The Power of Responsibility

“With great power comes great responsibility”
… known as the Peter Parker syndrome.
Actually, it dates from around 1500 or so.
And that statement has been a part of a lot of philosophies through the ages.

However, I tend to reverse things in my head all the time to see if they play forward or backward, and this one is actually stronger in the reverse position than in the quoted version.

With great responsibility comes great power.

That is absolutely true, and even more true today.

Look, having great power should indeed mean wielding it responsibly. This is self-evident, I would think.

But how does one get great power? it isn’t something you can buy.

I guess you could get bitten by a spider, or be born on Krypton or whatever those comic book shortcut taking characters do.

But we know there are no shortcuts to great anything.

It takes perseverance, hard work, dedication, and commitment to a purpose higher than ourselves to make any kind of progress. 

And that is without having any power… 

Without some sort of help, it must be terribly difficult to achieve that power.

Whether we wield it responsibly or not, we first have to acquire it.

And that is where responsibility comes in.

With great responsibility comes great power.

No one else has the power over you to make you create a great portfolio. There is no school, workshop, class, or magic Facebook Group that will bestow a great portfolio on you.

That is YOUR responsibility. Yours alone.

I mentor photographers both as an individual or in small groups. I can lead, cajole, present, beg, and otherwise try to influence them toward creating something… but in the end, it always ends up in their court.

I cannot force anyone to make great photographs.

No one can.

And the excuses are a litany of blaming others – whether they be people or circumstances.

“I don’t have time…” Yes you do.
“I don’t feel creative…” Start working, it’ll come.
“I don’t know what to shoot…” Grab something. If it is wrong, you’ll know soon enough and grab another something.
“My partner is keeping me busy…” Tell them how important it is to you and draw clear boundaries.

This is purely up to YOU.

When you realize and embrace the fact that the portfolio you are creating is YOUR TICKET to getting the better jobs you want, you take responsibility for it and get to work. I have seen it happen many times.

You find the time, you find the creativity, you find the subjects, and everyone around you can see the energy you are engaged with.

Embracing and engaging the responsibility for the work you do may seem like a small thing, but it can be career-changing once you do.

With great responsibility comes great power.

Whether it is dealing with clients, or accountants, or even client’s accountants, taking responsibility for every large and small part of the bidding process puts you in charge.

And when you are in charge, you have more power.

You have the responsibility and the power to say no. 

The responsibility comes in when you realize the client is asking you to subpar work because they cannot find it in the budget to do it correctly. You tell them that it won’t work not in order to negotiate, but as a responsible creative doing the absolute right thing.

Responsibility works that way. You OWN your own stuff.

No need to haggle, although negotiation from a position of personal power is always gratifying.

With great responsibility comes great power.

Be responsible for every square mm of your image. It is what you saw – and you signed off on it when you depressed the shutter. Don’t tell me that you didn’t see this or missed that other thing. What other job did you have other than to compose the damn photograph?

Be responsible for the wardrobe.
Be responsible for makeup and hair.
Be responsible for the location, and sets, and assistants, and any other thing you need to make your photograph stand out.

We are not randomly clicking shutters with the expectation that something may or may not ‘come out cool’.

We are responsible for it all.

We call this high production value – and it is one of the most important things you can possibly have throughout your entire portfolio.

When the shot comes out so extraordinary that it moves the needle on your career, it is because of the power of that image. The power YOU gave it for being responsible for every single aspect of its making.

With great responsibility comes great power.

And as your career starts to rise, become more and more responsible for what you make. This is the only way that the power of being a great visual artist can be manifested in us. Through hard work, commitment, and deliberate attention to detail, you will begin to see the surge of power you wield when dealing with clients.

The power of responsibility cannot be denied.

It is real.

It is strong.

And the understanding that all of us are where we are because of the choices we made and the actions we took – or didn’t take – that led us to this moment helps us clarify what and where we should go next

We bear that responsibility.

What are we going to do with it?