Don’t ask yourself, what if I fail?
Tell yourself, if I screw this up, who cares.
Who cares, because I've brought my best to the table. This was a life-changing revelation I had this past summer. How many times have we metaphorically stood in front of an idea, a project, a job opportunity or whatever it may be and not even given it a chance because we didn't think we were good enough for it or had enough skills to do it. Since this is my first post, you can tell that writing a blog was one of those things that I said, oh I need to have a degree in computer science first and have something noteworthy and mentionable to say before I even consider this avenue. Thanks to the internet, there are thousands of resources on how to start a blog, so shoutout to Enoch Omololu over at SavvyNewCanadians.com for giving me the confidence and resources to charter into this vulnerable new territory. Here we go!
FEAR SAYS, YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER FIRST.
Photo by Samsung Memory on Unsplash (one of my final edits)
Back in July, I was hired alongside 4 of some of my favourite Unsplash photographers to tell a visual story for Samsung. I went through a few emotions in the matter of minutes. Excitement, which turned quickly into fear, stress, worry, anxiety and the bright neon sign flashing FAILURE hanging above my head. I felt I couldn’t afford to mess this up and be shamed for all eternity if I failed to meet the incredibly high standard of such a big company. But when I got to meet the project coordinators at Unsplash and the other photographers (over Slack), their encouragement and positive mindset kept my anxiety at bay and my heart content. And I realized, even if I didn’t pull this off, I knew that at the end of the day I did my best.
The other 4 photographers on the team were these incredibly talented, experienced professionals (IMO) with whom their Unsplash photos I’ve been ogling for the past three years, and suddenly we were all working on a project together. It was surreal that Unsplash chose little-ol-me to be a part of this project, and at that moment I felt a pit in my stomach again, knowing that I was probably going to disappoint them and be the achilles heel of the group. Then we all started chatting with each other in the group chat and one of my favourite quotes from the team was Nathan Dumalo who said something like, “You guys are my idols!” and here I was, the one in the group with the least experience and not a current working professional in the field, feeling awkward at the thought of being looked up to when I always felt like the one at the bottom looking up to other people.
One observation that I made during the project was that the faith-based members of the team had this humble, others-first mindset. I know in the secular world, people hold on tight to their ego and pride; they chase success, glory and fame and keep their tips and tricks a secret to hinder the success of their rivals. But often during this project, we were cheering for each other. As a Christian myself and a more wholesome content creator, I've noticed that anytime I've collaborated with other Christians, there is less of a focus on one's personal self-gain and more of a focus on building up the other person and helping them reach their goals. As Christians, we recognize that our Creator is the One who has given us the talent to channel wisely, and ultimately it doesn't make sense to take credit for our own worldly successes. God commands us to build each other up, celebrate our triumphs and walk alongside our brothers and sisters in our failures. Yeah, it was refreshing to work with such an uplifting team. And it's not like we were vying for Unsplash or Samsung's attention; we were already hired and on a team together, but I've been on other creative projects where I would reach out for help with very little response, and nobody was celebrating each other's wins. I left feeling disheartened and frustrated that the "team" was working so independently.
FEAR SAYS, SOMEONE ELSE CAN DO IT BETTER THAN YOU.
FEAR SAYS, YOU CAN'T MAKE A MISTAKE.
Before we knew it, the project was done. And thankfully, a few of my images made the final cut and I miraculously didn’t screw everything up. This was such an exciting opportunity to grow and learn from professionals in the field as it was actually terrifying and stressful in the moment. But after hours of planning and thousands of photos captured and edited, we finished the assignment. Unlike professionals who are good at social media, have tons of cool and modern gear, here I was with my janky old Canon DSLR and a couple of prime lenses and very little experience. I don’t pursue photography as a source of income, rather a side hobby just to create and challenge myself. I was so excited to have gained so much valuable experience throughout this journey!
It’s so funny because everyone was like, “Phewf that was the hardest shoot I’ve ever done!” And I'm saying to myself, are you kidding me- THEY were challenged? It's like when the smart kid in class bravely puts their hand and asks a question, and secretly the rest of the class is like, ohthankgoodnessIwastooembarassedtoask. We don't like to admit that we struggle, especially when the world is so quick to judge our failures. With this team, it felt like a safe space to admit our challenges and to learn from one another, rather than trying to knock down the competition and keep our techniques secret.
I would like to give a shoutout to my fellow creatives Toa, Brooke, Nate, Chris, Maria, Tim, Sarah, Andrew, Joanna, Beluga the Camper Van and our special furry celebrity, Willow the dog. These folks were rockstars at being flexible with the ever-changing shoot schedule, driving out to the middle of nowhereland to shoot in the rain, and being an absolute joy to work with. I was sad that Willow didn't make it into more than one of the final images because she was an absolute star. I think I shot over 2000 images but to have 6 make the final cut is an honour. Big shoutout to the team at Unsplash for giving me this opportunity and to the crew behind Samsung Memory, who will probably never see this post, but I was so honoured to hear such positive feedback from them regarding my images. I'm still proud of what I accomplished, even though I still consider myself an amateur photographer. I learned so much and certainly need a wee bit of a break from the hustle and pressure of shooting for a major brand again. Otsukaresama desu!
Check out the original article by Alex Begin @ Unsplash by clicking HERE.
Keep creating,
-Priscilla Du Preez
