I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now. It’s been four years since you started this crazy business idea of yours. You wanted a camera for Christmas. You started learning all you could from Pinterest and scouring the internet into the wee hours of the morning before you could even play with it. Hours and hours of youtube videos, all to learn more about this new crazy passion that you have.

You knew that you wanted to be a great photographer by the time you had a baby, or babies. You have seen other friends that are amazing photographers and take some great photos of their kids, and you want to do that same. So keep practicing. Practice when you don’t feel like practicing. Take all the adventures that you can, because once those babies come, it won’t be so easy! Sure you’ll be able to take photos of those babies, but at some point, you will want to do more than that.

One thing though, it’s not always going to be easy. It’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows and once everyone finds out that you started a photography business, they’ll all just come running to work with you. It won’t work like that. You’ll have to HUSTLE! You’ll have to spend hours and hours a day working on SEO, and marketing, and social media, as well as shooting and editing your sessions you do have. People may not take you seriously at first. Wait, second thought. People WILL NOT take you serious at first. They say most photographers that start a business don’t make it past the first three years. IT’S HARD WORK. It’s exhausting putting everything into your business and then having a client that’s unhappy with what you delivered.

You are going to feel vulnerable. ALL. THE.TIME. You put time and love into this passion, and when you don’t feel like you are getting any of that back in return, it’s going to be hard.

There’s going to be times you just want to give up. There’s going to be a lot of those days. There will be moments, or weeks on end, that you think things like “no one is ever going to book me again.” “why do I even keep trying?” “So-and-so keeps getting to take photos of people, and I don’t! What am I doing wrong!?”

You’re not doing anything wrong, and don’t compare yourself to others. I REPEAT: DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS!!!! It’s going to drive you crazy. Their works is theirs. They are a completely different individual than you. You don’t like shooting that way, or editing your photos like that, so don’t compare yourself to them. You are Misty, so be Misty.

There’s going to be people who don’t like your work. The sooner you can get over it, the better. There’s always going to be someone who books a cheaper option over you. There’s always going to be people that choose to have a friend or a family member be the one to take their photos because they can’t afford you. Don’t take it personally.

There’s so many things that I wish I could have told you four years ago, but at least you continue to grow. Keep growing. Keep learning. Keep hustling. You’re going somewhere. 🙂