The Mentor's Corner
Business and Marketing for ProsStop Fearing Failure – Be Terrified of Regret.
Failure Sucks Less Than Regret.
There’s a quote I heard recently that nailed a truth I’ve been preaching for years:
“Stop fearing failure, but be terrified of regret.”
Many of the photographers I work with—especially those trying to break into commercial or editorial work—get stuck in neutral. They want guarantees before they even pack the gear.
What if the shot doesn’t work?
What if the client says no?
What if I look stupid?
Here’s a better question:
What if you miss the one image that would’ve opened the next door?
What if your safest work becomes your most forgettable?
The Real Enemy Isn’t Failure—It’s Inaction
Failure is a powerful teacher.
It sharpens your instincts, toughens your skin, and gives you data.
And data is knowledge. Data is power. Data helps define, refine, and measure.
But fear of failure?
That’s just a story you tell yourself to avoid discomfort.
And worse, it creates regret.
Regret builds up in your gut over time. You don’t feel it right away.
But years later, when you look back and realize you never submitted the pitch, never finished that project, never asked—that’s when it hits.
I’ve watched photographers with incredible potential spend years getting ready.
Perfecting portfolios.
Re-editing images.
Rewriting the “About” page again and again—when what they should’ve done was send the damn email, make the calls, send the proposals.
Safe Work Will Not Get You Noticed
The main reason is that safe work is invisible.
You become one of many.
A solid technician.
A reliable shooter.
Safe. Regular. Expected.
But not the one they remember.
Not the one they refer.
Clients want to be surprised.
They want to see someone take a shot they wouldn’t have thought of. They want to be surprised, intrigued, gobsmacked.
Playing it safe won’t get you there. Fear of failure makes your work beige. And no one gets hired for beige.
You Need to Fail Faster—and Learn Smarter
The best photographers I know aren’t fearless.
They’re just more committed to doing the work than protecting their egos.
They screw up lighting. Miss shots. Blow deadlines. And then they fix it. They keep going. They know that regret costs more than any failed frame ever will.
If you want to grow, if you want your work to matter, you have to risk making a mess.
Here’s Your Assignment (No Excuses)
This week, I want you to push into the discomfort.
Make the image you’ve been avoiding.
Pitch the idea you’ve been sitting on.
Email the client you think is out of your league.
(And I would love for you to send me a copy of that email… I’ll be discrete.)
Here are a few creative ideas to get the wheels turning:
-
Shoot a portrait using only one light and no retouching.
-
Create an ad for a product that bores you. Make it visually exciting.
-
Tell a story in three images using motion blur and ambient light.
-
Photograph a location or person you’re intimidated by (get permission, but push past your comfort zone).
And for the record—yes, it might suck.
It might fall apart.
But you’ll be one image, one pitch, one failure closer to something remarkable.
Final Thought
Fear will always gently whisper, “What if it doesn’t work?”
Learn to whisper back, “What if it does?”
And if it doesn’t—good.
Now you know.
No regret.
Just data.
And the next shot is waiting.
Recent Business Posts
SPEAKING WITH THE ASMP MEMBERS, MAY 20, 2020
Keeping Focus and Moving Toward a Post-COVID19 World with Don Giannatti I am honored to be speaking to the membership of ASMP about my ideas on moving forward away from this "lockdown". My focus is on what has remained and what has changed and utilizing our vision to...
CREATIVE RISK AND PUSHING THROUGH
CREATIVE RISK AND PUSHING THROUGH At no time I can remember has the need to be able to deal with creative risk been more important than now. These times are unprecedented and the need for taking a risk even more important than it usually is. Creatives always face risk...
SO THIS IS DIFFERENT… WHAT’S NEXT?
What's Next? If that question was posed to some 'talking head' they would begin espousing information and data with a self assuredness that makes most of us feel inadequate at best. "Wow. That guy really knows his stuff." But he doesn't. Not really. No one knows what...
COUNTER-INTUITIVE APPROACHES TO THE “NEW NORMAL”
Approaching the "New Normal" I would say right off the bat that I hate that term, the "New Normal" as it makes it seem like something we volunteered for. And it wasn't.And it isn't. There is nothing 'normal' about these last 6 weeks. And there will not be anything...
CREATIVE APPROACHES TO WORKING THROUGH THE QUARANTINE
As most of the country is seeing the numbers falling back into a more manageable condition, we are seeing evidence of the impending reopening of the economy. Most states are looking at doing it in stages, and with controls in place to prevent a re-occurrence of the...
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 3700% IN ONE YEAR
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY 3700% IN ONE YEAR I first heard of the 1% growth principle through James Altucher on one of his podcasts. I think it was the first time, although it seemed very familiar to me so I may have heard it somewhere else. No matter. It made...
MOVING FORWARD IN 2021: A PHOTOGRAPHER’S PLAN
JUMP ON IN... AND GET READY TO SWIM LIKE NEVER BEFORE No more time to tread water, you have to make distance. Jump in and begin to push forward and know before you jump that the water has more resistance than it did before. That it may feel as though you are swimming...
WHAT MAKES THIS PHOTO GREAT: EPISODE ONE, GARY PERWEILER
https://youtu.be/GzOWXPaO8P8
HOW TO STOP SELF SABOTAGE AND MOVE FORWARD IN THE NEW YEAR
THE MOST IMPORTANT STORIES WE WILL EVER HEAR COME STRAIGHT FROM OUR OWN MINDS. OVERCOMING SELF-FOCUSED NEGATIVITY 1. Have Daily Negative Thought Time A paradoxical strategy to gain control over negative thinking is to commit to 10 minutes a day ruminating and...
PHOTOGRAPHERS: CONCENTRATE ON THESE THREE THINGS FOR 2020
WHAT SHOULD PHOTOGRAPHERS FOCUS ON FOR 2021?VISIBILITY, DURATION, FREQUENCY As we slowly begin to let go of the miserable business climate most small businesses, creatives, photographers..., well, just about anyone in the creative arts community has had this past...
FIVE WAYS “IT’S JUST NOT FAIR”
Five Ways It’s Just Not Fair!(And Why You Should Stop Expecting It To Be) Have you ever felt that way or uttered those words in a state of anger, or disappointment, or jealousy? Perhaps you felt cheated or slighted. You worked all through the night on that science...