{"id":30482,"date":"2016-09-18T02:00:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-18T09:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=30482"},"modified":"2016-09-25T05:36:21","modified_gmt":"2016-09-25T12:36:21","slug":"how-to-find-happiness-in-your-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/18\/how-to-find-happiness-in-your-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find Happiness in Your Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SF,
SF, 2016. Portrait by Luis Donoso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I think if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re like me\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you want to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153happy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in life. You want to be happy with your photography, with your friends, relationships, and creative endeavors.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why is it that photography often adds more stress, anxiety, frustration, desire, and misery to our lives? Shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it empower us?<\/p>\n

1. Beware buying more gear<\/h2>\n
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think one of the biggest things that causes misery in our photographic lives is the lust for new gear. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through it, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through it, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all been through it. It is partly unavoidable if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a beginner starting off in photography. We feel like our gear is never good enough, and that not having the best gear is what is holding us back (or at least that is what the camera companies and blogs want us to think).<\/p>\n

Every sport, or creative activity falls victim to this. When I played tennis, the worst tennis players always blamed their rackets, and would spend hundreds of dollars on new rackets every single week (while never becoming better). The same happens to newbie cooks (they buy expensive knives, pots, pans) but their food never gets better. The same happens to gym-goers and yoga practitioners (they invest in buying lots of expensive Nike gear, LuLuLemon, and other superfluous things) and they never get fit.<\/p>\n

Having a desire for a camera (that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t already own) is unhealthy. It makes us think that we can never achieve our fullest creative potential, because our camera isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t good enough. That is what made me upgrade from a point and shoot digital camera to a crop-sensor DSLR, to a full-frame DSLR, to a digital Leica, to a film Leica, and to a medium-format film camera. Funny enough, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m back at having a digital point and shoot camera\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and I can attest, buying new gear has never helped me become a better photographer (it was learning more of the master photographers, perfecting my compositions, adding more layers, and ruthlessly editing).<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been able to make consistent gains in the gym powerlifting, not by buying new clothes, shoes, or equipment\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but by going to the gym every week, and always trying to push my limits. The best basketball players aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the ones with the most expensive shoes\u00e2\u20ac\u201d they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the ones that hit the courts the most often, and focus on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153deliberate practice.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

So if you want happiness in photography, know that your gear is good enough. Of course we still need to upgrade our digital cameras every once in a while (a typical upgrade cycle is every 2-3 years or so). But never blame your camera on your lack of inspiration or creativity\u00e2\u20ac\u201d otherwise we will always be miserable.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seek more followers on social media<\/h2>\n
\"NYC,
NYC, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just because you have more followers on social media doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a better photographer. It just means that you have more followers.<\/p>\n

I know personally, when I started photography, I wanted more likes, comments, and followers. I wanted external validation for my photography. I was so unsure about myself, that I never had confidence in my own photos. I wanted others to reaffirm me. I wanted praise, social media fame, and notoriety.<\/p>\n

But the more social media followers I wanted, the more dissatisfied I was. Why? There was always someone out there with more followers than me. Even though I thought I was the better photographer\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I would blame the world and say how \u00e2\u20ac\u0153unfair it was.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

And the truth is we will never have more followers than Justin Bieber or that one Instagram star you know.<\/p>\n

But that is okay. Photography should be a pursuit of inner-improvement, of achieving our creative limits, and of empowering us. It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a competition to see how many more followers you have than others.<\/p>\n

So if you want more happiness in your photography, disregard social media. Experiment; try taking a month off of social media. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t upload any photos\u00e2\u20ac\u201d see if you find more inner-calm, tranquility, and satisfaction from your photos.<\/p>\n

3. Always have a project you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re working on<\/h2>\n
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I find happiness in my photography by always having something \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in-progress.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d By having a photography project that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re actively working on, you always have something to look forward to.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it can add frustration to our lives that our photography project isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t complete. But remember, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the journey is the reward.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the happiest when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the middle of projects and actively working on them, rather than when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re completed. Whenever I finish a photography project, I feel a bit listless and lost, and actually a bit sad.<\/p>\n

Your photography project can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. The secret is to have something you look forward to photograph. Something that excites you, and gets you out of bed.<\/p>\n

For me, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m actively working on my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cindy Project<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which will be my life-long project. Until death does me and Cindy apart, I know that I always have a loving subject to photograph.<\/p>\n

For you, that can be photographing your friends, partner, kids, co-workers, pets, or whatever. That can mean photographing your local community, church, town, Downtown area, sports team, or workplace. Have something you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re passionate about, and continue to photograph it.<\/p>\n

4. Be an active part of a community<\/h2>\n
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As humans, we are social beings. The thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m most grateful of photography for is bringing me closer to other photographers and people.<\/p>\n

At the end of my life, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to be more grateful for the people that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve met through photography, instead of my own photos.<\/p>\n

By having a community you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re part of, you have something to look forward to. You get honest feedback and critique on your work, you have someone to share your work with, and you also have other photographers you can help.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, being a part of a community means you can do group exhibitions, group magazines or books, and be a part of a collective. There is no greater joy than to collaborate with other photographers, to share your creative inspiration, and to be part of something bigger than yourself.<\/p>\n

It can be an online community, collective, or group \u00e2\u20ac\u201d or in-person. Whatever works better for you.<\/p>\n

If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know any other photographers in your area, check out meetup.com<\/a> and see if there are any local photography groups for you to join. Or find other photographers on social media, email them, and build a connection.<\/p>\n

See how you can collaborate with others, and I can guarantee it will bring you more happiness and joy in your photography.<\/p>\n

5. Have faith in yourself<\/h2>\n
\"Melrose,
Melrose, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last thing I would recommend to find happiness in your photography is to have faith in yourself. To have confidence in your own photography, and not needing the external validation of others.<\/p>\n

To have faith in yourself means that you know you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying your hardest. You know that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re constantly improving your work, increasing your knowledge, and making progress.<\/p>\n

Always have faith in yourself, and appreciate the love and support of the community and those around you.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n
\"Photo
Photo by Cindy Nguyen. Vancouver, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Happiness is within reach, without having a new camera, more social media followers, or anything external. Happiness is finding gratitude for what you have, the lifestyle you have, the friends and family you have, the camera you already own, and your God-given talents.<\/p>\n

Never complain; just shoot, be happy, and share that joy with others.<\/p>\n

Always,
\nEric<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear friend, I think if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re like me\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you want to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153happy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in life. You want to be happy with your photography, with your friends, relationships, and creative endeavors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30482\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}