Be yourself.  Be the best you possible.  We've all heard the sayings, we think about them for a moment and then *poof* they're gone from our minds.  I'm learning this very thing as we speak.  The moment I decided admiring other photographers work was great, but when it came to my personal work I need to be the best I could possibly be, my photographs changed.  Perhaps it was the confidence, or maybe my continuous learning over the past year has started to pay off.  Either way I finally realized the importance of the words, “Be Yourself.”  

I'm talking about beyond learning the basics of photography or even the basics of your camera.  I'm talking about finding what's in your heart and portraying that in your photographs. I finally, and I do mean finally, was able to capture an image that I felt was 100 percent me.  It was magical!!  That magical moment drove the point home that the best I can do is be me.  Plain and simple.  I will always admire other photographers and find their work stunning and be a huge fan but I will never try to be something I'm not.  Find who you are as a photographer and run with it!!

Be yourself.  Be original.  Find what makes your heart happy and photograph it.  The best advice I have ever been given as a photographer is to never stop learning.  Ever.  So while I'm learning to be the best photographer I can be I know the more I learn and the more I grow I'm reaching my goal of being the best me possible.  Does all of this sound cliché?  Yes it sure does but you know what?  It's true.  Period.  As long as I am still learning, striving to create something beautiful, and growing in my work then I'm being the best me.    

Do you want to know the best part of being yourself?  No one can re-create what you have created.  Oh I know people will try, but the truth is no one can be you.  We all see through our lens in a different way and that's one of the many things I really love about photography.  No one can re-create what I see through my lens and in my heart.  My point is don't worry about the others, worry about you.  Find your style and perfect it. 

The day a person can look at my images and say “oh I know whose photograph this is” will be a happy day for me!  Until then, I will continue to learn, practice, and most importantly, be myself in my photography.  I'm still finding myself in my work, and at times, it's a struggle, but it's oh so worth it to me!  

I'll leave with you a popular quote I love: 

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” --Oscar Wilde

It'll be hard at times, a down right struggle, but trust me, as I'm in the middle of my own journey, it'll be worth it.  Leave your own legacy behind.  Be the best photographer you can possible be.  Be yourself.  




Guest Post by: Erin Crista Smith of Erin Crista Photography
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