You might be a photographer like me, or you might be something completely different. Whatever your profession or hobby, competition exists.
The illusion is that the competition is a bad thing. My message is: don’t be fooled by that!
Competition keeps professionals on the edge. The downside to this, of course, is that somebody is going to fall short, but the beauty is that everybody has a chance to shine! If others are doing better than you, evaluate why that may be the case.
In the case of photography, you have to look not only at the quality of the photos, but also at customer service strategies and activity on social media. There are so many reasons why others might be more successful than you. It’s okay to imitate how others gain success. They’re successful for a reason (don’t plagiarize though, that can get you in trouble)!
In photography, there was film, and then things changed to digital. The photographers who refused to learn digital became irrelevant because they couldn’t offer what the market was demanding. That’s not to say that there is no longer a market for film photography. Sometimes it’s good to be able to offer a variety of services. So if you were someone who preferred film, keep it as a hobby and offer it to clients who may want that option, but don’t forget to evolve with the market!
What I’m trying to say is, if you find that you aren’t gaining success, look to those who are and get inspired by them! Instead of getting discouraged, try celebrating your competitors because there is so much you can learn from them.
If we didn’t have competition in the world, things would never improve and there’d be no reason to innovate the industry. You know the saying: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” That doesn’t apply to everything, but I think it applies here!
Let competition be fun! I’d definitely like to hear what you guys have to say about your experiences dealing with competition! Share them in the comments!
I hope your year is going well so far!
Δ Abbi