Fear stops you from doing great things

In the past I was a shy guy who had problems to look into other peoples eyes or giving hands. The first breakthrough in beating the shyness was a bunch of new friends I met on a camping vacation. We started with skateboarding together and my self confidence was growing every day a bit more.

Looking back on this transformation shows me how fear is holding you back from doing inspirational and great things. It is like standing in front of a closed door and don´t know how to operate the handle. You can open the door. But the fear from doing something wrong holds you back.

feeling like behind a wall? a wall built by you...
Even in terms of photography there are many fears:

My work is bad. I am not a good photographer!

 Other people are better than me!

 I want to take a portrait of strangers but I fear rejection!

There are thousands of fears. But trust me. It is worth to fight them step by step. If in your eyes your work is not good enough, try to get in contact with other photographers. Maybe they have the time for some honest critique. Buy yourself some books of great photographers to get some inspiration about the different styles of photography. When another photographers is getting more views than you and is more successful, don´t worry. I doesn´t mean that your photos are crap. Maybe he is doing more networking (very important) behind the scenes or is in the lucky position the meet the actual Zeitgeist. If you think that something is wrong with your portfolio than try to change it. Play with different styles. Maybe you are on the wrong road. There are so many ways to get new inspiration and get off the old track. Don´t think that life is a one-way-road. Just do it.

If want to take portraits of strangers in the streets but you are way too shy? Try it with people you know. And then with friends of them. You may end up with strangers feeling more save and experienced. Do it step by step. There is no need to change your life overnight.

Fear holds us back from living the life we want to live. Don´t get old and regret all the things you have not done. Start today with the life you desire.

Step by step!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why should you buy the new X-PRO2?

Image
I wrote some articles about the X-PRO1/2 in the past. I mentioned there that you don´t need to upgrade your camera if you're happy with it. Maybe you spend the money on travel, prints or some more lenses. If you are starting from the scratch or need a faster and better camera I will tell you why this camera is perfect for you: the rangefinder style - if you shooting street or reportage etc. it is great to use a camera that won't cover your whole face to maintain eye contact with your subject (this is not the case with the X-T1) faster auto focus even in near dark environments - I often missed a shot because of this with my X100s, X-PRO1 (but you can also use an X-T1) weather sealing - in conjunction with a water proof lens you can now do some shots without fearing a malfunction inside your precious camera more responsive - the faster cpu will make this camera more like an analog one where everything happens when you press a button without too many lagging ISO dial -...
More information »

Yesterday I sold my Ricoh GR III and traded it for a X100F

Image
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion and the camera might work for you. This is not a Fuji is better than everything post :-) I've tried to love the Ricoh and have a little list with pros and cons: The good Size - If you need an APS-C sensor pocket camera, this is the one! The lens is superb and walks back into the body making it a super duper small camera! Image quality - the files have a great range and a neutral color reproduction. Nothing to complain. Craftmanship - the camera body is sturdy. Even the moving lens works flawless. The bad Menu - the menu system is not as easy as I know it from my Fuji gear. There are some nice ideas like the custom settings that can be tied to the mode-wheel, but overall I was not satisfied. Shutter button - a soft mess for me. It failed for me when it comes to a half press lock many times. It doesn't feel right for me. Display - in bright sunlight you are lost. I've also missed the possibility to review a photo through the EVF in brig...
More information »

The GF 100-200m - first impressions

Image
  I did it. After selling my whole Fuji rig last year in trade for a GFX50r combined with the 62mm 2.8 it was followed by the 50mm 3.5 and now the 100-200mm 5.6. Without a telephoto lens something is missing for me. Sometimes you need the compression and the depth of field provided by such a lens for portraits, architecture, landscapes and for things far away. In future I also want to buy the teleconverter to beef up the focal length a bit more. There are so many scenes that cry for a telephoto lens. Believe me! :-) My first impression was like expected for a Fuji lens in that price range, the resulting images are sharp with lots of detail without any compromise in color rendition. The bokeh is pleasing and the lens just does the job. There is no tube sticking out of the lens body wich makes the whole thing a bit heavy (but weather sealed) and bulky, but the quality of the results are worth the cramps and muscle pain. This is the hard work that photography was always about with hea...
More information »