Think about those people who have been instrumental in helping you focus – and yes, I’m using the play on words intentionally.  More important than learning how to focus your camera is how you’ve focused your career.  There’s no skill set required to focus your camera, whether on auto focus or manual.  The image is either sharp or it isn’t!   The skill is in what you’re focusing on, your composition, how much depth of field, etc.

Our careers are no different than looking through the viewfinder…are you going for a narrow depth of field and focusing on a particular skill set or dimension of photography or are you shooting with a wide depth of field and working on anything and everything?  Who are the people in your life who have helped you be more selective in your focus, given you the confidence and been there to watch your back?

It’s the perfect time this morning to just take ten minutes and think about those few people who helped you the most – not with financial support, equipment or advice, but in developing your confidence.  Now use the advice in my other blog this past week and pick up the phone to call them and say thanks.  And, if they’re somebody who’s sadly passed away and are no longer here, you can still make that “call” – they’ll hear you!

Barbara’s enthusiasm to write a guest blog was virtually unmatched to anyone I’ve ever spoken with.  It was apprehension combined with motivation and enthusiasm.   The apprehension disappeared when I said, “Barbara, just make it fun.  This isn’t about working, it’s about talking about some aspect of photography that you love.     This isn’t school – there’s no deadline.  Send me something, whenever you want.”

Barbara’s thoughts on creativity coming out of chaos are below, but what I enjoyed most were her comments in her email to me.  One of them really stuck out and got me thinking about the people in our lives who influence us the most, those guiding hands who build our confidence at an early stage of our careers or even daily with new projects:

“I learned photography from my mother Delia Martinez who was a portrait photographer in Havana, Cuba prior to fleeing the 
dictatorship, and one of the things I remember while holding an old brownie camera in my hand at the age of 5, was that mommy always said, even if you don’t think you know what you are doing, act like you do!   She was also a singer, dancer and performer and she had this show mentality of the show must go on, and believe it or not, it’s a trait I inherited from her also, confidence. In 1985 I too launched my music career and am still recording, performing and just recently received  another Grammy nomination with groups I have collaborated with.  I owe her so much!”

Time for me to shut up and turn it over to Barbara!

I will never forget the words of my long time friend and photographer  Javy Gonzalez., when one day while talking all things “photography”,   I excitedly blurted out,  “we are going to shoot weddings!”.  He replied,  “Why would you want to do that!?”  He then went on about how  difficult and stressful wedding photography can be, and how the art of  photography could become lost in the process of shooting weddings. 

I  sat and pondered the pros and cons of wedding photography.  Sure it can be stressful and a huge responsibility, but it can also be incredibly artistic, magical, and forever cherished by a lovely couple. Precious moments passed from generation to  generation…….timeless beauty.  That was it! 

So without much further thought, my husband and I took the big plunge into wedding  photography!  We were recently married ourselves, and wanted to share that same excitement we felt when we saw our wedding photos for the very first time with some other lucky couple.  Our dream is to share in their dream by creating the most amazing images we can muster out of our cameras, and imaginations.

Our first wedding shoot was a freebie for a friend’s brother who somehow trusted us enough to put his timeless and eternal moments in our hands.  I was determined to approach this wedding with all the confidence of Bambi Cantrell!  But it didn’t take long for chaos and disorganization to set in…..did I mention stress? 

As we waited around envisioning the bride arriving in a big white limo, we walked around the church shooting detail stuff like flowers, religious icons, the church steeple, and what not.  It didn’t occur to me until I looked at the time that the bride was an hour late!  I asked someone in Spanish , ”Where’s the bride?”, and they replied,  “she’s at the father’s house…”  I couldn’t believe she was still at her father’s house!  My friend said,  “No, no, the padre’s house…..the priest quarter’s behind the church!” 

Unbelievable!  The bride was at the church the whole time!  Over an hour in back of the church, and now only 15 minutes to get some getting ready shots!  Talk about stress!  I had to work fast, catch my breath, and look like I knew what I was doing!  Thank God, I’m a performer, and know all about “the show must go on!” while the set is collapsing around my head.  Miraculously, out of the dust of near disaster came one of my favorite bridal bouquet shots ever!

It really is true what they say, “there can be many failures on the road to success.”  But then again, we only fail if we don’t learn from our mistakes.  Life is all about improvements!  Thank God I’m stubborn!  Even to this day, when I walk into a hotel suite, or brides home to capture the “getting ready” shots, and there’s junk all over the floor, people running around everywhere, noise, clutter, and chaos.  I stay focused on why the bride hired me in the first place……to capture her day. 

If the bride or brides maids are not ready to be photographed, I simply begin to look around, I grab the  rings, the flowers, the shoes, and any other details that she has poured her  heart and soul into over the past year.  It’s funny how their chaos creates a peaceful scenario for me.  I’m immersed in creation,  lost in the moment, and I get the job done!  All those little details are part of the BIG story, and at the same time, I’m having a blast!  There is nothing more rewarding than to hear a bride say,  “thank you for remembering that very special detail”.

I can easily say today that this attitude of paying attention to “details”, and giving our clients what they want, has lead to many other areas of photography.  We now shoot everything from portraits,  high school seniors, Model for a Day,  Alter Ego, performing arts, corporate events, and even memorials.  So many life experiences, so many wonderful people!  I love shooting it all!

We have all come a long way, and still have a long way to go!  But you can bet there will be way less stress when we stop getting stuck in the tracks in the middle of chaos and just start having  FUN!  Even the most horrendous experiences build character, so always keep learning, laughing, and loving…….the art of photography. 

Now, GO HAVE SOME FUN and watch what happens to your confidence, imagery and your business!

Barbara Yasuhara

(My apologies  to Barbara and my readers – if you read this post earlier, I had a problem and pulled the wrong images, showing album pages from a post last fall.  Everything has now been updated!)