Our outer game of business (the photography, client relationships, marketing and sales etc.) deals with the tactics and strategies we use to conduct our everyday business. However, before we can develop and strengthen our outer game to produce a healthy photography business, we have to face the facts of our inner game, and the great influence it can have.

Wedding photographer Irene Abdou is focused as much on her mindset as she is on her photography.

The power of a properly-focused mindset is one of the most important, but least talked-about, attributes of the professional photographer. Our inner game deals with our overall attitude, state of mind, philosophy, and level of commitment – all of which have a profound impact on our ability to grow our business.

This is one area that really separates the wannabe’s from the true professionals in the industry.

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Interviews attitude, Irene Abdou, mindset, photography business, professional photography

In my previous post, I mentioned a book I read recently that has really altered not only the way I see the world, but also how I operate within it. “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek is a must-read for everyone and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The tenet of the book is simple – so simple, in fact, that it seems almost obvious. But, like many “obvious” things in life, it’s not obvious until someone smarter than us takes the time to point it out. Put in its most fundamental form, the idea is that successful individuals, leaders, brands and companies are successful because they have a common way of thinking, which is the opposite to most everyone else. Instead of communicating “what” they do, they articulate “why” they do it first.

Here, I believe, is a great example from the world of photography, someone we photographers are very familiar with…

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How To Be A Professional Photographer Ansel Adams, attitude, inspiration, marketing, Simon Sinek, Start With Why

You’d better answer the door, because it may not come knocking again – worse still, it will probably knock on your competitor’s door to see if they are listening. Opportunity is blind in the sense that it doesn’t really care who answers, as long as someone does.

The inspiration for this post is this great quote I saw this morning:

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.”   Benjamin Disraeli

What does this statement really mean? There is certainly more to it than first meets the eye…

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Personal Zen attitude, encouragement, opportunity, success

One of the biggest challenges facing myself and other professional photographers is how to stay continually creative – how to produce images that are full of life and energy that force us to develop and grow as artists. This is especially true in the current economic climate and with today’s hectic lifestyle, with all the stress and worry that comes with the territory of trying to run a successful business.

Stress is apparently one of the archenemies of creativity, and it can quickly lead to feeling unmotivated or being unable to create work that feels new, fresh and uplifting. If we are already tired before we begin, and feeling burned-out, we can come back from a photography session feeling unsatisfied with the results. This leads to a sense of insecurity, lack of confidence in what we’re doing, and even more stress.

If we aren’t careful, we might become locked into an ever-decreasing circle that could lead to more serious consequences, such as depression – with disastrous consequences for our business.

It’s all too easy to succumb to this cycle, and even easier to blame everything else for the problems we face (the economy, where we live, other responsibilities, even the weather), but how do we combat this and stay positive and creative?

I don’t pretend to have anything close to all the answers to this question, which is why I invite comments from anyone who might have any insight on this subject – I’m sure it will make for a lively discussion. However, I have found some things that can certainly help me at least and thought I would share them here…

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Personal Zen attitude, creative, creativity, encouragement, professional photographer, success

Unless you’ve been on another planet for the last few months, you’ve probably heard the word “recession” more times than you would have liked to. The news is full of it, mainly because negative material like that is more newsworthy – have you noticed how the [few] positive stories on the news are at the end of the reports, and are given the least amount of air-time?

All this negativity flying around is one reason why I really try hard to limit my exposure to the news during the day, and I try very hard not to look at it at all before at least noon.

But it isn’t just the news – it’s all around us; the people we talk to on the phone, our family, friends, neighbors, Facebook friends, Tweeters and all those other folks we connect to online. Everyone, it seems, is convinced that the end of the world is on its way.

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Personal Zen attitude, encouragement, inspiration, positive, professional photographer, success