Photography Take Two

A couple of years ago, when I started getting back into photography, I reached out to Madison Magazine to see if they were interested in using me as a freelance photographer. They reviewed my images and agreed! They gave me a straightforward assignment: to take photos of local businesses for their “Best of Madison” edition.

Keep in mind, I had just started doing photography again after taking like a decade off using my camera gear. I was rusty. The images showed it too unfortunately. Since it is what I had, I still submitted them, and they used some, but not all of them. I felt horrible, and the editor even said they were not what they were expecting, and I never heard back. I just bombed it. Were they horrible images, no. They just weren’t anything great either, and certainly not up to the standard that I expect from myself.

Second Chance

This year’s edition of the “Best of Madison” just came out, and I was insanely lucky to have another chance to do some shots again. A couple months ago, I had emailed the editor and simply said that I knew I screwed up. Explaining that I got a bit too ambitious and should have waited until I had been shooting a little more so I could brush off the cobwebs in my brain. I took ownership of my mistake and spoke to the lessons I had learned. I sent some of my more recent photography work for review, and I was amazingly given another chance.

While nothing special (except for the statue as it was a main story in the edition), I am happy with the results this time. The first assignment was photographing the statue, which was a new statue that was just unveiled. Then, grabbing images of signs from 3 local bars/restaurants for a matching game. While “easy”, it still took a little planning to ensure the signs were on and accessible. One was inside during operating hours, but they were not too busy so I was able to get some shots.

More importantly, the editor was happy with them as well. Hopefully this leads to more assignments from this magazine as well as giving me more opportunities in the future with others. I guess there are two morals that I learned here that I wanted to pass along.

First:

If you are going to pitch yourself to someone offering your photography services, be 110% sure you can deliver. I am not suggesting that you don’t push yourself. You absolutely should be willing to take risks, but be sure that you can at least give solid minimum results. Since I had not been working extensively with my camera in that type of work, my brain just wasn’t thinking in the way that it needed to to deliver.

Second:

Don’t be afraid to admit that you messed up. It is critical that we acknowledge that we make mistakes. I don’t mean just as photographers. This is a life skill that will help you develop as a person. If you are going to ask for another chance with someone you messed up with, admit where you were wrong; and equally as important, show that you have learned and can apply that knowledge.

If you can do those two things, the chances for you to move forward and have opportunities will appear. Yes, you will be turned down. Probably a lot, I know I have. When you do, ask for feedback why. Sometimes it’s really not you, it’s just the situation. When it is you, listen to what they tell you and reflect. If it’s a skill thing or the like, go learn. If it’s a “you do great work, but it’s not our style”, you have two options: You can either change your style, or you can accept that and move on. I am not going to tell you which of those to do.