Be original.

Todays blog post comes from my thoughts & heart. Something thats been weighing on my mind for quite sometime now. Being a photographer everyone wants to capture something moving, creative and different. We all go out with our cameras and try to think outside the box. We spend hundreds of dollars to learn from the ‘best’ and invest into our branding. We try to be original. What does it mean to be original? I mean truly original? In the world that we live in today, (which I like to call the Social Media Era) from Facebook, Twitter, Instragram and of course Pinterest where it is as easy as a click of a button to share creative pictures & ideas. Honestly, in my opinion it is the hardest out of all the years of the invention of photography to be original, Please notice I said ‘hardest’ not impossible. We share our work & inspire one another. But in the midst of all of the sharing and being inspired we must be ourselves, original.

In all my years of being in this business I have learned more then anything it is so important to be yourself, your true self. Even if some people disagree, which you will always have people with loud opinions. In this Social media Era it is crucial to be yourself. Getting to my point here… 😉 I have decided to start speaking of things that most people like to ignore. I know that if I feel this way, there must be other people who think the same. So i’ll be the first to speak up! In my journey of self discovery through my photography and branding I made an unconventional list of ways to help myself and in hopes help you as well!

1) First and foremost stick with your beliefs and morals. Do not lose focus of what is most important to you. Branding is more then just photography, fonts, colors, etc. Clients hire you for YOU and YOU should be shinning through your images!

2) You are the company you keep. If you value yourself, your business and your branding then you would be careful who you let get close to you. By all means be nice and open arms to everyone but in this business you begin to learn who are and are not the best kind of people to be around. (And instantly you all had someone pop in your mind after reading this.. yes, that person!)

3) Be the first! This is something I am working on at the moment =) Be the first to talk about things most people do not talk about! Because, you’ll find, a lot of people feel the same way!

4) Learn and study your style of photography! I cannot express this enough! Your photos are the first thing potential clients will see. Find your style of photography and invest your time and knowledge into learning to make ALL of your portraits consistent of your style. What you post and share online will give clients an idea of your style, therefore they will expect that same kind of style for their portraits. There’s nothing worse then having a client that is expecting one thing and getting another! Consistency!

5) Watch your ego! After being in the business for some time I have met some people with the biggest egos. Do not be one of them. It is natural to feel achieved and on some sort of creative level with your career and photography when you have a steady flow of clients rolling in. But do not let that go to your head. Help others, share your story and be nice to newbies! Because you were once that ‘newbie’!

I hope that this post has lifted your hearts and gave you something to think about!

Bright blessings,

Nikki

(p.s. I am also in the process of coming up with a signature name for myself when ending blog posts or status updates, any thoughts?)