3 Things to Keep in Mind When You Are Starting Out in a New Industry

The year 2022 was the highlight of the hard work that awaited me: I’ve just started out as a photographer and videographer.

I decided to take the responsibility, listen to people around me telling me that I have an eye and a passion for visual arts, pursue this passion, and transform it from a hobby into something more tangible and meaningful.

While it sounds like I’m going to give you another lecture about success and how to never give up, I’m gonna be honest with you: these past three months have been hard on me.

I haven’t thought about quitting, but I’ve had so many doubts about myself and my abilities, did so many comparisons to experienced and successful photographers, and wondered so many times if I have what it takes or how long will this beginner phase last…

Sounds like anyone who just grasped some air and jumped right into something entirely new, trying to catch the wave. We, newbies, all need a helping hand, and sometimes it’s best done by those who are also just starting out.

So here goes — three things I want to share as a photographer who recently got into the industry:

Tip #1. Trust yourself enough to figure everything out on the go

Procrastination is your worst enemy. And here, by “procrastination” I mean a slightly different thing than we are used to think: with a new industry, it means putting off your time to shine till the moment when you’re “fully ready”.

Forget about it if you truly want to see progress. There is no such point as completely ready, and sadly enough, there will never be.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you lack certain skills or knowledge or experience to get started today. Breaking news: you always will. Nobody is a complete pro at anything — at least, I don’t believe in that.

There is always something new to learn and to master, so even those who you admire are constantly upgrading their skillset.

The trick is to trust yourself that your path to the goal is not a linear process as we sometimes see in these stupid illustrations: a guy walking up the staircase, step by step, always up-up-up, and then finally reaching his dreams on top.

Life is a bit more complicated than that, but that’s also why it’s so beautiful: you never know what or who will be the catalyst of your sudden x10 rise or a 180 degrees turn. You will figure it out if you just keep your mind open to everything new and never stop learning.

Tip #2. Meet new people & expand your network

I’ve underestimated the power of networking my whole life. I always considered it a thing for either snobs or those who want a golden ticket through people they have a connection or relationship with.

How wrong I was! Only now, when I’ve started in photography, did I realize that the more people you meet, talk to, learn from, and ask — the faster you’ll grow and the richer network you’ll have.

First of all, people are hella interesting. You just need to be genuine with them and dig deeper. Try to have more meaningful conversations, try to get to know some of them for real.

You can exchange experience and knowledge that will save you time in practicing. You can suddenly get a recommendation for something or someone very useful. You can be of use yourself to a person looking for someone with your skillset or passion — don’t miss out on these opportunities!

Jump in to help create the networks of like-minded people around you, and you’ll see how much you can offer to the world, and how much more it can give you back.

Tip #3. Don’t set the expectations too high

Let me explain this one.

Being ambitious is good. Striving to be better every day is awesome.

But there is one thing that is inevitably true for anyone who’s new to something: at first, you will most likely be pretty average at it.

Even genius people work for what they want, and let’s be honest, how many true geniuses do we have on Earth — around 2–3% of the population?

The reason I’m asking you not to set the expectations of your performance too high is to avoid frustration and burnout.

The equation looks like this: unnecessarily high expectations x beginner-level skills = outcome doesn’t match the reality.

Whenever this happens, whenever what you picture doesn’t match with what you actually get, you will most likely put the blame on yourself.

Now multiply this blame in a timeframe of weeks — you’ll get burnout and will have trouble with keeping at it.

And you NEED to keep at it!

So when you’re just at the beginning of your path, acknowledge every little step and achievement you make and praise yourself when necessary (wisely, of course).

Remember that you will get where you want to see yourself, but you have to give yourself enough time for that and have enough resources and mental strength to keep going.

Keep the goals in mind, but also know that there is still a vast space between where you are now and where you want to be — so take it easy on you.

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