What do you want to be known for?

Earning a living from photography requires you to think like a business and a big part of that is figuring out what you want to be known for

- Paul Wilkinson

When we first created our business, I remember being frustrated that customers would come to us because they knew me, knew our kids, or someone had told them, “He's a nice guy; you should go to him. In reality, deep down, I wanted people to come to us because they had seen my photography and loved it.

Not just liked it but loved it.

No matter the lovely feedback we'd get about the photographs, it always came back to the same thing: people loved working with us.

The problem is, as a creative, I am a tricky mix of confidence and insecurity: and while I honestly like being liked (well, who wouldn't), I wanted people to love my images above all else - even if they didn't particularly like me.

Okay, I exaggerate a little. I don't want people not to like me (that would fuel a whole heap of other insecurities) but the point is that I wanted to be known for my craft as a photographer.

And the more that people said they booked us because they liked us, the more I worried I wasn't any good as an actual artist. So we sought advice from a well-known trainer and coach who, somewhat wide-eyed, couldn't believe the story I was telling.