One of the most common hater arguments: I can get _________ a lot cheaper/for free at ___________.

It’s easy to wring your hands and respond in an ugly way, since this is a hater hitting you in the wallet.  Remember, however, that this statement is true.  It’s no reflection on you for a cheapass to point out that wedding photography on Craigslist is only $40, or that there are thousands of free _____ products in the world.

You get what you pay for, and haters always want it cheaper.  If you get this e-mail, at least you know your work is close to being priced appropriately.

Another hater argument, common among photographers: oh, _______’s work is so totally overpriced. MY work is so much better.

Let’s remember that when a photographer brings in $20,000 for shooting a few hours of wedding photography and delivering a fabulous album, the industry as a whole is valued, appreciated, and monetarily viable.  Whether you like the work of x or not, those photographers who are commanding a great deal of money for their work are the rising tide that’s raising all ships.

My guess is that jealousy is speaking, right at that point where you devalue someone else.  Instead of pointing fingers, why not work on your own pricing strategy, lovely?

The ultimate hater argument, even more common among photographers: ___________ totally sucks, I don’t know why anyone pays attention to ___________ and why ___________’s blog has had x million hits.

Again, that’s jealousy talking.  If someone walked into your studio and told you that you’d be receiving x million hits to your blog in the next year, you wouldn’t turn it down.  You would be ecstatic.  Your self-esteem would probably go through the roof, your business would benefit monetarily, and my guess is that you would soon be launching a product or workshop aimed at sharing your knowledge.

Don’t let the big green monster make you a hater — remember to blog regularly.  To add that x factor of humanity, blog about yourself once for every three times you blog about photography.

Finally, the most common hater argument, from clients and photographers: I CAN TOTALLY DO THAT.

Maybe you can, maybe you can’t, but it’s insulting to say it.  I’ve handed my camera to clients who commented about how awesome my camera was, asking them to go ahead and make magic happen.  (Want to see a middle-aged, very-smug man shut up in a nanosecond?  Try it sometime…)

If we won’t accept that behavior from our clients, don’t go saying it about others in the industry.  Maybe you can light a couple with three strobes in the dark in front of an abandoned factory during a wedding time crunch and land on the cover of PDN, but you didn’t.

Minimizing other’s achievements, integrity, and creativity only demeans the photographic industry.  Don’t go there, honeybun.

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Phoenix area photographers: there are two spots left for my trip to Arizona from March 29 to April 1.
Click for details.

VISION. CREATIVITY. COURAGE.

Vision: If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re not going to get there.  Hoping  you’ll end up somewhere cool works when you take a road trip through the California coastline, but isn’t quite so effective when creating and building your brand.

Creativity: You’ve got to be willing to go to that place inside you, or your brand, where no one has ever been.  Force yourself to identify good branding in the candy bar aisle of your local convenience store.  Watch commercials for the logos.  Take a walk and identify elements of nature you consistently admire.  Sketch. Write. Draw. Paint.  Push yourself!

Courage: It isn’t easy to put yourself out there.  It’s a lot easier to hide behind a logo and talk about business, business, and only business than to admit you’re scared, you’re weak, you’re unsure of your brand, you’re having trouble potty-training your dog…it’s hard to be human when you’ve dealt with so many years of ‘professionalism’ meaning you act like a robot trained to swipe credit cards and thank customers for their purchase.

Let’s go beyond what’s expected of us, as artists, and create truly remarkable brands.