This episode is all about photography awards and what we think of them, and how we'd shake up the awards industry. Plus, we segue into talking about what you can do instead of aiming for awards to attract new clients and feel good about your work, and what we'd do if we were starting a brand new wedding photography business.

*explicit warning is a single s-bomb, thanks Todd!

Shownotes:

Awards - why did all men win a recent award?

Our opinion on awards in general

The type of images that win awards

Impressing other photographers vs doing meaningful work for our clients

Has “award-winning photographer” become meaningless?

Why I don’t apply for awards

External vs internal validation

The pressure of shooting for awards

What awards systems could do to be more meaningful and inclusive

Awards encourage photos that become copies of each other

Imposter syndrome and how to feel good about what you're creating

Comparisonitis and your mental health

Anxiety, depression and low self-esteem in photographers

How to not be affected by other photographers’ work

Having a folder of inspo photos

How to find meaning and confidence in your work

The best thing we did for our own creative confidence

Endlessly tweaking presets and never being quite happy with it and why it doesn't matter

How to remind yourself you’re good enough without needing the kudos of an award

Our dream awards - awarding our couples and other suppliers with something fun

Wedding photographers getting married

Booking anxiety and comparing yourself to other photographers

Our booking status

Sometimes we worry about not having enough bookings too

Why some people get bookings without appearing to do marketing

Why you shouldnt focus on other people’s marketing or try to reverse engineer it

If I was starting a new business - what I’d do to get bookings

Being a marketer vs being a creative

Outsourcing so you can focus on marketing

The stuff that gets you bookings

Marketing strategy session in the membership

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