Claudia Curici Photography

If you are anything like me, you also have a hard time asking for help. Maybe you think people are too busy to make the time for you, or maybe you are afraid of being told ‘no’, or maybe you are just not sure what to ask for. Sounds too familiar to me, and I’ve been stuck for a while because of that. But I feel juices are flowing again. And the main reason for that is me asking for help and taking decisions even though I was not 100 percent sure of what I wanted.

So, by reaching out to people for help, this is what I have achieved in the past three weeks (things I’ve been procrastinating in the past one year):

1. Submitted photos for iStock and Adobe Stock, I had a one image approved for sale on Adobe. Still waiting to hear back from iStock.
2. I finally ordered a signature logo. After one failed attempt – note that this hasn’t discouraged me – I went on and tried again, and now I am the proud owner of my own professional signature logo (see on pics below).
3. I am working on two photographic projects with two fellow bloggers, thanks to Ines Monnet. (thank you for the inspiration!)
4. I finally asked a friend photographer to help me with feedback on my portraiture so I can work on my online portfolio, and not only she helped me to choose some images, but her feedback helped me understand important things about curating my own work.
5. Above step gave me the drive and material to finally work on my website and online portfolio. I am halfway there and the website will be on air in about one week.
6. I identified a friend who could teach me Photoshop basics. One on one tutorial is now done and I feel so much better knowing those basics. (I still prefer Lightroom for editing, but sometimes you just need Photoshop for things Lightroom can’t do). It makes me feel smarter and more confident. 🙂
7. There are more things I am working on, but the overall feeling is that now I am one step closer to understanding who I am as a photographer. And all this is due to me asking for help.

So, if you ever feel stuck, don’t get trapped in your little world and suffer, reach out to people, friends, family, strangers, anyone really. I’m here if you need me 🙂

And my entry for the H2O WordPress challenge. For some reason ‘fish schooling’ seemed like an appropriate metaphor for the theme of this blog. These were made at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, with my Fujifilm cameras at very high ISO, from 12800 to 25600 (at this ISO, the camera only shoots in Jpg format).