5 Ways Photography Changed My Life…For The Better
How often have you wanted to shift careers, but something stopped you? Whether it was a fear of failure, leaving your comfort zone, or wanting something more, you may have felt paralyzed and quit before even starting.
This is the cycle of emotions I felt until I decided to stop allowing my fears to control my life. When I decided to stop listening to my fears and make a drastic career change became the moment I truly found myself.
The moment I went all-in with photography and discovered how this decision 10 years ago changed everything...for the better.
1. I learned to follow my intuition
Believe it or not, 10 years ago I was working in economic development. Yes, recruiting companies, negotiating incentives, and marketing. While I’m grateful for this career, it was a past life filled with little inspiration or creativity. I knew something was missing. I didn’t feel a connection to myself to who I was or what I wanted in life.
I felt a never-ending void that consumed my days and left me unfulfilled, unhappy, and searching for endless meaning in a career that no longer fit.
But the moment I picked up a camera, something connected - a spark lit me up. I instantly fell in love and knew I needed to follow my intuition to make this love-at-first-sight feeling become a permanent relationship. :)
Photography plus the work I did on myself both spiritually and mentally, opened up the floodgates of trusting myself and following my intuition. That little voice that I ignored and devalued for so long became my guiding light. Simply taking photos reconnected me to my inner knowing and allowed me to trust that voice.
This voice and passion gave me the strength to ignore any doubts and determine what photography could continue to provide.
2. I learned how strong I am
After photography connected me to my intuition, I began using my past skills to build a future. Instead of allowing imposter syndrome to dictate whether I could be a photographer, I used the skills gained in economic development to help me become what I wanted to be.
We often battle whether we’re talented or good enough to take a new trajectory. “What if I don’t have the skills to succeed? What if I don’t have enough experience? How will I sustain this business”?
Indeed, all of these questions ran through my mind, but I didn’t let them dim the spark photography lit within myself.
Listening to my intuition coupled with my ability to problem solve and take action, showed me that I already had what I needed to create what I wanted. I prioritized my ability to make decisions, solve problems, and systemize tasks to become successful. Instead of criticizing or regretting my past, I used it to my advantage and realized my inner strength.
I learned I could start and sustain my own business. Photography gave me the acknowledgment of strength and courage to believe in myself and what I had.
3. I learned to overcome obstacles with confidence
Combining my past skills with my desire to become a photographer paved the pathway to achieving a significant milestone; I became the first entrepreneur in my family. And not only the first entrepreneur, but a creative entrepreneur.
Becoming the first in your family comes with a lot of emotional responsibility. It can be so easy to get entangled in limiting beliefs and feel you can’t measure up, especially if you have a family who doesn’t understand what you’re building.
Thankfully, I had a wonderful support system, but this support also came with criticism. “What if you fail? Your career is so comfortable, you should stick with it. Don’t quit a cushy corporate job for a hobby”. These statements fed my fears, but my intuition and my love for photography helped me take a risk on myself.
Photography taught me how to overcome obstacles with confidence. It gave me the bravery, courage, and strength to invest in what I wanted, not what anyone else wanted for me.
4. I learned to value and love who I am
When I started photography, I didn’t see my own value, nor did I feel seen or heard. I wanted so deeply to capture everyone else’s light and beauty but didn’t recognize or value the woman behind the lens.
Eventually, after photographing one woman after another, and seeing the ripple effect that this was having in my clients’ lives and my own, something within me changed. It wasn’t an easy or quick process, but rather a slow journey that led to a life-changing discovery. Within the very act of giving others the one thing I was looking for in my own life, I learned how to cultivate self-love.
I was the same woman as before. Nothing had changed. Of course, my career did, but I was the same woman at the core. The only thing that changed was how I viewed her.
In every photoshoot, I capture my models beyond what they wish they could change and see them as they are. I look for that authentic light in all of us and photograph it.
When I show my clients the final product, their reactions are clear; they see who I see. They reconnect with themselves and love who they are. And this self-love through my own hands provided me the foundation to love myself. Photography taught me self-love, confidence, and self-acceptance. And by capturing and delivering this to others, I saw it in myself and discovered my purpose.
It is never lost on me when someone says I see my body differently now, these photos put my life on a new trajectory, or I’ve never thought I was beautiful until now. This changes people’s lives. And fills my heart up. So I had to follow it.
5. I discovered my purpose and led by positive impact
10 years ago, when I picked up my first camera, I never knew I would be here today, investing every ounce of myself in my photography business. If I had listened to my fears, allowed my limiting beliefs to deter my path, or let imposter syndrome bleed in before trying, I wouldn’t be in awe and sheer gratitude for where I am now.
Photography gave me more than valuing what all photographers learn to value; light, time, detail, and focus, it gave me purpose. It gave me a collection of gifts that led to a ripple effect of positive impact.
By helping others see their own value, I discovered my self-love, and I fervently believe that’s how you change the world - one positive impact at a time.
When you value who you are and connect to the collective, everything comes together. When you connect your passion to the positive change you want for this world, everything materializes and ripples towards a never-ending collage of pinch-me moments.
Surrendering myself to believe in something greater gave me what I needed to make a positive impact every moment I stepped into the studio. Photography changed my life for the better.
Did photography change your life?
Whether it was through photography or a different career path, the theme of this article is to address the power of valuing ourselves while refusing to let our fears dictate what we deserve.
When we decide that we are more than our criticisms and limiting beliefs, we learn to see ourselves from a different perspective. We finally learn to accept ourselves for who we are.
Intuition, strength, confidence, self-love, and purpose are the ways photography changed my life. From a woman in the economic development field who didn’t love who she was to a photographer that thrives on positive impact, photography transformed my life.
If you’re like me and struggled with loving yourself, let photography change you. It doesn’t need to change your career as it did for me, but it can shift how you view yourself.
It can bring you back to your core and teach you how to reconnect to yourself, to a woman you’ve always been but didn’t quite understand or accept. You are a beautiful, powerful, and magnetic woman.
Let me capture what I see in you.
If you’re interested in shedding the fears and stepping into a new phase of your life, please schedule a free consultation to start the process.
Also, I’d love to know where you are within your career? Do you feel fulfilled? Are you leading with positive impact?
Comment below with any insights you’ve gained to help others build the strength to make a change.
With love,
Judith