“I am committed to learning, growing
And being the best I can be.” - ANON
Pursuing photography was never a decision I made. Becoming a full time photographer was. It took a lot of risks and guts, and still does (Covid19, a recent miscarriage, hubby's retrenchment Kaela-Ann's diagnosis, to name but a few). But it makes me happy to be creative and capture beauty. And more over it makes me happy when my clients are happy with the results.
“Discover you mind, discover your soul.
Learn your heart, learn to grow.” - ANON
Along this journey I have learnt that there will always be someone out there better than me. In the beginning this made me anxious – how will I ever be that good or get those clients, be that amazing at capturing my subjects, make enough money to survive, but through my learning curve I have changed how I look at this. I now look at it, that those are the people I aspire to be. And somehow with the shift in focus, things started falling into place for me. Now I do get those clients, have images that make the finals in major international competitions and am living (sometime barely) on what I earn with only my photography.
“I am learning everyday
To allow the space between
Where I am and where I want to be,
To inspire me, and not to terrify me.” - Tracee Ellis Ross
This bring me to adjusting your goals. Not only the long term goals where you want to earn big bucks or have your name thrown around amongst the elite squad, but adjust your short term goals too. Not yearly or half yearly. Some of my goals I have to adjust monthly, as I am reaching targets. Most of us do this naturally, especially if you work for yourself, but it's helpful to write them down. Don't write them in a book and close the cover, write it on paper/cardboard and stick them up, at eye level, where you can see it constantly. Look at it daily. You see it subconsciously too, even if you think you're not looking. A technique a primary school teacher taught me, and I've carried with me through life so far.
“Your best teacher,
Is your last mistake.” - UNKNOWN
Don't be afraid of falling or failing. Have the confidence to stand up and try again, with the key to success in learning from you past mistakes. Don't be the sheep that bumps your head twice on the same issue. And please don't hide behind the times of when you hit a low point. Learn and grow, to be the maximum you. Be the person with traits you see and admire in others. You never know who you help through their low times, by just standing up and trying again.
“Relax, don't be so hard on yourself.
You are living and learning.
Forgive yourself and grow
from the experience.” - ANON
Just a couple of glow-up images from when I founded Leanne Durand Photography in 2012 to 2020 work.
“We don't grow when things are easy.
We grow when we face challenges. - ANON
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