My second week of my 52 week photography challenge was called "Sparkle and Shine".  With photography challenges it's not just about the picture, it's about being creative and challenging yourself.  Photographers LOVE photography.  It is a passion and it's getting to view the world around in a different way and "freezing" that moment in time.

However, I know photographers that don't take their camera out as often as you would think.  I practically have to twist their arm and beg just to get them to walk out the door with their DSLR and come with me to shoot. I feel them, I do, I understand not being motivated.  Creativity can be daunting if you don't have ideas floating in your head. I have weeks where my camera doesn't leave it's bag! My friends would find this hard to believe due to my recent activity.  However if they picked through their memory they may remember times where I didn't post anything new for a week or two. My creativity and drive during those times were lacking, and I blame the Monster.

The Monster is created when what you started out of love and passion turns in to being about recognition and success.  Whatever you started to do for a creative outlet still needs to be about you. If you make a business out of it, make time to do it for you as well.  I know custom cake designers, make up artists, sculptors, boutique owners, artists, musicians; and of coarse photographers. Some are very successful, some are only crafting upon request, some have been burnt out.  We zero in on the business side of things. We pump out our art and creations upon request or demands trying so hard to break through our respective industries.  We want success, money, and perfection. We want to be known and referred.  We all started off loving to do something and it turns in to this Monster. We all love our Monster, we need him to reach our goals, but we need to keep him in check before he takes over.

Take on challenges in your field and take on clients, but please for the sake of yourself and your industry don't just become a manufacturer of your art!  Do it for you first and foremost and the rest will fall in to place. Do I believe all the different artists I know have what it takes to make it BIG? Yes and no, for some. They all have amazing talent and they can make it. Some are holding themselves back.  I see the spark of love in their work. I see room for improvement and the need to gain knowledge in the field.  I see a stagnancy, and for some, a love that was once there that got eaten by the Monster.  As the old saying goes "Love what you do, do what you love."  Sparkle and shine in your field.  You will gain clients and they will love you.  Recognition from your peers and success will come, but it doesn't always have to be about the Monster.





Amber is a photographer based out of Lakeland, FL.  She is a  married mother of two with a love for the art and craft of photography.