I was having a conversation with my client today while she was trying on outfits to see what we wanted to use for her shoot.
I mentioned to her that I was proud she had come today. Like most of my clients, life always gives them decent enough reasons not to book, not to go through with it, not to push themselves...you get the idea.
Life always hands out lemons. Not to be to cliche - but it does.
Life is always just crazy enough that we can generally talk ourselves out of anything if we really try.
You see, I know because I do it it, too.
I'll use an easily relatable example of my own boudoir shoots. There are, of course, tons of other things I tend to find reason to not do, but this one just make sense.
Every couple of years or so, I make it a point to book a shoot with another photographer. Not one of those, trade "you shoot me and I'll shoot you..." kind of deals even though I do do that. But the "send me an invoice" and pay it and do the whole process.
So I booked one for this past weekend and went through the gambit of emotions.
You see, last week I sorta-kinda accidentally set the kitchen on fire. Well - it was a pan and I got it out of the house before it set anything else on fire. There were no casualties except for my hand - which is still healing from 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Reason one not to go.
The morning of, I sat for 45 minutes in the bed trying to get my legs to work. The photographer had even reached out to me and said it was okay if I needed to reschedule...I couldn't get out of bed. Are you keeping count? Reason number three.
I hadn't been able to book the stylist I wanted and was going to have to battle my hurt hand to put on makeup and do my hair. I looked at the clock - 9:45 am. I needed to leave in exactly one hour. I hadn't even picked out any outfits. Reason number four...
You get the idea of what I'm saying when I said I had PLENTY of reasons to skip. I'd already paid for it - it wouldn't be a big deal right? The photographer got compensated...
ButI kept telling myself - do it anyway.
All the reasons you have to NOT do it - are all the reasons why you SHOULD do it. Why you HAVE to do it.
So I did - and I'm glad I did. It was different and new and cathartic in a way that shooting isn't.
My client today had so many reasons not to come. I can go into detail but it's not my place to tell. But despite all the reasons not to come - she came anyway and left feeling so much better than she did coming in.
The point is you will always find a reason to not do something. And finding the reasons to do the thing seem so much harder to find - but in reality - they aren't. Because if you are finding reasons not to - then you already have the only reason you need to do the opposite.
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