What’s holding you back?
By Albert Pedrosa
I SAW a link in Facebook that talks about photography and the topic was about what’s holding you back in your photography journey. It didn’t take a lot of thinking for me to jump into the article and find out myself what I’m lacking and maybe help it share to my students as well. Hoping that this article will free everyone from disappointment.
With a ton of excitement, I watched the video. After a minute of beating around the bush, I decided to end the video and start the automated assessment, it turned out to be too general and definitely not something I was expecting. I decided to write about the topic instead and share my own experience in the ever complicated world of photography.
When I decided to seriously learn photography back seven years ago, at that time, I also wanted to learn playing the guitar. My love for music is as much as my love for photography. Why did I end up doing well in photography than in music after many years? Because I only tried to learn playing guitar when I had the time to spare. In photography, I don’t wait for time; instead, I create them.
If there’s no room in my schedule, I prioritize, and photography happens to be one of my top priorities. There’s always a time to shoot no matter what. There was no reward that I was expecting in return at that time, It was just about being able to do it or at least boost some confidence in myself to continue learning more. The satisfaction that I get every time I’m shooting was already the reward.
My thirst for knowledge about photography is overwhelming that if there’s something that’s holding me back, I probably didn’t notice it. My determination and commitment to what I do is more than enough for me to break through any obstacles and hurdles along the way. Although there is one that will forever exist in my journey and that is “self-doubt.”
Self-doubt will kill you and your dreams. The urge to give up when you start doubting yourself is so intense that there’s really not much you can do about it. There is no going around it as well and worse is you don’t know how long it will last. No amount of advice can get you out of a slump except yourself.
The only solution to the problem is to keep on going. Even if you completely think that it’s not going to work, keep on walking. Even if it’s taking so long for you to bounce back, keep moving forward. You cannot see the future but you can always create it starting today.
Remember that photographers are masters of light, so they can always put a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep on shooting, everyone!
photomania.sunstar@gmail.com
www.albertpedrosa.com
