Chatting with a friend the other day. He’s 68. Photographer most of his life. And he’s contemplating retirement.

Somewhere in the convo, on this topic, he says about retirement: “I don’t like the way it feels.”

I get it, sorta.

There are two activities in photography that I love participating in. ONE, image critiques.

A light meter is a cool thing.

You show up at a shoot, especially in the olden days, and if you have one of those hanging around your neck, you’re like Gandalf and his magical staff. I’ve used one for decades.

It’s important to stay on your game. Doctors, lawyers, real estate agents and accountants all do it. They are required to constantly attend on going classes on various topics to stay relevant and updated.

My feeling is most would not even bother if they had the choice.
I never had the choice either. Nor do you. Like the minority however, I did have the passion and a strong desire to keep learning.

When people start believing their own PR and they think they know it all, and they have all the answers, watch out.

Delusions are destructive. Accurate and rational thinking is the antidote.
That, and being honest with yourself.

John Ratchford is good with metaphors.

In the last marketing mastermind presentation I hosted with John, where he revealed some of the best photography marketing strategies he used to ramp up his business to the point where he’s so busy, his words:
“I’m drinking from a fire hose…”

One BIG lesson I got from the marketing mastermind with John Ratchford a few days ago was the idea that we as photographers in business need to innovate, create and adapt.

John had been on his game when it comes to keeping his studio running at full power.