I have often reflected on the meaning of success. The first point that comes straight to my mind (on which we all probably agree) is that this is a subjective concept. What each of us means by “success”? We would ultimately provide different replies to this question. Also, there are different spheres to which this concept can be applied (business, career, wealth, fame, couple / family happiness, self-development…).
The concept of success has evolved in me, over the years. When I was younger, I would stick it to being considered cool, getting the attention and becoming famous. However, over the past decade, I realised that success is not strictly related to professional life or to making a fortune.
Success, to me, is related to a decisional factor or power. It means to figure out who you are, what you thrive for. It means to find your path and to decide what & who you want in your life (and very often this doesn’t come natural to me!!). I am not implying that the financial asset is irrelevant but I would highlight that also our impact on the social sphere is key, aka the capacity of establishing healthy, inspiring and useful relations (in work, as in private life) are reflections of achievement & realisation. Persevering is also a powerful tool that can grant us success.
Photography has always been a passion and never a profession for me, however I consider myself a photographer. I am not powerful under a financial point of view, as I am not a sales person and I have never pushed into that direction, of making profits thanks to my photography. I believe that God gave me this talent as a purpose and also as a tool to serve others, and that this gift has allowed me to be more self-aware and confident, opening me up to life. Photography has really linked me to other people!
To sum it up, “my success”, regarding my photo activity, relies in:
– having defined the subjects I want to work with (specialising in a photography type);
– having developed my own style (this took quite a long time!);
– having drastically improved the quality of my shots.
– last but not least, a very outstanding factor is shown by the fact that people chose me, they still prefer to work with me, even after many years and considering the huge available competition! At the end of the day, a photo session is not just a question of taking good pictures, it is also a human exchange & experience!
All these factors have been developed over time as success is, very often, a long & hidden path!!
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 