It’s Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Austin Lord!

Let me first start by saying how grateful am for the opportunity to be featured on this blog. It’s always such an honor to be able to share what I have learned in the past three years of being a freelance photographer with other creatives, and I am so thankful to the Scott Kelby team for the opportunity to do it once more.

This has been an interesting year for me in my photography career. I decided at the beginning of the year to take a more inward approach to growing as an artist and a business owner. Instead of dreaming of where I wanted to be in 5 years, I started dreaming of who I wanted to be right now.

This shift in thinking caused me to be way more present than I ever have been and opened up my eyes to a new responsibility that I have as someone who takes portraits of all kinds of people for a living. That responsibility is not simply to show people how great they look, but also how great they are. This realization took my vision as a photographer to the next level.

I have realized that it’s one thing to have eyes for composition, lighting and color, but can I have eyes to see someone as a good leader and call that trait out of them? Can I use my words to speak something that will not only get a good expression, but also make the person more confident to face tomorrow? Our capacity to see can far surpass what we perceive in physical terms when take a minute to take in the moment — take a moment to really see someone.

It’s my aim as a portrait photographer for clients to leave my shoot with more than just a great photo of themselves. I want them to leave with more courage, more dignity, less fear, more ambition, and a greater confidence in who they are.

I want to use this moment to encourage you in the fact that taking time to learn yourself is one of the best things you can do as a photographer. I have learned that photography is nothing more than just a tool to express a message. What do you want to say? What do you want the world to know you for?

Thanks so much for reading!

You can see more of Austin’s work at AustinLordPhotography.com, and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.