navigating social media as a photographer
I have not shared much about myself on my social pages or on my website for reasons that will be later explained. However, I felt led to share some of my struggles on this page in efforts to be an encouragement to those who may be facing the same struggles with social media in their photography business or just their personal life.
I started photography in middle school and have always loved it, but I recently started my business in the beginning of 2023. I’m a photographer and I LOVE being a photographer. I am also a believer. This means I have placed my faith in Jesus Christ for my salvation. This also means that since my salvation, my entire life has been changed- my life is not my own. Everything I do and strive to be should be according to God’s will and for His glory. This other huge part of my life is my faith and the church ministry I serve in with my husband. I say all of that to explain a little bit of background to what I am writing and the rationales to why I have these struggles.
I want to share with you by biggest struggle in these beginning stages of running my photography business. It hasn’t been learning camera settings, building a website, or even getting clients- it has been social media.
If you follow any photographers on social media, you know that the competition is very present, and every photographer who has a following seems to know the best way to gain those followers and book more clients. I have spend a LOT of my time, especially in these last 8 months, on education, which has included following a decent amount of more experienced photographers. It wasn’t until I was a few months into taking clients and posting on social media that this really began to bother me- the constant comparison game and pressure from social media to be more, do more, and have more. I know that the comparison game is strong in other aspects of social media, but I honestly didn’t expect it to hit me the way it did for photography. These struggles have recently pushed me to a point of having to re-evaluate whether I should be running a photography business at all.
When I started photography in 6th grade, I did it because I loved the art of taking a photo. When I began pursuing it more seriously in high school, I loved every aspect of light and color, editing, and the creativity and fulfillment that you feel when you finish editing a gallery that you created yourself. When I started my business, those reasons were completely the same, only with the added desire to be able to connect with my clients. I had to come up with my “why”- which has been to give my clients a photo experience that will give them documented memories of the stage of life they’re in. This also meant for me that the experience starts from their first visit to my website and hopefully never truly ends as I would love for my clients to end up being my friends. I would especially love to document multiple stages of life for them.
As a believer, I knew that on a deeper level, my “why” was because God has called me to pursue photography at this time, and I committed to strive to make my business glorifying to Christ. The problem has presented itself very subtly- through time, the use of social media, among other things, my “why” majorly shifted away from glorifying Christ and more towards connecting with people, giving them a good experience, gaining followers, and being excellent in my craft. This “why” is not a selfish one, but it isn’t necessarily a Godly one either. If I’m not using my connections and relationships to glorify Christ and build His kingdom, then the relationships I’ve built have been to no one’s aid but my own- that doesn’t seem very Godly to me. Even more than this, I had started focusing on how many clients I would have to make to earn a certain dollar amount a year. I began comparing myself to other photographers in the area, and becoming angry with them when they would post a new session they had, thinking “why did they book them and not me?” Multiple times in this process my husband has said to me, “if you’re really doing photography to glorify the Lord, why does this matter to you?” It just took a really long time for me to accept what he was saying and understand the depth of the affect all this had on me.
So I did some reflecting to try to gauge what things triggered this downward spiral. First, social media PUSHES self-sharing. I have seen at least 10 reels this week saying that they got thousands of followers by posting their face on their social more. And they’re probably right! The issue started for me when all I could think about was content creating and how I could get my brand out there. My thoughts told me that either my photos weren’t good enough to make reels, or I didn’t have any new shoots to share, or I’m not interesting or fun enough to share more of my personal life on my page. This was so discouraging to me because I started to believe that the only way I could get growth was by sharing those things. But again- WHEN did my desire become to get viral growth? I am a very insecure person, which ultimately means I’m a very prideful person, so the thought of sharing my face on social media terrifies me. I justified this in my mind by telling myself that I’m afraid that I will become openly prideful and conceited if I do post myself and people love my personality. Both of these rationales are sinful, and I am still working through how to balance this!
The second issue I noticed was that I was obsessing about photography ALL THE TIME- in a negative context. If I was at church and my conversations with others didn’t consist of them mentioning my business, my mind told me that they hate my work and I became obsessed with making sure my content is perfect. It had a ridiculous hold on my emotions. If I booked a session, I would dance around the house, If I lost an inquiry, I would cry for an hour. My husband told me about someone he knew growing up who let their favorite football team’s season affect his mood for days after they played. If the team lost, the friend wouldn’t talk for 48 hours. He said that this is just a prime example of idolatry. That is the same hold photography had on me.
In Romans 12:2 Paul tells the Roman believers to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. In Colossians 3, Paul instructs to put off the things of the world: including “covetousness, which is IDOLATRY.” He then tells us to “put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” and later “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Although seeking business growth and success are not bad things in themselves, my motive for them is. I have been conforming to the world’s standards of success and seeking to achieve it in my own power rather than seeking His glory alone and trusting Him for the growth. For now, I believe that photography is what God wants me to do, but if my selfish ambitions continue and these struggles continue to grow, I pray that I will have the willingness to give it up in order to glorify Him. This has been so hard for me and is still a daily struggle. Sanctification is not fun, but I’m so thankful for the Lord revealing this weakness in me.
With all that being said, I am praying through how to run my business. I may post more of myself, I may not. My prayer is that whatever I do, I do with a heart of humility, not seeking to compete with other photographers around me or seeking my personal gain in any of it. I have also learned that my struggles are immediately related to how little time I am spending in Scripture. If my heart and focus is off Christ, my struggles in these areas increases significantly. Praise the Lord for His Holy Spirit and grace for where we fail.
If you are a fellow photographer reading this, I ask you to hold me accountable to this! I would love to connect and encourage you to evaluate where you are in your walk with Christ and the effects the photography industry has had on you. Please let me know what you do to maintain a healthy balance in your social media!
If you are a client reading this- know that I am viewing our interaction as more than a photo shoot, but an opportunity to have fun with you and encourage you in whatever stage of life you are in.
I pray that this will challenge and encourage someone, whether a photographer or not, to seek to glorify God in all things even if it means giving up the things you love.
