Starting out in photography – The gift of rejection
[To learn more about the 'Starting out in photography' posts, please read this post]
Lesson number 3 – The gift of rejection.
This post follows on directly from Lesson 2 – Closing the creative gap, in which I had my first application to Aurora Photos rejected.
No one likes being rejected. It is just one of those things that most people would rather live without. As photographers, it can be especially hard, particularly when you are starting out.
There is nothing quite like putting together a body of work, sending it off to some potential client and either:
- Not hearing anything back. Or
- Receiving an email (lucky you!), with a ‘thanks, but not thanks’ response.
I have experienced two main types of rejection with photography.
The first relates to the quality of imagery you are producing and the fact that your imagery isn’t up to the standard for the publication / agency / insert photo buyer name here (my previous post about my first application to Aurora Photos was a good example of this). In this instance, your aim is to take the rejection and learn from it.
Your strength as a photographer doesn’t come from working on your strengths. It comes from working on your weaknesses.
If you can accept the rejection and look at it objectively, you will probably find that yes, you do need to work on the style and quality of imagery you produce. The crux is getting to this point and then doing something about it.
Looking at rejection in this way does two things.
Firstly, it takes something that is negative and turns it into a learning opportunity. Secondly, it should serve to help improve some aspect of your photography, which will ultimately make you a better photographer (remember: working on your weaknesses will make you a stronger photographer).
The second type of rejection that I have experienced is more about bad timing, than anything else.
Earlier this year I put together a tight pitch for Islands Magazine, a publication that I would like to work for. I included a one-page letter with a short, snappy pitch about my proposed article, along with 6-low resolution photos to help sell the overall package.
I received a response from the Photo Editor within a couple of days – a great response by any standard, given how much e-mail everyone gets these days. The response was positive and upbeat, but unfortunately for me, Islands Magazine wasn’t go to go with my proposal.
Why?
They have a 6-month to 1-year lead-time on stories and they had already scheduled a story on the Maldives into their schedule for the coming year. For a magazine that is only produced 6-times per year, you are not going to see two-feature length articles published on the Maldives. Despite this, the PE gave me permission to keep her updated of new work on my web site and to keep pitching stories that I thought might be suited to Islands Magazine.
If your pitch isn’t accepted, this is the outcome you want – permission to market and stay on the radar of the photo buyer.
Lastly, if you are starting out in photography, don’t take rejection personally. Instead, learn from it and become a better photographer.
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