How to Grow Your Confidence as a Self-taught Photographer
Let's talk about confidence—why it’s important, how to get it and how to harness its power. I’ve been in business for over 20 years, and one thing I’ve learned in that time is that 90% of success in business boils down to confidence.
Confidence is the bridge between wanting and having, fear and excitement and self sabotage and self promotion. Confidence is what will take you from undercharging to profitability and from feeling stuck to having a clear path and direction. It is so important! Unfortunately, many of us struggle with it.
Imposter Syndrome as a Photographer
Lack of confidence is the root of imposter syndrome. Research tells us that 70% of people struggle with imposter syndrome, and I’m sure that number is even higher in photographers. What do you do if you are one of those who struggle with confidence and would like to move beyond the struggle?
I feel very qualified to talk about this, because I’m a person who has struggled with confidence my entire life. This is something I’ve worked on in therapy for years, and my confidence issues only got worse when I went into business. I’m a self-taught photographer, as I know many of the photographers in my community are. While being self-taught is wonderful, it comes with its fair share of problems. For me, it contributed to my lack of confidence.
Am I doing it “right”?
I didn’t know if my technical skills were where they needed to be to call myself a professional. I didn’t feel like I could charge premium prices, or if my work was “good enough” to promote. I was afraid that the people who knew more than me would call me out, and as a result I played it small and was afraid to be seen—while also DESPERATELY wanting to be seen.
I didn’t share my work. I didn’t promote myself or market my business. I didn’t have boundaries with my clients or my family, and I didn’t treat my business like a real business. This led to me being broke, burnt out and ready to quit.
I wasn’t charging what I needed to charge to be profitable. I was working myself to the bone without financial compensation. Because of my low prices and lack of boundaries and self-worth, I was attracting clients into my business who didn’t value me or my work. This resulted in clients who would then voice their unhappiness, which would compound my lack of confidence. It was a viscous, painful hamster wheel that I was stuck in for the first half of my career.
This is something I’ve just started feeling comfortable even talking about, because honestly, it feels embarrassing to admit. We live in a very curated culture, and that's not always the truth. I played into that for years. I put on a brave face, but inside I was riddled with self doubt.
Something had to change.
One shoot in particular really brought this to my attention, and then started a shift for me. It was in November and a client booked a session, past my holiday deadline, and insisted on meeting outside. At the time, I said yes to everything she wanted. I agreed to meet her in a park. I agreed to a quick turn around without charging her extra so that she could use the images for her holiday cards. I did my job, and honestly I was really happy with the images…but she was not.
She wrote me an email on Christmas Eve, demanding her money back. She only liked 51 out of 65 images in her gallery and demanded refund in full.
I cried over that email. I felt terrible and like a fraud. Now, I’m grateful to her because this was the session that I KNEW something had to change—either I needed to quit or I needed to ensure that something like this never happened again. I knew that meant that I had to get better at the technical side of photography so that I didn’t have to work with people in a park in the rain in November ever again.
I started by learning lighting.
I learned to use lighting in a way that mimics the look of natural light. The more I practiced, the better I got and the more my confidence grew. Soon, I was comfortable saying no to things that were not aligned with my artistic vision. I took down all of the “on location” images that were on my website and leaned into being a studio photographer exclusively. I got better and better and better, and eventually I got to the point of having 100% confidence in my skills. I knew that I could show up to any situation, rain or shine, and produce high quality images for my clients. Once I had that confidence in my technical skills, magical things started to happen.
I was no longer attracting difficult clients into my orbit. I had boundaries. I was able to say no. I felt comfortable raising my rates because I KNEW my work was worth it. People stopped questioning my rates and happily paid my fees. All of that boosted my confidence. That empowered me to promote myself, which led to more clients, and catching the eye of people in the industry. Suddenly, I was being asked to speak at conferences, teach on platforms like CreativeLive and Kelby One and write books.
My career took off as soon as my confidence shifted.
Confidence is an extremely important and powerful thing to harness. First, rewrite the stories in your head that tell you you don’t know what you're doing, you’re not good enough, you don’t have what it takes and sooner or later, everyone is going to know that you are a fraud. Taking action is how you rewrite those stories.
One way is to try to figure out what you need to learn to feel like you know your stuff, then practice and wait to get feedback from your clients and peers. This is essentially what I did. It works, but it takes an extremely long time and can leave gaps in your learning, because you don’t know what you don’t know.
Or, you can fast track it, by working with someone you know and trust who is at a place in their business that you’d like to be at in yours. This person will look at your work and tell you honestly what you’re doing well and what you need to work on. They will assess your skill level and give you a seal of approval when you’re ready, so that you’ll never have to question if you’re good enough again!
Sandra Coan Certification Program
I want to be that person for you. That is why I’ve created the Sandra Coan Certification Program. Creating a certification program for maternity, newborn, family and portrait photographers is something I’ve wanted to do for YEARS, because it’s needed in our industry.
I’m a certified teacher, and as a certified teacher, I know how much certification matters. Certification is proof of mastery! It shows that you are an authority in your field. Being a certified teacher gives me confidence every time I create a course or stand on a stage. I KNOW that I know how to teach. I have the certification to prove it! I want to give you that same sense of knowing.
The program has three phases. The first phase is where you master the method. You learn all about lighting and exposure for both natural light and artificial. Then you move on to posing and direction, because both are essential skills to have, and afterwards you’ll learn about processes for consistency.
Throughout the program, we’ll work with you on creating and curating your professional portfolio, and by the end of the program you’ll have a robust portfolio of 150 to 200 images that is tested, assessed, proven and poised for profitability. Your portfolio and how it is presented will make your break your business!
The last step in the program is earning the Sandra Coan seal of approval. You will be asked to submit a portfolio for review that will be graded on a rubric and scored. Passing the final portfolio review is how you earn certification, and certification comes with a ton of incredible benefits.
You will receive a certification badge to share on your website and on social media as proof of mastery for yourself, your clients and your peers in the industry. You will also become a part of my international referral network. Your name and business will be added to my online referral directory, where you’ll belong to an exclusive worldwide community of like-minded photographers who will have your back, be a second shooter or become your trusted friend to refer to.
Once certified, members have the option of becoming an associate instructor, which means you will be eligible to teach the Sandra Coan Method for both lighting and posing. This is a fantastic opportunity for photographers who are interested in learning more about the education space. Members will receive lifetime access to our Certified Photographer Facebook group. You will also receive complimentary enrollment in all of my in-person workshops and portfolio building clinics while enrolled in the program!
Most importantly, you’ll KNOW that you are trained, know your stuff, provide good work and that you have everything you need to go into the world and build a beautiful business and life with confidence! Join the waitlist for the certification here.
