Awareness, Intention and Energy In Photography

The Practice of Aikido In Photography
Until recently I used to practice the martial art of Aikido. While I gave up the physical practice of Aikido (bad knees, etc.), I am still finding it a great practice in my life and business.  In Aikido you blend with your opponent or attacker and then redirect their energy away from you. You are responsible both for protecting yourself as well as for the safety of your attacker. It is bad karma for you if you either allow someone to hurt you, or if you injure them. For me, the true power of Aikido is not so much in throwing people (and being thrown) in the dojo, but rather the practice of Aikido in everyday life and, in my case, in my photography career.

A Universal Law With Stock Photographers
I will be getting my Getty sales report in a couple of days, and I was thinking about how when the report is good I get fired up to make more images, and when it is not so good I get discouraged. This seems to be pretty much a universal law with the stock photographers I know and talk to, and the last thing any of us can afford to do in this market is get discouraged. All of us, no matter how accomplished, are going to have those moments of negative energy that we must rise above in order to reach continuing success.

Redirecting Energy Into Creativity And Productivity
As I mentioned before, in Aikido, we are taught to utilize an attacker's energy against that attacker by redirecting it. Rather than get bowled over by a bad sales report, an unfavorable edit, or a difficult shoot, I want to be able to redirect that hit of energy into creative and productive activities. This largely amounts to awareness and intention. I maintain awareness of my tendencies and I keep the intention of what I want to accomplish. I want to stay positive, to keep my energy high, and flowing in productive directions.

Awareness, Intention And A Plan
When I get those negative energy hits it helps me to have a plan to fall back on. A plan allows me to avoid indecision about what I should be doing and be sure that my energy is directed towards what is important to advance my career. Awareness helps me know what to expect, intention gets me moving, and a plan allows me to move efficiently into my next step.

Be A Conductor Orchestrating Energy
In Aikido the goal is not to resist energy but to flow with it. In this time of transformation for the photography industry it makes far more sense to flow with the forces of change than to resist a power that is so much stronger than we are. Let that energy propel you into new ways to succeed. Another visual metaphor for this approach is that of a conductor who orchestrates the energy rather than trying oppose it. But whatever the visual or the metaphor, the important point is that while we cannot dictate what is going on around us, we can choose how we react and deal with those forces. For me, keeping the principles of Aikido in mind, and having a plan, helps me to do just that.

The most dependable income

The most dependable income

I just read on the net that a study showed the most dependable way to earn money is to win a novelty half-time contest at a basketball game that requires sinking a basket from the half-court line. Apparently mathematical calculation also took into consideration that the consolation prize often includes a food item from the concession stand.

Yesterday, for just a few moments, I overhead a radio show in which the topic was recession-proof jobs. I heard the radio announcer say that the most recession-proof job was high school portrait photographer. He pointed out that no matter how bad things get parents will always want high school portraits of their children, especially high school graduation pictures.

My stock photo income

That got me to thinking. Right now my stock photography income is down about 18%. Now that is a lot, but I personally know four people who have lost their jobs in the last three months. Having my income dip by twenty percent isn’t nearly as devastating as losing my job. Even down by twenty percent stock photography is a cash cow for me!

Job security, a misconception

That brings up what I believe is an interesting misconception. Many people I have spoken to over the years cite security as the reason they wouldn’t want to be self-employed. Let me give you a couple of examples of “employment security”. My sister-in-law was working for Bank of America as a writer. Within a week of winning an award and being cited for her work by her supervisor, the entire department was let go. Surprise! A friend of mine was a senior art director for a greeting card company for many years. A venture capital firm bought the company and then proceeded to sell off the assets tell there was nothing left. So much for that job security! Self-employed people have far more security. We can measure what we earn from our efforts. Nobody else takes the blame; nobody else can claim the rewards. Our futures are in nobody’s hands except for our own.

As a stock photographer I feel exceptionally lucky in these difficult economic times. Sure, there are lots of those who are predicting the demise of the whole industry do to Micro stock, a glut of images and large agencies that don’t care about the interests of individual photographers. OK, so maybe I have to work a little smarter and a little harder. I can do that, and since I love what I do I don’t mind it.

The stock picture industry has become more interesting

In fact, the whole industry has become more interesting to me now that I have to really think about what I am doing. I am optimizing my site to increase sales both through traditional channels and directly to industry players and to the public. I am thinking more strategically in what I shoot and how I shoot it. I am paying attention to my sales and I am not forgetting that creativity is paramount. The changes in the industry and the economic climate have pushed me to collaborate more and I love it. I am growing more than I ever have.

The ultimate security

Further, as a stock photographer I can see my income rise or fall and take appropriate action. I don’t wake up one day and find that I am out of a job and have no income! Being self-employed as a photographer offers me far more security than any staff position. I am responsible for my self and my success or failure. I am under no (OK, few) illusions. That is the ultimate security!