Why Blue Matters: Through the Photographer’s Lens

Welcome to Through the Photographers Lens,

In this week’s post I thought I’d talk about “Dream Killers!” I’ve heard it said that the cemetery is the richest place on earth because that is where all the unpublished books, cures for diseases, music, poetry and art are all buried. Buried there because the people who had these much needed works of art and science did not follow through with their potential and dreams. I asked myself, why would those who have been blessed with a gift let it be buried with them and not share those gifts with the world and I realized that those souls let something or someone Kill Their Dreams. With that I thought, well, what are the things that kill dreams and what can I do as a photographer and writer do to help stop this madness, and I started to devise a list. I could only come up with three things that can kill dreams. Family, Friends and peers and YOU!!!

When I started out as a photographer, I had many people in my life that said ok great you want to be a full time photographer but what else are you going to do? I kind of looked at them sideways at first but then I had to understand that they were just doing or saying what they thought would be right and supportive and realize that these opinions and advice came from the point of view of people that would also tell me that they had no artistic abilities at all (which I never believe).

Pursuing a career in the arts take far more dedication and discipline than most people outside the artistic community would understand and easily forget that being a full time artist is still a business and needs to be treated as such. Sadly many people inside the community forget that it is a business as well and end up having their careers end shortly after they start.

So, I thought I would take a little time to cover some basics of being a full time artist. First and foremost it IS a business and the day you forget that is the day you fail yourself. Let’s face facts, no matter what your career path is you still have living expenses and bills to maintain which means that everything you do needs to show profit. That said you should take some sort of business management class to help you better understand and navigate through setting up and running your artistic business. But beyond the financial there is your support base. You have to have a support base that understands what it is that you are trying to accomplish with your craft. If your support base does not understand its role in your life then how can they support you? How can your dream come true and who are the biggest dream killers in the artist’s life? Well, the biggest is family!

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing like family. The love and support that an understanding family can provide can make champions of us all, but when the family does not fully understand your heart’s desire or the passion you have for your craft they can be very hurtful even if it is not their intention. How many artists out there can say that Mommy and Daddy and the Grand Parents completely understand your need to be an artist? How many times have you heard, all that music stuff is nice but you need a job with some benefits? What’s gonna happen when you have to go see a doctor? How are you going to pay your rent when you don’t know when your next gig is or if your next job is a few weeks or even months away? There has to be a point in the life of the artist when you will have to sit down and explain your passions to your family and hope they understand. Sadly this conversation usually leads to some arguing, exposed repressed feelings about you and your craft and how you are throwing your life away. I urge you all, when this comes about don’t take the easy road and just turn your back on them. After all they are your family and they mean well even if they don’t know any better or just won’t listen. At the end of the day you have several choices to make especially where your family is concerned. Make them wisely and love them anyway!!! Not everyone is going to understand the mind of an artist so stop thinking they will and stop thinking that you are going to be the exception to the rule that makes them fully understand. There comes a point where you just have to re-evaluate your dedication to your craft and examine your methods and use their unwillingness to understand as your inspiration to go farther and do better. Learn this line: “ Mom, Dad, I love you but you just don’t understand and I can’t force that on you, but I can’t let it stop me from being who I am.”

The second set of Dream Killers is your friends. They have many of the same view points as your family will have only but your friends will be a little more cynical about it. Some may even show some form of jealousy. “How are you going to make money at that?”, “Why don’t you get a regular job and do that on the side?” is what I have heard many of my friends say. They will be the first to point and sneer when you fail but will also be first in line when the royalty checks come in. Odd, isn’t it? I guess there is something to be said for persistency. Nevertheless, after a while the pressure coming from them gets to be a bit much and you start to evaluate the people you are keeping around you. You start to think “are these people conducive to me reaching my goals?” “How are they going to look at me if I should fail”, “how are they going to look at me if I should succeed?” Either way, I say again, love them for who they are. Listen to them, but make sure that your drive and determinations toward your craft are strong and true because your friends will be first to test them. Don’t let them stop or even slow you down!!! This is your dream for your life.

The last and most deadly opponent your dreams could have comes from within. That’s right, you are your biggest dream killer. Think of how many times things have gone wrong in your artistic career and you just wanted to give up. Sell all your gear, close up shop and go home and get a regular 9 to 5 and live a normal life like everyone else. Well this is the new millennium and there are no more normal lives. If you don’t stand up and own your own business then you have to work for someone else, those are your options. At least in owning your own business, you have a little more “Say so” in what happens and if your 401K plan vanishes it’s because you didn’t keep up the payments not because someone was fooling around with your benefits package to save a dollar. Sure everyone likes to know that every two weeks a pay check is coming in, it’s a comforting thought, but knowing that you can control how much that check is because of your own hard work and skill feels so much better. Be careful listening to the advice of the ill-informed. Advice coming from someone who has no affiliations with the arts other than you can cause you to second guess yourself. Criticism will come, that is why we are artists, so expect it from everyone and anyone. Don’t let it stop you, take the information and “eat the meat and spit out the bone and fat” as my Pastor once taught me. Incorporate the information that helps you grow and the information that is hurtful or hindering let it go. Ultimately, you made the decisions to become an artist and you need to develop a powerful relationship with what that means, because if you don’t believe in you then no one else will.

Stay strong and artistic, the world needs to hear from YOU!!!

What are your thoughts?