{"id":32715,"date":"2017-07-01T12:45:49","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T19:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=32715"},"modified":"2017-01-21T20:44:27","modified_gmt":"2017-01-22T04:44:27","slug":"what-is-success-in-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/01\/what-is-success-in-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Success in Photography?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hanoi,
Hanoi, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I was walking the streets of Hanoi today, with the question: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What is success? How would I define success? How do we know when we are \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuccessful\u00e2\u20ac\u2122? And is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a modern concept\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and should we even have the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in our vocabulary?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Success in photography<\/h2>\n

How do we know when we are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in our photography? When we have a million followers on social media? When we own the most expensive camera out there? When we are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153world famous\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and known all over the world? When we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve published a book, had an exhibition, which got critical acclaim?<\/p>\n

Do we gain \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d once everyone in the world sings our praises? When we will be put into the history of photography? When we are dead, young photographers will still look up to us?<\/p>\n

What can you control?<\/h2>\n

The problem with the definition of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (in terms of photography mentioned above) is that these things are not in our control.<\/p>\n

No matter how hard we try, we might never get a million followers on social media, afford a $30,000 camera, or have exhibitions all around the world. Many of us are bounded by different things \u00e2\u20ac\u201d by different physical health, financial considerations, as well as opportunities.<\/p>\n

But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s do a thought experiment. Assuming you did achieve everything in terms of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d would you feel fulfilled for the rest of your life? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think so.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a daily pursuit<\/h2>\n

I think a lot of people see \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as a state of being \u00e2\u20ac\u201d once you can achieve a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153goal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of being \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Meaning\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we see success as a state when we achieve fame, monetary wealth, and the external admiration of others.<\/p>\n

The problem is that once we have achieved a certain amount of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we will quickly revert to baseline. That will become the new \u00e2\u20ac\u0153normal.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d As humans, we are hard-wired to be dissatisfied. No matter how much we achieve or succeed, we will always want more.<\/p>\n

Therefore I much prefer the idea of trying to be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (according to your own standards) on a daily basis. For me \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the effort you put into your work, the love and soul you put into your creative pursuits, the love you share with your loved ones, and making the best out of what you (already) have.<\/p>\n

We should try to be as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153successful\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in our lives and photography as much as possible. What is the smallest possible thing you can do today, to be successful?<\/p>\n

This might include the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Going out and taking photos to the best of your ability<\/li>\n
  • Re-arranging your portfolio, printing your best work, and editing down your images to your personal favorites<\/li>\n
  • Start working on a photo-book, in terms of layout, sequencing, or publishing<\/li>\n
  • Figuring out ways you can uplift and motivate other photographers \u00e2\u20ac\u201d by sending them constructive critique on their work, by offering time to teach photography to someone else, or by blogging about photography<\/li>\n
  • Teaching yourself a little more photography \u00e2\u20ac\u201d by reading a photo book, by watching YouTube interviews with famous photographers, or by signing up for a photography class or workshop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Success is a state of mind<\/h2>\n

    Above all, I think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a state of mind \u00e2\u20ac\u201d in which only you can judge yourself.<\/p>\n

    Success means looking into the mirror in the evening and asking yourself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Did I do everything in my power to make the best of today? To do my creative work? To be useful to others? To share my heart with those I care about?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

    Forget the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

    But let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like the idea of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d in that case; I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it hurts to remove the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from your vocabulary.<\/p>\n

    Just work hard on your creative work, on a daily basis. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153failure.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Just do the work. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be attached to the results. Just put in the best effort that you can. I think this is the ultimate way a Zen Buddhist might approach the idea of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

    Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a slave to the opinions of others<\/h2>\n

    Above all, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let the opinions of others water down your own opinion of yourself.<\/p>\n

    Who cares if millions of people admire you, when you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t admire yourself? Who cares if everyone tells you that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re successful, but you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel successful in your own heart?<\/p>\n

    Follow your own gut. Your own voice. Your own soul.<\/p>\n

    Be the best photographer you can possibly be\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and judge your \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by your own inner-scorecard.<\/p>\n

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

    Dear friend, I was walking the streets of Hanoi today, with the question: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What is success? How would I define success? How do we know when we are \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuccessful\u00e2\u20ac\u2122? And is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a modern \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32760,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/eric-kim-street-photography-hanoi-0001714.jpg?fit=2000%2C1325&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32715","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=32715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}