Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 200, ƒ/1.4, 1/80

My friends and I were teaching a class, and we had one student that we all were trying to figure out why they were taking the course. He found each of us and wanted to tell us all he knew about photography.

One of us mentioned how it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Malcolm Gladwell talks about this in his book, and I have also written about it on the blog. Here is that link.

The student then went on to say then I am a master then. One is a master when others acknowledge it about you and not the other way around.

My mentor Don Rutledge was trying to form a style and talked about how one guy told him about his style.

Listen to Don talk about it here:

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[Here is a link to many other recordings of Don Rutledge that I have]

Why is it so hard to establish one’s style? I think the hardest thing for most pros is the lack of feedback.

Once you were a hobbyist, your friends would compliment your work and tell you how good you were and you should be a photographer. But, once you become a pro, they no longer give you that feedback. Why? You see, now you are expected to take great photos.

I think professional photographers need to seek out and pay for feedback.

The other day my friend Will Flora experimented with some workers. He is a training director for a company. He got some front-line workers to come to a bowling alley where he paid them to bowl for the day.

There was a catch. Will had covered all the monitors and put up a curtain so they could not see how many pins they took down or see their scores. After a while, the workers wanted to quit and go home.

They were being paid to bowl for the day and wanted to quit.

As they took off their shoes, Will removed the curtain and uncovered the monitors. A guy asked if they could still bowl without the stuff in the way. He said, of course. They then started to bowl and have fun. You see, people enjoy work when they understand their part–especially when they can make a game of it.

Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 100, ƒ/7.1, 1/1000

While it is essential that you get paid as a professional photographer and paid a good wage for your creative talents, we still need and want feedback. How are we doing?

Here is a to-do list for you:

1. Find a Mentor/Coach to help you discover your style
2. Be sure the style you are pursuing is the core of who you are and want to become
3. If you like a photo and you know the photographer, tell them that you like it and why. You must be willing to give feedback if you want to receive it.

Fuji X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/8, 1/400

Don’t be the photographer that is a legend in their mind.