So you hear that throbbing in the back of your head, the one that screams out “Me too!” That you can do it, that you are something important, and you want people to know it. You want the work that screams out, “I’m good, damnit.” You take an inventory of every technique in the industry. The shoot-throughs, the obstructions, the framing, the light, the back light, the face cut off, the neck cut off. You have it down, and they look impressive. And you put them up on your blog, you show it to everyone, and they tell you how impressive you are.
Don’t fall for it. Let it be noted that I’m not saying don’t do for it. Just don’t fall for it. Don’t think that it makes you impressive. It might make you money, it might help your business. Business is business. But it’s a stop-gap. A plug. A patch. A pothole filled, waiting for reconstruction, while you’re waiting to make your way over the hump. And we all need stop-gaps, plugs, patches, and temporary fixes. But don’t fall for it. At some point, you have to stop waiting and start pushing.
Copying is learning. Copying is good. Copying is short-changing yourself, copying is bad. Which is it? Both. It’s not one, it’s not the other. It’s what you do with it. It’s your mindset. If you think copying a good picture means you’re taking good pictures, if having the same shot in your portfolio as someone else does makes you good, then banish the thought. It makes you good at replication. Replication is a business skill of little demand. A good picture is a picture that expresses your intentions. Not someone else’s.
If you think copying a picture is a way to learn process and learn about yourself, though, then you’re getting somewhere. It’s a tool. Looking at something, trying it on, trying it out, and seeing what it all amounts to for you. That’s what copying is for. Use it as a way to keep moving. It’s not the result of it that matters, it’s the process. And if that sounds like a minor difference, it’s not. It’s a diametric opposite. Either good is in the result or it’s in the process. Either the result is a reflection of the process, or the process is just there for the result. Recipe books are for copying. That might taste good, but that’s not cooking. Not real cooking, if you know what I mean. You learn the recipes, so you can eventually stop using the recipes. That’s living. Ferran Adrià of the legendary restaurant elBulli never copies. Even himself. Every year, he changes his menu. And if you know his menu, that’s something. Ferran Adreia is the a definitive creative genius of the age in his field. Probably in any field. Imagine how much you would learn if you always forced yourself to do something different?
I believe in primal callings. That thing screaming in your head saying “Me too!” That’s a natural reaction. Don’t ignore it. Let it power you, but don’t confuse it, either. You’re either saying “Hear me,” or you’re saying “Love me.” You’re probably saying a little of both. And that’s there’s the duality of it all. Because you cannot have them both. You’re either doing one or the other. And that’s fine. But know which you’re after, and don’t get all wrapped up in along the way.
If you’re looking for love, copy away. No one will tell you it can’t be done, it won’t work, or it’s not a good idea. Because wanting to be loved is exactly what copying was made for. Copying is safe, because society already accepts it. But if you want to see the results of people wanting to be loved who thought they wanted to be heard, go on YouTube and watch the train wrecks. Is it really true that any press is good press? That even being Rebecca Black and Friday is considered some form of success? “It’s a train wreck, yeah, but look at those dislikes!” It’s true if copying is the goal.
If you want to be heard, then you have to go out on a limb. The world rewards those who do it their way. Of course, it stomps on them too, but if you really want it, you take the bruises. But isn’t the work that amazes you the work that brings something new to it? It’s not, “Wow, I just saw something like that!” It’s “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like that!” You’ll only be heard when you say something different. No one wants to hear about what they already know. That’s just boring, boring, boring.
Forget about being impressive. Being impressive means that what you care about is getting love from other people. Paradoxically, the more you care about getting that, the less people love you. They’ll drop you on a dime as soon as they find something better. Because when you try to impress people, you’re not really doing it for them. You just want to push the right buttons to make them say wow. And maybe that’s really the thing of it. Don’t people love the things that help them be them? Things that become part of their self-fulfillment? Being impressive doesn’t do that. It just shows how good you are at being like everyone else. High volume never lasts. When you care about being yourself, that’s when you can get cranking. Ever notice how nice people finish last? It’s not because they’re not mean. Meanness sucks. But people love those who love themselves. Even to the point of fault.
But being unique isn’t enough. Everyone is unique. Here’s what is. Taking the lumps. That’s how you find out what’s different about you. That’s how you let your uniqueness speak. It’s how you take ownership of your life and your actions. It’s really as easy as pie. You just live and stop copying. But if you think that’s easy, go back to those videos on YouTube I just talked about. Every single one of them wanted to be unique. And they are. Uniquely bad.
If you channel your entire life – a world of experiences, your genes, your upbringing, and you stuff it into a blender and put it on high, you get you. Looking at other people’s pictures won’t tell you what’s unique about you. It will tell you what’s unique about them. But putting in the time to go through the process in as many ways and as often as you can, that tells you all about you. And once you figure that out, you’ve done something few do. That’s unique in the way you want it to be. If you take that and stuff it back out into your pictures, no one will be able to touch it. They might be able to copy you. But now you’re running the show. You own your life. And if they want to outdo you at being you, they’ll be stuck taking the hits and suffering the bruises all to be a second rate version of someone else. As Judy Garland said, “Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.”
There’s food for the table and food for the soul. Only you know what that is, how to balance the two, and what you want to do with it all. But that’s the duality every person in any creative endeavor faces. And what endeavor is there that isn’t just a little bit creative? We all wear different hats. That’s not the the thing of it all. What is the thing is that your hat matches the rest of the outfit. Stay on top of it, stay aware, and never give up. Take the lumps, take the beating, and push through the burn. That’s what it is to go out on a limb. It’s no holy land. It’s no salvation. It’s probably not even going to make you happy. But it’s a start. And it’s not really about the finish, anyway. Life is always about getting started.
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