We need to give ourselves as photographers, the same encouragement that we give to our clients. ⁣

We tell our clients that perfection is over-rated. We tell them we are here to capture the beauty of who they are. We tell them to be brave. We tell them to not worry about feeling awkward. We tell them to have fun. We tell them that even if they never post a single image on social media, that those images are for their personal joy. We tell them their stories matter. We tell them to make their own rules. We tell them that what counts is focusing on what’s important to them.⁣

Yet we spend our days perfectly curating our feeds, bound by ideas of what they should look like & struggling to work with ever-changing algorithms. We are fearful of posting personal things - our thoughts, beliefs, convictions, experiences, memories, & milestones. We are scared of being vulnerable. We are scared of not being liked. We are scared of not being needed or wanted. We post out of obligation rather than inspiration.⁣

I get it. This is your business. It’s important to serve your clients well. It’s important to build a sustainable, profitable business. Sometimes, numbers do matter. There are technical rights & wrongs of doing things - even social media. But if you’re not careful - you’ll end up spending all of your time trying to live up to someone else’s expectations, or trying to live up to what you think someone else’s expectations are. That’s a sure way to burn out.⁣

I’m not saying to completely abandon your business knowledge or to not adhere to some type of social media structure, but I am saying to show the world who you are & what you are about. Be brave. Have fun. Post out of joy. Make your own rules. Be honest. Be vulnerable. Share what matters to you.⁣

Not everyone is going to like or connect with you, your words, or your work. But there will be those that do and that is important. You are going to lose followers. You are going to have people that disagree with you. You are going to have critics. There will always be others who do it better, have more followers, & have more influence. But you show up anyways, friend. That’s what counts.

XO, Dakota