Below is a quote I first saw on my friend Rebecca’s pinterest and it got me thinking.

When I was young I was obsessed with being an individual and being different from everyone else. I guess it was my attempt to feel special, knowing that there were 6 billion other people on the planet made me feel very small. When other girls my age were dressing sexy and obsessed with being skinny, I was playing bass guitar, dressing in whatever style was a little bit rebellious at the time and touring with my band. But little did I know I was conforming just as much as anyone else and it wasn’t till I moved overseas, away from the people who influenced me, that I realised what I was doing. By trying to be different I was being exactly the same as the other ‘individuals’ I hung out with. Once I realised this I worked on being my true self and liking what I liked and hating what I hated. I was finally being me, someone unique…someone who didn’t like hardcore (can it be even called music?), who liked washing their hair, who hated banana’s and who didn’t like wearing skull t shirts as much as she originally thought.

I’ve now brought this ‘I’m just going to be myself’ attitude into my business and with it, comes freedom. I don’t feel like I have to impress anyone (except my clients) and I run my business how I want, not how others tell me to. This doesn’t mean I don’t seek advice and try to learn and change, but what this does mean is that I’ll never do something because ‘that’s just what a photographer does’. Examining the way you do things as a photographer is hard and asking the question ‘am I doing this because I want to or because I’ve been told to?’ is even harder. But being able to say ‘no this isn’t right for me’ is liberating! You’ll run your business with more conviction because every direction you take will be your direction, not that really famous photographer who you saw at a workshops direction. Trust yourself!