In the photography industry, well any creative industry really, it can be brutal. From an outsiders perspective it seems so easy to be creative and be paid for it. But there is so much more to it.

I was watching Top Chef Masters and one of the chefs mentioned how they are all like musicians, but each has a different style, one plays acoustic guitar and another an electric, or one a tuba and another a flute. But in the end, they all play music. In this show, they are all competing to win money for their chosen charity, but its amazing how well they work together, learn from each other, and help one another. Sure they want to win. But that doesn’t mean they can’t mutually respect each other and become good friends during. They all have different backgrounds and experience levels, unique strengths and certainly a lot of talent between them. This parallels photography in a big way.

We all want to be your photographer! But each of us play different instruments, even though in the end, its all music. I think that this analogy is important for a couple reasons.

Different Music for Different Clients
Do you like Country music? What about Rock & Roll? Heavy Metal rocking your speakers? You get the idea. Find a photographer who’s music you love. Then let their creativity rock your walls!

Photographers Playing Music Together
Its impossible to never feel competitive. But if I play Viola (I actually did for years when I was younger so I identify with that one hehe) and you play Cello or Clarinet, why should I feel like I’m competing with you? I just want to be the best Violist I can be. Fortunately there are many photographers in the Pacific Northwest who embrace networking and sharing with one another. From what I’ve experienced, it just makes everyone better at playing their own instrument.

Enough with the analogy right?? Well, I’ll just add that every time I play a song from my favorite band, each song is so unique even though its the same musicians…that is creativity and that is what making music is about.