It’s time to talk about mental health and social media
I recently worked with promotional model Sian Lacey and noticed she has a semicolon ; tattoo on the inside of her wrist. Sian tells me the ; was adopted to raise awareness of mental health.
It’s time to talk about mental health and be honest about your vulnerability.
My battle with social media. I’m the first to admit I’m no expert on social media marketing and however much I try to engage with others and build my followers, I struggle.
How does that make me feel? It’s very difficult for me not to compare myself with other photographers, social media has recently made me judge my success on how well my account is growing and how many likes an image has had. We now live in a world where the more successful you are on social media, the more opportunities there are to work with brands. I was recently approached by a brand who loved my style of photography and wanted to collaborate with me, unfortunately, they later pulled out as I didn’t have as many followers as they would have liked!
Because of this I’m constantly thinking, ‘I need to check my likes’, ‘I can’t grow my followers’, ‘every other photographer is able to interact with others so obviously no one is interested in what I do’, my thoughts go on and it’s a constant struggle to succeed.
So what makes us successful? If you’ve ever worked with me you know how passionate I am about my photography and how I’m always trying to push myself to the next level. At school I was told I cannot do photography as an option, here I am working as a full-time professional photographer and succeeded in one of my goals in life. Although my turnover isn’t enormous my business is profitable and in an over-saturated market of photographers I work with a number of clients who use my images to help promote their business and are very happy with my service and choose to work with me on a regular basis. Surely this is a sign of success?
Since I had the idea of sharing my battle with social media with you, just putting this on paper has helped me focus on what’s important. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to build my followers but I’m also extremely grateful for the followers I have, the kind comments I receive and the amazing friends who support me, you know who you are! Of course, I’m going to keep pushing myself and trying my best but I also shouldn’t be so concerned every time I post. I don’t need to keep checking my phone to see how many likes I have. I don’t need to compare myself to others. I am unique, I have my own style and I shoot what I love.
I encourage you, stop and take a look a look at yourself, It’s time to talk about mental health and be honest about your vulnerability.
Above and below: Motorcycle photoshoot with promotional model Sian Lacey
Below: Studio shots using Profoto B2 lighting
