Getting Dirty on the Job: A note about photographers’ passion
You can’t get this shot…
Without first putting yourself here!
There are a lot of photographers in the market these days. Let me clarify: there are a lot of great photographers in the market these days, and the numbers keep growing! Many of us are at varying levels of technique and/or time behind the lens, and many people contribute these characteristics to the success behind many well-known photographers. However, it’s not necessarily experience or know-how that ultimately makes a photographer lay down three feet in front of a venomous rattlesnake. Wildlife photographers would agree in telling you that as far as technique goes, shooting a rattlesnake is much like photographing a portrait: use low depth of field, a medium telephoto lens, use the lowest ISO possible, put some muted color behind the snake, shoot on an overcast day, etc., etc., etc. That being said, getting down on the ground with a deadly reptile should be a piece of cake, right?
I’ll answer that for you: No! It’s not that technique doesn’t matter, because when you are in a situation like this, you better know you’re getting the shot instead of wondering if you are exposing properly or wondering how your auto-focus works. More important to this situation, though, is the amount of passion you have for getting the shot! It’s not the “know-how,” it’s the “want-to” that matters! Reciprocally, the “want-to” will inevitably lead to the “know-how.” I’ve seen students shakingly crouch down in front of momentous terror (i.e. the snake), but because of their drive to learn, and to push themselves as photographers, they rise with more confidence and a renewed passion for capturing images.
It doesn’t have to be a rattlesnake in front of you. It could be a college football game unfolding in front of your camera, or a bride and groom that practically placed the most important day of their lives up to this point in your hands and said, “Have fun (and you better nail us walking down the aisle)!” No matter what it is, no matter how stressful a situation can get (and believe me, many students have found the above situation VERY stressful), if you want to photograph for a living, your passion, your “want-to” will help override the anxiety that keeps many photographers from getting dirty on the job, pushing their own limits, and exceeding others’ expectations.
