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Come On, If You Think You Are Good Enough.
I have always felt that if you are really keen to progress in a particular skill or area of expertise eventually you have to be tested; not quite a trial by combat but certainly an examination in the public eye. I am just reaching the end of a course I have been doing that will lead to a “Diploma of Professional Photography”. The institute delivering the course has had it accredited and I’ve learnt a great deal while completing it. However because it is not from a well-known national establishment its headline value is somewhat diminished. Of course in the purest sense your skill can be proven in the marketplace, but in the current mass of photographers trying to succeed professionally just now it will not always be possible for talent to be full recognised every time. The other route that can be attempted is a national (or even international) benchmark and it is this option that awaits me next.
I have joined The Royal Photographic Society which offers, along with an immense amount of support and knowledge base, 3 internationally acknowledged levels of distinctions: Licentiateship, Associateship and Fellowship. To my mind gaining such an award is an unequivocal statement of your photographic abilities and one which I wish to test myself against. Of course I face the very real prospect of falling short of the required standard and taking the proverbial kick in the teeth that comes with failure. However, I would shy away from taking the easy road of not taking the challenge and kidding myself that I was good enough but avoid the test. This is something that parallels my “day job” where in my particular area of military aviation there exists a similar test; a course that is daunting, challenging, demanding and exacting. Many fail the course but it is seen as what those who would hold themselves to be the best must attempt. I failed this course on my first attempt, but despite the months of hard work and low emotions I went back for another (this time successful) try.
You can enjoy photography without getting too serious about it. I am serious about my photography and attempting to gain a RPS distinction is a challenge I am keen to take on. Whether my photography is good enough is quite another matter though and only the coming months will tell. I’ll let you know what happens.
I have joined The Royal Photographic Society which offers, along with an immense amount of support and knowledge base, 3 internationally acknowledged levels of distinctions: Licentiateship, Associateship and Fellowship. To my mind gaining such an award is an unequivocal statement of your photographic abilities and one which I wish to test myself against. Of course I face the very real prospect of falling short of the required standard and taking the proverbial kick in the teeth that comes with failure. However, I would shy away from taking the easy road of not taking the challenge and kidding myself that I was good enough but avoid the test. This is something that parallels my “day job” where in my particular area of military aviation there exists a similar test; a course that is daunting, challenging, demanding and exacting. Many fail the course but it is seen as what those who would hold themselves to be the best must attempt. I failed this course on my first attempt, but despite the months of hard work and low emotions I went back for another (this time successful) try.
You can enjoy photography without getting too serious about it. I am serious about my photography and attempting to gain a RPS distinction is a challenge I am keen to take on. Whether my photography is good enough is quite another matter though and only the coming months will tell. I’ll let you know what happens.
16/12/2013