Hi Michael- I am thinking about purchasing either a Canon Rebel T1i or a 50D. Which one should I get?
Michael- I am struggling deciding between Photoshop Elements and the older CS3. Can you tell me why I would want one over the other?
Should I get the Canon 5DII or should I wait for the 7D?
Hey Mr Mentor Man- I was wondering, can you take a look at my portfolio (see attached link) and tell me what I can do to improve?
Michael- Im interested in starting a photography business, but just don’t know where to start…can you tell me how to get it going?
Hi Michael- I am interested in getting a good all round lens. I hear the 28-135 is nice, but think I might need something a little nicer. Can you give me suggestions? Thanks!
I am sympathetic to everyone who has such a question, Ive been there- I know exactly how you feel. However, as a rule, whenever someone sends me an email like this, I do not respond. There are a number of reasons, and I’m not trying to be rude. I get hundreds of them and could literally spend all day answering emails. (BTW-If you are looking for specific information to help you make a decision, please go to the forum, where you have a much better chance of having your question answered by myself or someone else.)
I also think, especially if you are trying to start a business that you need to learn to be brave about making your own decisions. There is a natural human tendency, when we face uncertainty, we become fearful and want to remove the responsibility off our shoulders and have someone else decide for us.
Other times, we have the right idea of what the correct choice is, but we still ask others because we want to feel validated and confident that our decision is correct. Many times in these cases, we ask around, get advice we don’t really want to hear, and go ahead with our original choice anyway. I think this is better than turning it over completely to other people, but there comes a point when we need to learn to think and decide completely for ourselves. Otherwise, someone else will do the deciding for us and that’s just wrong!
What I am saying is, we need to become comfortable with blaming only ourselves for a bad choice. Hard to do, but it will absolutely set you free and is one of the biggest keys to happiness. When we learn to accept the responsibility for our decisions, we understand that we control our own destiny. If you are unhappy- yes…its your fault and this is a good thing, because if you accept this, you can choose to be happy.
It doesn’t matter so much that you are correct every single time. What matters most is that you are brave enough to make the decision and be willing to live with the consequences. This is an extremely valuable skill. Being so fearful that you do not make the choice, is nearly the same (if not worse) as not having the opportunity to.
As you progress in your field of work, the SPEED with which your decision making process happens will become more and more important. Workflow is a perfect example with photographers- if you cannot decide what you want to do with an image, you will be sucked into Photoshop Hypnosis and you will lose profitability due to lost time.
If you study it out and are still too nervous to decide- the photography business (or anything business) probably isn’t for you. (This is my nice way of saying if you are asking these questions at the top of this post, you are not ready.)
If you study it out and are willing to take a chance, even if you may be wrong….you are going to do just great. (That’s right…even if the choice is wrong).
Learn to collect information quickly, measure the benefit compared with the cost, project the possible consequences and then make your own decisions. It’s a skill that you will get better and better with over time. Exercise it, make your decision muscles stronger, especially when it’s uncomfortable.
The more you can do this, the more dynamic and more creative you will be in all phases of your life. Hi Michael- I am thinking about purchasing either a Canon Rebel T1i or a 50D. Which one should I get?
Michael- I am struggling deciding between Photoshop Elements and the older CS3. Can you tell me why I would want one over the other?
Should I get the Canon 5DII or should I wait for the 7D?
Hey Mr Mentor Man- I was wondering, can you take a look at my portfolio (see attached link) and tell me what I can do to improve?
Michael- Im interested in starting a photography business, but just don’t know where to start…can you tell me how to get it going?
Hi Michael- I am interested in getting a good all round lens. I hear the 28-135 is nice, but think I might need something a little nicer. Can you give me suggestions? Thanks!
I am sympathetic to everyone who has such a question, Ive been there- I know exactly how you feel. However, as a rule, whenever someone sends me an email like this, I do not respond. There are a number of reasons, and I’m not trying to be rude. I get hundreds of them and could literally spend all day answering emails. (BTW-If you are looking for specific information to help you make a decision, please go to the forum, where you have a much better chance of having your question answered by myself or someone else.)
I also think, especially if you are trying to start a business that you need to learn to be brave about making your own decisions. There is a natural human tendency, when we face uncertainty, we become fearful and want to remove the responsibility off our shoulders and have someone else decide for us.
Other times, we have the right idea of what the correct choice is, but we still ask others because we want to feel validated and confident that our decision is correct. Many times in these cases, we ask around, get advice we don’t really want to hear, and go ahead with our original choice anyway. I think this is better than turning it over completely to other people, but there comes a point when we need to learn to think and decide completely for ourselves. Otherwise, someone else will do the deciding for us and that’s just wrong!
What I am saying is, we need to become comfortable with blaming only ourselves for a bad choice. Hard to do, but it will absolutely set you free and is one of the biggest keys to happiness. When we learn to accept the responsibility for our decisions, we understand that we control our own destiny. If you are unhappy- yes…its your fault and this is a good thing, because if you accept this, you can choose to be happy.
It doesn’t matter so much that you are correct every single time. What matters most is that you are brave enough to make the decision and be willing to live with the consequences. This is an extremely valuable skill. Being so fearful that you do not make the choice, is nearly the same (if not worse) as not having the opportunity to.
As you progress in your field of work, the SPEED with which your decision making process happens will become more and more important. Workflow is a perfect example with photographers- if you cannot decide what you want to do with an image, you will be sucked into Photoshop Hypnosis and you will lose profitability due to lost time.
If you study it out and are still too nervous to decide- the photography business (or anything business) probably isn’t for you. (This is my nice way of saying if you are asking these questions at the top of this post, you are not ready.)
If you study it out and are willing to take a chance, even if you may be wrong….you are going to do just great. (That’s right…even if the choice is wrong).
Learn to collect information quickly, measure the benefit compared with the cost, project the possible consequences and then make your own decisions. It’s a skill that you will get better and better with over time. Exercise it, make your decision muscles stronger, especially when it’s uncomfortable.
The more you can do this, the more dynamic and more creative you will be in all phases of your life.
I understand both the stand of wanting to "pick someones brain" when starting a business, and what your are saying. I especially think the paragraph beginning: "What I am saying is," is bang on.
Great that you have the forum set up to help people get the answers to all these questions – it’s the best bet for getting answers, lots of info, and input!
I think its cool that you take time out to explain your reasonings for doing things rather than not respond. I like that about your blog! I have tons of questions like what you described but I try to research the heck out of the ones that I have prioritized, like right now (Radio poppers vs. Pocket Wizard Flex). At the end of the day I weigh the pros and cons and my use of it then I will make my decision (still deciding) but I will always base my decision on the available data points. Real life opinions are great but everyone is at a different experience level and financial level and because of that it may not work for me.
Powerful and true!
Very interesting! I think I get ya on this, but I gotta say, I think of myself as pretty decisive, but I still ask a LOT of questions. On a related note, I’m always intrigued by what I see as a real focus on "going pro" in photographic circles, including my local photography club. I feel like most of the people I encounter, though, don’t aspire to that direction. They just love photography and want to learn more about it. Hence the questions. Do you just find you encounter more people interested in that path? When I take workshops, lots of attention is paid to the business side of things, but honestly, I never hear people being all that curious about it. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Great questions. There is definitely a difference between "info gathering" and asking someone to decide for you, however, "info gathering" often leads to asking someone to decide. Examples: "Why would I want a wide aperture lens?" Is very different than "Should I get a 1.4 or 1.8?" Can you feel that?
As far as going pro goes, I would say its about a 50-50 split (half of the people I encounter are interested in it, half arent. Of those who attended the workshop it was closer to 80-20 (80 interested-20 not so much). Because a camera is literally a money making device, I think it would be a mistake for anyone who owns a digital SLR to not learn as much as they can about it, simply because it can be a very profitable and very fun way to work, instead of doing the 9-5. I cant tell you how many times this happened at the workshops, someone had no interest and once we talked about it, they were VERY interested. Does this answer you Scott? 🙂
I am also a person that has to ask a BUNCH of questions before making a decision. And a lot of times, those questions involve asking people their specific opinions on specific things (a lens, for instance – I want to know what others have, why they have it, and if I value their work, then I know that the lens they recommend could definitely be something I might want to consider as an option). I guess I’m having trouble seeing the difference in someone asking specific questions about a particular topic and asking what another person recommends for them. Well, unless the asker goes with exactly what the advice-giver recommends, without asking other questions in other places to find out the best information for their situation. So, I guess I CAN see the difference; I guess it’s a "motive" issue – then the question becomes, is the person wanting to gather info, or are they just looking for a quick decision from someone else? But I’m also a person that asks lots of questions – and might even ask for specific recommendations – but at the end of the day, the decision is mine (which is the reason for the many questions in the first place!). Anyway…that was a pointless ramble, I suppose. But thanks for a thought-provoking post!
I think people just need to learn to go and search/gather all the information they are looking for. There is a ton of information out there, just maybe not in the form that directly answers their questions, but the answers can always be derived. As people go through this journey, they will grow their knowledge base and not only will they find the answers they were looking for, but they will also find answers to questions they will have later on. Online bookstores have peer reviews that can direct you in the right direction. Then go to the brick-and-mortar bookstore, read the book, you don’t have to buy it, then derive your answers. That strategy has worked well for me. It’s a lot of reading, but you’ll thank yourself for it later on when your questions get really tough. Just my 2 cents. Thanks!
Always helpful and always insightful. Thanks, Michael! At your workshop, you definitely opened the door to thinking about the business side of this pursuit.