With Great Responsibility Comes Great Power
My twist on this often-used phrase is specifically with photographers in mind.
“With great power comes great responsibility”
… known as the Peter Parker syndrome.
Actually, it dates from around 1500 or so.
And that statement has been a part of a lot of philosophies through the ages.
However, I tend to reverse things in my head all the time to see if they play forward or backward, and this one is actually stronger in the reverse position than in the quoted version.
With great responsibility comes great power.
That is absolutely true, and even more true today. Especially for creatives.
Look, having great power should indeed mean wielding it responsibly. This is self-evident, I would think.
But how does one get great power? it isn’t something you can buy. And those who try to purchase it end up in a sort of Emperor’s new clothes.
I guess you could get bitten by a spider, or be born on Krypton, or whatever those comic book shortcut-taking characters do.
But we know there are no shortcuts to great anything.
Sorry, MidJourney. There is no easy button for real art.
It takes perseverance, hard work, dedication, and commitment to a purpose higher than ourselves to make any kind of progress.
And that is without having any power…
Without some sort of help, it is terribly difficult to achieve that power.
Whether we wield it responsibly or not, we first have to acquire it.
And that is where responsibility comes in.
With great responsibility comes great power.
No one else has the power over you to make you create a great portfolio — or a bad one. There is no school, workshop, training class, or magic Facebook Group that will bestow a great portfolio on you.
That is YOUR responsibility. Yours alone.
I mentor photographers both as individuals and in small groups. I can lead, cajole, present, beg, shout, cry, and otherwise try to influence them toward creating something… but in the end, it always ends up in their court.
I cannot force anyone to make great photographs. I cannot trick them into doing it. I cannot simply snap my fingers to make them produce.
No one can.
And the excuses are a litany of blame — whether they be people or circumstances.
“I don’t have time…” Yes, you do.
“I don’t feel creative…” Start working, it’ll come.
“I don’t know what to shoot…” Grab something. If it is wrong, you’ll know soon enough and grab another something.
“My partner is keeping me busy…” Tell them how important it is to you and draw clear boundaries.
This means you must take action and the action you take is purely up to YOU.
When you finally realize and embrace the fact that the portfolio you are creating is YOUR TICKET to getting the better jobs you want, you begin to take responsibility for it and get to work. I have seen it happen many times.
You’ll find the time, you’ll find the creativity, you’ll find the subjects, and everyone around you can see — and feel — the energy you are filled with.
Embracing and engaging the responsibility for the work you do may seem like a small thing, but it can be career-changing once you understand its power.
With great responsibility comes great power.
Whether it is dealing with clients, accountants, or even clients’ accountants, taking responsibility for every large and small part of the bidding process puts you in charge.
And when you are in charge, you have more power.
Since it's all up to you, you have the power to say no.
The responsibility comes in when you realize the client is asking you for subpar work because they cannot find it in the budget to do it correctly.
You simply tell them that it won’t work. Not in order to negotiate, but as a responsible creative person doing the absolute right thing.
Responsibility works that way. You OWN your own stuff.
No need to haggle, although negotiation from a position of personal power is always gratifying.
With great responsibility comes great power.
Be responsible for every square mm of your image.
It is what you saw — and you signed off on it when you depressed the shutter. Don’t tell me that you didn’t see this or missed that other thing.
What other job did you have other than to compose the damn photograph?
Be responsible for the wardrobe.
Be responsible for makeup and hair.
Be responsible for the location, sets, assistants, and every other item you need to make your photograph stand out.
We are not randomly clicking shutters with the expectation that something may or may not ‘come out cool’.
We are responsible for it all.
We call this high production value — and it is one of the most important things you can possibly have throughout your entire portfolio.
When the shot comes out so extraordinary that it moves the needle on your career, it is because of the power of that image. The power YOU gave it for being responsible for every single aspect of its making.
With great responsibility comes great power.
And as your career starts to rise, you can become more and more responsible for what you make. This is the only way that the power of being a great visual artist can be manifested in us. Through hard work, commitment, and deliberate attention to detail, you will begin to see the surge of power you wield when making photographs and dealing with clients.
The power of responsibility cannot be denied.
It is real.
It is strong.
And the understanding that all of us are where we are because of the choices we made and the actions we took — or didn’t take — that led us to this moment helps us clarify what we should do and where we should go next
We bear that responsibility.
What are we going to do with it?
I am a photographer, designer, and photo editor. You can find me at my self-named website or at Project 52 Pro System (enrollment begins January 6, 2023) where I teach commercial photography online. This is our tenth year of teaching, and it is the most unique online class you will find anywhere.
Check out my newsletter and community at Substack. We are new, but growing.
You can find my books on Amazon, and I have taught two classes at CREATIVELIVE.