Brooke Shaden

Yesterday morning I looked out of my window and for the first time in a week there was not a cloud in the sky. Now, if you will excuse a cliché parallel to my own life here, I couldn’t help but compare that metaphor to my own happenings. For the first time in a long time, there was not a cloud in the sky; I was happier than I have ever been. I was waking up for the first time with no pressures but to be exactly who I want to be.

Who, exactly, do I want to be, you might ask? A photographer, of course. And as of 7:00pm on Friday, January 22^nd, that is exactly what I am doing. I’ve quit my full time job as an office person to do what I love. Not many people get to say that in their life. It is so easy to become locked into a lifestyle where a 9-5 job, and all of the benefits included, is a necessity. And so, while I still had my chance, I moved on to something that will keep me fulfilled, at least in happiness. The financial part will have to fall into place.

I’m starting to understand this feeling now, the one where the world looks so big and you feel so little; it is the feeling of opportunity, of knowing that nothing is in my way of doing what I want to do. I used to think it was the feeling of fear, the fear of the unknown, the fear of, indeed, being so little that the world could crush you. But I suppose this year I have learned that it is all about perspective; all I need to do is navigate and conquer.

Sounds easy enough, right? Navigate and conquer. I sound like an ancient explorer. But the truth of it is that it is not that easy, and I am filled with the enormity of the situation. Conquering is easy enough to understand. Navigating has never been my strong suite, ask anyone that has driven with me. These next few weeks, no, scratch that – these next few months, years and decades will all be a test in navigation. It is time for me to learn the ins and outs of the business side of photography: promotion, sales, commissions, publishing, taxes. Often times a creative person is not just a creative person, they are a business person too.

Especially someone like myself, born online and expanding outward, needs to be business savvy. I am my own self-promoter, my own publicist, my own tax person…Okay, okay, my husband does the taxes, but you get the picture. I may not have a 9-5 job in the office, or in my case 9:30-6:30, but I will be dedicating those same hours to learning and producing and growing. But really, don’t we all try to do that 24-7?

I thought about writing here a few paragraphs about what I have learned about all of this photography business, but the truth is that I have not learned enough yet, and what I have learned has all been snippets from other people’s experiences. I will be back, in who-knows-how-long, to write that blog entry, but for now I will suffice it to say that I do not know enough yet to advise, and that is how I like it. I am incredibly excited to embark on this journey, to learn absolutely everything that I can, because well, I’ll tell you a secret. I am the most competitive person I know, and if someone else can figure it out, then I see no reason why I can’t as well.

I get asked a lot how I “got to this place”, wherever this place may be, and how I came to be so lucky. That is something I can speak to, something I have lived and learned from. I got here because of so many influences, first and foremost the generosity and interest from others. I got here because of flickr, the community that is the most invaluable I have found. I got here because of, and how this happened I will never know, my fans. I got here because of bloggers, online magazines, print magazines, competitions. I got here because of promotion on my end and on the end of others.

Let it be said here and now, I am not here because of luck. I do not believe in luck; disagree with me as you may. We create our own paths by the choices we make, and mine have lead me to this path of uncertainty and excitement, of challenges paired with moments that leave me in awe.

I will leave you with this, a bit of shameless self-promotion in the face of a new career, and in lieu of harnessing the new “Business Brooke”.

I sell limited edition prints, on paper or canvas, so feel free to email me for more info. I have a solo gallery exhibition coming up on Feb. 4 in San Pedro, CA (see my website, www.shadenproductions.com, for more info), and I am available for commissions and post-processing work.