The Sally Field Effect
"... I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!"
And I can't deny that Sally Field's 1984 Academy Awards acceptance speech for "Places in the Heart" is what echoes through my brain each time one of my photos gets a lot of votes on GuruShots. Or when strangers at a craft show tell me that I do beautiful work. Or when I post a photo on Facebook or Instagram and it gets a lot of likes.
On GuruShots, there are no "big" prizes....for the very top photographers, there are some things, but there are thousands and thousands of entries, so I do realize that the chances of being in that position are quite slim. But I like to see which pictures do well and how high up in the rankings I can get for a particular challenge. I've only hit the highest category once, and that was early on, so I know it's possible....but very difficult to get there.
At craft shows, I may not sell a lot, but I still enjoy them, if there are people browsing. And when I do sell something, it's a bit of a rush, I'll admit. But I'm not making a profit....not yet. Yet, I want to continue doing them...to try to figure out how to do them right, I suppose.
After posting photos online, I do love the likes and positive comments. Of course, I know that on Facebook and Instagram, most of the people who like a photo are my friends and your friends love you no matter what.
Conversely, if a photo doesn't do well or if people don't stop at a show to browse, I wonder what's wrong. Is there something I could do better? Is this photo not as wonderful as I think it is? Is my display at the show not attractive? Are my prices too high? Should I just give up on this whole thing and go get a part-time job?
All of this makes me think back to my days of being a Psychology major--what motivates people to do what they do? Are we all just rats in a maze, trying to find our way to the end and we just need the right rewards? Obviously, praise is a big motivator for me. Perhaps more than monetary rewards....well, the two CAN go hand in hand, naturally... :)
Just my thoughts on a Wednesday morning.
And I can't deny that Sally Field's 1984 Academy Awards acceptance speech for "Places in the Heart" is what echoes through my brain each time one of my photos gets a lot of votes on GuruShots. Or when strangers at a craft show tell me that I do beautiful work. Or when I post a photo on Facebook or Instagram and it gets a lot of likes.
On GuruShots, there are no "big" prizes....for the very top photographers, there are some things, but there are thousands and thousands of entries, so I do realize that the chances of being in that position are quite slim. But I like to see which pictures do well and how high up in the rankings I can get for a particular challenge. I've only hit the highest category once, and that was early on, so I know it's possible....but very difficult to get there.
At craft shows, I may not sell a lot, but I still enjoy them, if there are people browsing. And when I do sell something, it's a bit of a rush, I'll admit. But I'm not making a profit....not yet. Yet, I want to continue doing them...to try to figure out how to do them right, I suppose.
After posting photos online, I do love the likes and positive comments. Of course, I know that on Facebook and Instagram, most of the people who like a photo are my friends and your friends love you no matter what.
Conversely, if a photo doesn't do well or if people don't stop at a show to browse, I wonder what's wrong. Is there something I could do better? Is this photo not as wonderful as I think it is? Is my display at the show not attractive? Are my prices too high? Should I just give up on this whole thing and go get a part-time job?
 |
| This one, for example, is a photo that I absolutely love....but it didn't do that well in a GuruShots challenge and it didn't get chosen for an exhibition. I still love it. |
All of this makes me think back to my days of being a Psychology major--what motivates people to do what they do? Are we all just rats in a maze, trying to find our way to the end and we just need the right rewards? Obviously, praise is a big motivator for me. Perhaps more than monetary rewards....well, the two CAN go hand in hand, naturally... :)
Just my thoughts on a Wednesday morning.
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