Are you an Art Imposter?

Jul 21

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Do you resist calling yourself an artist because you don’t feel qualified? Do you feel like you’re not quite “ready” to launch your website or your art for sale because you need to tweak more and research more? Do you buy a lot of art supplies but find them sitting in the drawer for years?

You might be suffering from artist imposter syndrome, and I have it too.

My disorder is actually a specific subset of this syndrome, called photographer imposter syndrome, and I’m going to share with you my heartbreaking condition, and also how I fixed it.

Here’s a story for you about my P.I.S. (photographer imposter syndrome). It all started because I have a friend who is a professional photographer and has been one for decades. We were at a camera gear shop where she was framing her photographs for her upcoming exhibition, and I was assisting, which basically meant I occasionally held something up on the wall but mostly just stood around complimenting her work, as friends do. One of the staff at the shop was a friend of hers, and he also was hanging out chatting with us.

My friend my was busy framing, so the guy was pretty much chatting with me. He said, “Are you a photographer?”

And I replied, “NO. No nonononono. No. Not at all.”

After a moment of reflection, I went on. “I mean, I’m definitely not a photographer, but I do spend most of my workday using a camera. And I have thousands of dollars of gear and lenses and lighting equipment. And I spend 3 years in a dark room developing 35mm film, so I understand film photography. And I have been a second shooter on countless weddings while I supported my photographer friends. And I photograph my art and it’s really hard, so I’ve spent years learning how to do it. And I spend hours and hours in photoshop editing my photography. And if you’re the stranger who asks me to take a pic of their family at the park I will art direct the shizz the out of you and give you the best dang family snap of your life. Will I take 57? Maybe. And let’s not even talk about video….

And the guy was like… “So, what about all that makes you NOT a photographer? Hmmm, touché, sir, touché.”

Ultimately, I was comparing myself to my professional photographer friend, who MAKES photographs. I cannot approach her technical and artistic skill because I use photography as a vehicle for a different purpose, to show my art. I make art and take pictures of it. She makes art and the art IS photographs. And I understand that in the vast world of photography, I’m an infant. I barely understand the merest smidgen of the tech and the artistry that’s involved, because I am using cameras for a very specific thing.

But I guess my point is, though I acknowledge there’s a lot more to learn about photography, I still know more about it than probably 95% of your casual clicker with an iPhone, you know?

A lot of times people who are self-taught in art, which I largely am with photography, knowing they never got a B+ in photography 102, never feel justified in taking on the description “artist”, even if their self-directed activity has spanned hours of work and decades of focus.

But here’s the thing.

You can both declare yourself to be an artist WHILE acknowledging you have a lot to learn.

In fact, it’s a sign of your wisdom in understanding that there is a vast sea of knowledge that you barely have dipped into, and that is true whether you have been painting for 5 months or 5 decades.

You can step into your heart’s passion and own the title, even at the very early stages. Unlike being a PhD or a CPA….

you don’t need anyone to grant you a certificate.

I think there is real value, even for a very new, inexperienced creator, to declare themselves to be an artist… Because now it’s time to LIVE IT.

When I own “photographer” or even “videographer” as a description of my process, it makes me get more serious about it. It makes me say YES: I care about this, and I want to learn and grow and get better. I will invest time and money and learning to improve, because this is where my heart is leading me!