It was lovely to receive a few ‘congratulations on your work anniversary’ posts on LinkedIn recently… 24 years it said!! Blimey – way to go to make a girl feel ‘old’! But it actually got me thinking about being in the same ‘job’ for so long.

Although, I have never really considered being a Photographer as a ‘job’, more as a life long passion as it happens. Like a crush that starts off young, develops, flourishes, shifts and goes off tangent and at times, tests you like all love affairs. My parents gave me my first camera that was a Practika for my 16th birthday. I didn’t have a clue how to use it but soon enough I was my high school’s official photographer. As fate would have it, my failed work experience with a Graphic Designer lead me to the door of a highly respected photographer called David Seeto in Toowoomba.

You might recall one of David’s more memorable images of the iconic Australian character RM Williams where he is sitting on a chair, wearing his old Akubra and holding onto a stock whip. I was there that day holding onto the reflector. Perhaps that day was more important to me then I realised at the time – it was more than the shoot itself. It was about the people you met, listened to and learnt from along the way. RM served up scones and rough Bush Tea in his very basic kitchen, without too many airs and graces and yarned away.

What an opportunity and a privilege.

With every school break I had and for a year after I graduated high school, I learnt the tricks of the trade in a commercial studio, spent hours in a dark room, learned about the business and worked on my Folio to hopefully get me into Queensland College of Art. Back then, you needed to be a pretty decent base ‘Photographer’ to even be considered for an interview to start the Bachelor Degree. Higher Education is different now – all you need now is a ‘cheque book and a heart beat’…

I remember it like it was yesterday as one of the most nerve wracking days of my life!! A LOT was riding on this. 800 applicants – 200 interviews – 35 positions. My parents drove me to Brisbane and waited for me to come out of the panel interview. My Mother recalls seeing the adrenaline pumping out of me when I walked out – nailed it. I was 18.

The next 3 years of University consisted of back to basics, learning to look after myself, assessments, home brew, trying to harness and evolve the creative process and again, an opportunity of ‘work experience’. I put my proposal forward to the Sydney Morning Herald and Reuters and was accepted. There I learned from Old School News shooters and listened to their stories and whining about the Packers and the Murdochs (nothing has changed in Media it seems!) …

There was also another Photographer there called Palani Mohan. I don’t think I had ever met anyone who talked about Photography with such passion! We talked for hours about the names he had photographed, political campaign trails, hard news situations he’d been stuck in the middle of but the most fascinating stories were from his volunteer days with World Vision and the Red Cross. People, cultures, hardships, events and alternate realities that we mostly, have no idea about. That’s what I wanted to experience and document through my photography!

Postcards from ThailandDozens of phone calls later and connections made and with my parents’ financial support, I took myself off to Thailand, my first Nikon in hand and a bag full of TMax to work alongside an agency called ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism) for a month or so. They allowed me to photograph in Secret AIDS orphanages and Women’s Shelters – a huge reality check for a 21-year-old girl from Brisbane. It was tough – mentally, emotionally and physically. It’s actually quite a long story (for another time) but I’m still quite proud of the body of work I produced for my final year portfolio in 1993.

 

 

Fast forward to 2018 – you do the math and insert heart palpitations! I’m still here and I’m still doing this ‘job’. But would you call it a job or would you call it a passion? Or would you call it – lucky? Lucky in the sense that I am still getting paid for something that I love doing all these years later! I have always been surrounded by photography with every single position that I’ve had – a staff shooter for Magazines, Picture Editor for National Papers, a Teacher and of course, in my own Business. And, a couple of dead end positions working for people I didn’t like. None of those positions are easy and there is constant pressure to perform and produce under less than optimal circumstances plus, knowing that there are 100 people lined up behind you to take that position for themselves…

To be honest, I’ve never worked so hard before than being a Sole Trader being responsible for your very existence and that of your family in a unforgiving economy, all the while as I try to educate my students, clients and punters alike that there’s much more to it than pressing a button.

So why stay in an Industry where Photography has seen incredible technological advancements in such a relatively short period of time that it has put thousands out of a job, the age of the Smart Phone is allowing everyone ‘to be a photographer’ and someone will always be willing to do it cheaper…

I’ll tell you why. You are passionate! It doesn’t matter what you do in life, for work, for a hobby – whatever it is, do it with heart and approach each new opportunity, Client and project with the same amount of enthusiasm and wide-eyed excitement as you did when you first started. I truly believe that’s what sets one person apart from another, or in this case, one competitor to the next.

Don’t get me wrong, passion can wane and lose its rosy hue at times and that’s natural – for many and varied reasons. Hell, it might fly out the window at the first sign of a few hurdles. It depends on what you are made of too… Life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes and destiny may dictate others plans. I know for a fact that I could be and want to be doing much more with my Personal Photography and could use another lifetime to accomplish all my red wine dreams. Everyone and I mean everyone, will need to push the reset button to refocus on their career path – no pun intended. Passion may or may not stay with you till the end of days, however dedication, a thick skin and perseverance are key characteristics you need to possess to be successful in this game.

Let’s face it – it’s hard work out there and some days you need sheer iron will to survive the day-to-day grind of keeping a business afloat. But if you are just starting out, struggling to break into the Industry and need a few USP’s under your belt or you’ve come a long way down the line and you want to reignite your first love, if I may – a few suggestions and the odd life lesson I have learned and how I operate…

  • Surround yourself with people to fan your flames, not douse them
  • Create images just for you occasionally and not for a Client – remember why you fell in love with photography in the first place
  • Outsource the things that suck the life out of you such as bookkeeping or repetitive post production
  • Push your own personal best boundaries to the next level or attempt something new from a different genre
  • Don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth – add up all of your Costs of Doing Business and you’ll see how expensive this gig really is!
  • Step away from the Post Production Presets – start from the beginning to understand what you are doing to your images. Be unique instead of all “Mayfair” and “Lo Fi”
  • Get out of your head – don’t let the quiet times allow negative thoughts about your abilities creep in
  • Educate yourself and invest in Professional Development – even outside Photography
  • ‘The Business End’ – take a course in small business management. Market yourself in the busy times, if you start thinking about it in the quiet times it’s too late
  • Revel in other people’s successes and support other Photographer’s work
  • Nurture your Networks at all times and never take them for granted
  • Practice and master The Golden Hour both of them
  • High Energy aka Enthusiasm – it’s infectious and people will be drawn to it!
  • You will always have ‘difficult customers’ be professional at all times and rise above. Drink wine and vent with your BFF behind their backs to get it off your chest
  • Build meaningful relationships until people know, like and trust you. Invest yourself into each situation and attempt to be a problem solver. Add value where possible
  • Study the Masters of Photography – from an actual book
  • Educate others, tell stories and pass on your life experiences, even when people look at you weird when you regale in the memories of printing you own images from film in the Dark Room… the anticipation as you slip a piece of photographic paper into the developer, letting it wash over, agitating the tray up and down, waiting for the latent image to appear… (For instance)
  • Get down onto a Child’s level – they too have an interesting point of view
  • Pay real close attention to the details – take time to tweak
  • Do unto others – treat everyone you meet with kindness and respect and never judge
  • Customer Service is the final frontier – a referral is the greatest compliment
  • Explain very politely that your Bank Manger does not accept ‘exposure’ as a form of payment on your credit cards
  • You can NOT please everyone all of the time
  • “The Elements and Principles of Design” will make you a better Photographer
  • Give credit to everyone in a collaborative project #thankyou
  • Self deprecation and making people laugh will always put people at ease in front if the camera – have fun for God’s sake and leave the ego at home
  • Send a handwritten note of thanks – take the time and buy a stamp
  • Really talk to people before you shove your camera in their face – ask them questions and find out more about them. It makes for more relaxed and malleable models
  • Print what you want to preserve
  • Photograph your loved ones as often as you can. And just as importantly, pass your camera over so you can be in the photo too – or get a Professional to do it for you

Passion and purpose goes hand in hand, and we may take our whole lives figuring out what our purpose actually is! Is it my purpose to be a Photographer? I’ve been one for a very long time yet I’m no Henri Cartier Bresson or Annie Leibovitz. But I’d like to think I’ve done all right, made small positive impacts and differences in people’s lives throughout my career and, at the very least, people like and appreciate my work.

And knowing that I have many more years left to follow my passion makes me happy.

If you’d like to ask any questions, get in touch! info@leahdesborough.com