Vision Studios Photography

It's 4:05pm and I'm here in front of my laptop doing my very best to stay focused on the "important" things I'm supposed to get done before I go to church tonight. One of which is an email questions like....."How would you describe your particular style in shooting weddings? What makes you stand out from the rest of the wedding photographers? It's always hard for me to answer questions. Maybe because I know that hundreds of people will be reading my answers or more likely it's because I sometimes forget what sets me apart from other photographers out there. I mean... all of us are just making it up as we go right? We somehow have a vision in our heads of who we want to be and where we want to go and we just move forward with one eye open hoping we don't trip or run into a wall along the way. An ex-employer asked me a question once when I was getting ready to leave his studio to start my own business. His question went something like this, "Andy, what makes you think you're any different from the hundreds of photographers out there trying to make a living? What are you going to do that isn't being done already? How are you going to succeed? Have you ever stopped to think about that? "I don't exactly know why, but I've always had a quiet (maybe false) sense of confidence. I like to think I've found favor in the eyes of God but I don't know that for sure... it's just a result of so many things going right in my life that I can't really take credit for. My mom told me once that I have "the touch" and everything I touch turns to gold. I'm sure she told that to my brother and sister too! Well, I couldn't answer my soon-to-be ex-boss's question without sounding like an idiot so I just kept my mouth shut and shrugged my shoulders. If I didn't care what he thought of me, I would have said what was so obvious to me at the young, know-it-all age of 29, "It's me. I'm different. There's only one of me so that makes me one of a kind. Isn't that enough to be successful?"I remember how confident I was. There was nothing that was going to hold me back from pursuing and realizing my dream of owning my own photography business and making a decent living doing what I loved so much.Looking back, my expections weren't exactly in the clouds. All I wanted was to be able to do something fun as a career, afford to drive a new (or at least newer) vehicle instead of my 10 year old small buick, and eventually be able to move out on my own so I could really provide for my family. I never actually thought that I could take this so far. I didn't put a cap on my dreams but I never expected to find the kind of success I've found. God really must have a plan for my life because I can honestly say that I don't know what I am doing here or how I got here. It reminds me that I don't want to be 80 years old and thinking about how I never made a difference. I want to be used by God in whatever way. It may just be to take care of my family and point my kids towards heaven or I might end up in on the other side of the world preaching the Gospel to fifty thousand heads. I guess God knows right?Ok, now back to the "important" stuff. It was fun rambling. Thanks for reading :Oh, the moral to what I originally started this post for was something along the lines of - You have no competition because there is only ONE of you on this earth. Embrace that fact and let it carry you in your art, your business, and your confidence!

Love and God Bless
Andrew Millar