kids in APA so very much and they have been so wonderful to me and have shown so much appreciation for the work I have done. That has seriously warmed my heart in ways I can’t express. Did I happen to mention that HBHS beat all the other schools in Huntington Beach on their API scores this past year??!! Yeah, pretty awesome!!! I have been hearing for a decade how if you live in Huntington Beach you must send your kids to one particular school because it’s known as the “academic giant” in Huntington Beach. Guess what………IT’S NOT TRUE!!!! I have never been more impressed with a school, its administration or more in love with a campus. Have you seen the campus at Huntington High School??? It’s stunning!!! Thank you for giving my kids such a wonderful environment to live out their high school years!!!
One of my photography idols, Debra Rothenberg, gave me one of the greatest moments of my career this past year. Debra L. Rothenberg is an award winning photographer who lives in New York City. Her work has been seen around the world and her extensive clientele includes ABC-TV, People, Rolling Stone Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Columbia/CBS Records and many others. Debra has taken all my favorite photographs of my favorite artist, Bruce Springsteen. Through one of my dearest friends Debra became aware of me and my work and gave me some very lovely compliments. It’s was one of the defining moments for me as a photographer, to be acknowledged by someone whose work I have respected for so many years. Thanks, Deb………I will never forget it!!!
A young lady, Cassidy Love, who is a sister of one of students in APA won her first beauty pageant and some cash prizes with photos I took of her. I was very proud of that and that I could help her achieve some of her dreams. Congrats to you, Cassidy! I also had the honor of photographing the gorgeous Swing Kittens, what a great shoot that was!!! Thank you to all the brides and grooms, actors who needed head shots, family portraits, lifestyle photography clients and those of you who called me based on a referral and used my services. I thank you all and value each and every one of you!!!
I am tough, I am a fighter and I will continue to fight the good fight as long as I have breath in my body. I won’t be defeated by this economy or by those who claim this is a young person’s industry. I say “baloney” to that!! Every time I hit that shutter I am putting every moment of my life, every tear I have shed and have watched others shed, every high and every low, everything that has ever touched me and every darn bit of wisdom I have accumulated in my life goes into that image. So you know what, I have twice as much of all that great stuff that someone half my age has and that is what distinguishes me from the young guns. You can’t package or market wisdom or get it at a seminar, now can you??!!!
To all of my supporters: I love you “with all the madness in my soul!!!!”
Love,
Cindy
