Hey, Photographers! -- I have a Monday morning question for you. I'm curious about your top three answers. 

What are the greatest assets you have in developing your photography's art, craft and career? 

While you ponder this - and I hope you do before reading ahead - I'll mention a few things which I do not consider to be my greatest photographic assets. (Stop here until you have your own lists.)

While it's exciting and fun to play and work with new shiny objects, no specific camera will ever top this list. My camera will never be my greatest asset. Plus, even though I consider outstanding lenses to be of greater importance than advanced camera bodies, lenses also do not top this list. 

You might know that "photography" means to record or paint with light. We spend a pretty little fortune on our studio lights, event lights, and offsite lights, stands, filters, reflectors, soft boxes and other modifiers and connectors. Yet, nope, our lighting is not one of our top three assets. Close, but not in my top three.

This list of "nos" could go on for quite a while. Props? No. Backgrounds? No? Printers, carts, even our studio and work locations? No. A closet full of various camera bags and backpacks, and super supportive shoes could temp me. Still a no. 

So, have I missed anything on your list? And what are your top three essential assets? Here are mine, in reverse order. 

3) Ongoing education in photography and in other fields.

With a curiosity to learn, we can stay fresh about technical advances, modes of expression, composition, photographic and editing trends, the history of the people, subjects, and places we record, business practices, and our human skills - including listening, understanding, how we use of all of our senses and more. Education is the energy that fuels our vehicles. It's non-negotiable if you want to stay fresh, motivated and evolving.

2) Fostering relationships

No one does life alone. It's very hard to imagine anyone succeeding alone for long in this complex profession. Great camaraderie and collegiality might not be essential to the making of a great image; they are essential to a great career in photography. Read sketches or biographies of historically great photographers and you'll read of their art societies, circles, associations, trusted assistants and mentors. Colleagues - including associations and vendors - provide energy, empathy, education, honesty, trust, and a level of understanding that no one outside of the profession can. Bonus:  Many times the relationships are so strong there is love there. I might love a D850 or other camera body; it's never going to love me back. I tend to my D850; friends tend to one another. Personal relationships matter if we are to evolve personally and professionally.  

1) A reason and a vision for pursuing this craft and profession 

Whether you're documenting people, businesses, families, history and events, producing fine art photos, or images of food, products, real estate, sport, space, or the night skies, (and there are many other specialities), you're pursuing this as a profession - and not a hobby - because of some calling. It's important to understand your "why." Choosing photography as a profession is quite different (and more difficult) from choosing it as a hobby. 

Is this the arena in which you feel called to express your unique voice and sentiments? Is serving your photographic clients what's truly in your heart? Are you finding joy and satisfaction with most every step of the process because you understand its importance? 

Many say "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." I disagree a bit. If you've ever had a hard drive crash before an important deadline, or if you've slogged many pounds of cameras, light stands, lights, reflectors, water containers and more down a windy beach in deep sand, then you'll know this can be work. Filling out insurance forms and filing businesses taxes - uh, work. Juggling finances during many off months? Also work. 

Doing what you love provides a sense of meaning to the not-so-fun work. In photography, you've probably discovered, it seems that everyone spends more time doing administrative and marketing work than ever clicking the shutter release button. It's just a fact - no matter how much you outsource. 

Yet, remembering our why:  feeling what's in our heart, and knowing what calling is in our soul helps to alleviate the workload. Finding and sharing joy with a grateful client, reproducing a legacy image of a person or pet who has passed away, feeling the joy and hope of someone whose solopreneur launch will be bolstered by work images or business portraits you create make it all worthwhile.

Even when I produce fine art images which evoke enough joy, peace, beauty or reflection within some viewers - who then choose to invest in art work for their homes or offices - then I have my "why" enforced. Be sure to spend time finding your why before you spend cash or credit financing a shiny new, cool but-one-day-will-be-obsolete camera. Education, relationships, and self-understanding endure. Our shiny objects too quickly become trade-ins, and only if we're lucky.

And what prompted me to write this, dear photographer? In Massachusetts we are fortunate to have an awesome PPA affiliate:  the Professional Photographers Association of Massachusetts (PPAM). Yesterday, perennially generous PPAM volunteer and awesome photographer, Nancy Green, hosted an event at her studio. She was assisted by the equally talented, awesome, no-detail-too-small-to-be-important Susan Asaro. Both of these women have given years of their time to PPAM and PPAM photographers. Also present and helping the current PPAM president, Cassandra Sullivan. Anyone familiar with Cassandra knows that she knows her stuff, she also works hard, and she's extremely generous with what she learns. All three have been exceptional PPAM presidents. 

Yesterday, they generously gave of their time and well-honed talents to raise funds for our next PPAM Evolve Convention coming in late February 2024. 

What we got from them doesn't come in a box via UPS. Nancy spent time photographing us indoors and outside. She and her husband Peter put out a delicious lunch spread - enhanced with Sue's salad and dressing, and Nancy spoke about some of her business practices. Back inside the enviable "Magical Cottage" studio of Nancy's, we learned more about Nancy's culling and editing practices. Importantly, we got to hear the opinions of others in the room. (Collegiality through and through!) 

Nancy was in contact with one of our associated vendors,  PhotoFlashDrive. The good folks at PhotoFlashDrive delivered a great conference presentation to us during COVID's lockdown. Because of Nancy's ongoing relationship with vendors - and this vendor's relationship with us -- we all received a valuable swag bag from them. I look forward to using their generous gift certificate for another one of their well-designed products. 

See, and there we had point #2 in action:  fostering relationships. Many relationships within our industry are more readily developed when you're part of a vibrant organization, such as the Professional Photographers Association of Massachusetts (PPAM) an affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA).

I am so grateful for these two organizations, and a couple of others I'll mention on a different post. PPAM and PPA provide all the support, friendship, opportunities for education, challenge and growth a photographer needs. The benefits go far beyond anything you find on a "join us" page. If you're interested in broadening your awareness of the industry's possibilities and riches, please feel free to reach out to me about them. If I can't answer your question, I already know that I can connect you with someone who can. Among the top of those lists of someones would be Nancy Green, Susan Asaro, and Cassandra Sullivan. 

Thanks to them, and thanks to my other friends and colleagues who attended Nancy's magical workshop. 

Nancy, thanks also for sharing your work talents by instruction and also in a beautiful tangible form. Somehow, it seems to me, that you magically made decades and pounds melt away in the portrait above in a most convincing way. You say otherwise. I disagree. You worked magic on this Granola Woman. Thank you so much!