Tim Gruber and Jenn Ackerman use both photography and video to tell stories for editorial and commercial clients. 
Seth Godin, who I blogged about in the past with my Making Money Doing What You Love? post, had another great post the other day that should serve as another reminder for all photographers the importance of presenting you and your vision in your portfolio.
Call me a broken record, but if you’re not showcasing your vision why present your work at all? When I first started out I made the mistake of showing work I thought others wanted to see. My portfolio was a cluster#$% of sports, features, portraits, and traditional photo stories. It was safe and boring. What separated me from everybody else? Nothing.
Any douche with a camera can shoot a technically sound photograph. Technique and technology are no substitute for passion. A technically sound photo lacks two of the most ingredients in making a great photo; your eye and heart.
When you go to Las Vegas, Penn and Teller don’t ask you what sort of lights you want, what tricks you want to see and how long the show should be. They put on their show. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. Plenty of other people do. As a result, they win. They get to do their work, their way. And they profit from their confidence.
Be confident in your photos. I understand as a creative that can be hard. I struggle with the whole self-doubt thing a lot myself, but your photos represent who you are and what you love. So if you haven’t already showcased who are as a person in your photographs make it your goal to start in the new year. Don’t like what you see? Maybe it’s time to reevaluate what’s important to you as a person. Find what your passionate about as a person and you’ll undoubtedly find what your passionate about as a photographer.
You can keep making photos for others or you can start making pictures for yourself. Be confident in who you are as a photographer and showcase it.
The closing paragraph from Seth’s post sums it all up:
Some bosses don’t want to hire people who have a vision, a personality and a shtick. That’s okay. You don’t want to work for them anyway.
Read more on presenting your vision on Seth’s blog.
Cake at a Princess Birthday Party I shot this past weekend as part of my Everything is Bigger in Texas project
nice post Tim, it’s hitting me at the perfect time
great post Tim, just like what AJ said, i needed to hear this now also. thank you
Thx guys. I needed the post myself.
Checking out your blog for the first time – great posts. It’s nice to know there are others out there in a similarly difficult position as freelance photographers.
Thanks for checking out the blog Danny.
Thanks for cutting to the heart of the matter. It’s true that my best work comes when I am shooting for me; without feeling that I need to fulfill someone else’s vision.
I’ve been rethinking things alot this past year and have been more than a little stuck. When I put my portfolio together I went on the advice of two or three friends who are longtime professional photojournalists and they chose work I would never have considered putting in there. When I put things I liked in there, they questioned my judgment, saying that because I was emotionally attached to an image, because of the moment it was created, or the subject, I wasn’t able to see it objectively. What I ended with was a pile of images that don’t really represent me all that well. I plan on changing that soon and choosing the photos I feel are the strongest.