In The Frame 7-15-2023: The Power of Perseverance and Letting Go of Expectations
These are fundamental core values that will see you go farther, faster.
How - and Why - Perseverance Works
Going into the photography business means you have to do some ‘selling’. And no, you don’t have to be a ‘salesperson’ but you do have to market and make people aware that you exist.
Going into the photography business means you have to do some ‘selling’. And no, you don’t have to be a ‘salesperson’ but you do have to market and make people aware that you exist.
First contact.
This is where half the photographers stop.
“I showed them my stuff, they didn’t hire me, scratch them off my list.”
At contact two, another 15% drop off.
Only 21% continue after contact number three.
Contact four… 11% are left vying for that client.
By the time you get to contact five, there are very few of you competing, and the contact is just now figuring out who the hell you are.
If you make it to contact eight, you may be the only person out of a hundred to do so. Imagine that 99 out of a hundred never made it contact number eight. Wow.
From contact nine on, you have a 90% chance of getting the opportunity for a gig.
And while that is not a sure thing, it is a very good place to be.
And these are averages, so it can happen much faster, and it can happen at the 14th contact.
It is why I push the “Three Contacts Per Day” slogan, mantra, and friggin’ law!!!
If you are in it to win it, you are in it for the long haul.
Imagine writing for 28 years before making money at it.
Steven Pressfield did just that.
Imagine contacting 1,000 chicken restaurants to sell your fried chicken recipe.
Colonel Sanders did just that.
And to be sure, there are some things you should know will never work.
I am not going to be an astronaut, no matter how much I persevere.
I am not going to walk from Seattle to Miami, no matter how much I plan it.
No matter how much I persevere, I am never going to be able to figure out why people like tambourines. Green or otherwise.
Perseverance in the face of sure failure or financial ruin is stupid.
But quitting on the third try is also equally stupid.
And in most cases, it is an unforced error.
Three contacts a day to build a career.
Stop being in love with your expectations.
Going out to make a photo?
Stop thinking about what it will look like.
It will not look like that.
Stop thinking about how you will shoot it.
You won’t shoot it like that.
Stop thinking about what everyone will say about the photograph you haven’t taken yet.
They won’t say any of the things you expect them to say.
Go into the world and clear your head.
Remove expectations of everything and anyone… and let the image come to you.
The image will indeed reveal itself when you stop thinking it is somewhere else.
We do not have to make a pre-determined ritual of making photographs.
When we do, we remove the ability to see what is in our path and replace it with an expectation of what we think will be.
There are photographs all around you right now no matter where you are.
You cannot see them because you are in love with the expectations of your ideas.
You have expectations of how the context of making photographs should be and where you are now is not in that context.
Be quiet. Be still. Be open.
Once you begin to see the photos in front of you, the ideas will come flooding in and they will be in the right context.
The context of here, now.
Shoot more, suck less.
I love photographs.
Some images from students last week.
$100M Offers
Remember to sign up for this book launch.
You are not committed to anything, and there is no purchase required. When you sign up, you will receive some interesting free items each week until the launch. I have just received my first worksheet planner from him and it is really good. It is far better than almost any lead generation piece I have ever received.
Mentorship Cohort
I can take a few more members into the Cohort, especially if you are interested in coming on Saturday mornings.
We meet every week.
We help with bidding, marketing, building your portfolio, and more.
We have three times per week that are open for you to come to.
Business advice and conversation every meeting.
Image reviews.
Assignment and shot lists for those who want them.
And this is a lifetime cohort membership. No additional fees. Ever.
Ready to commit to a cohort that will keep you focused and moving ahead with a great group of accountability partners?
(Note, if you are interested in my One-On-One Mentorships with absolutely guaranteed success, I will credit you 50% of the cohort fee when you decide to make that move.)
Books I Like
Use simple exercises to learn to see and shoot like a pro rather than painfully following strict rules. This book covers a wide variety of genres (street, documentary, photojournalism, nature, landscape, sports, and still-life photography).
The Author has helped 1,000’s of photographers to date. In this revised edition, he includes over 250 beautiful color photographs to make his exercises come to life.
That’s it for this Sunday’s dispatch.
I am grateful for all of your subscriptions.
If you are considering the premium membership, I would suggest that if you like what I write and present to you, you will love the premium version. Cheaper than a cup of coffee, more fun than a barrel of monkeys but without the smell. Yikes!
See ya’ll next time.