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Mindfulness for Photographers: Why It Matters & How to Begin
53 Plays16 days ago
Episode Summary:
Mindfulness may be trending, but in this episode of Empowered, we’re talking about why it’s truly essential especially for photographers. I share how practicing mindfulness has helped me stay grounded, focused, and connected to my work in more meaningful ways, and why it’s not just about meditation. Whether you’re deep in the busy season or navigating creative burnout, this episode offers encouragement and simple tools to care for the artist behind the camera: you.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- What mindfulness really is (beyond the buzzword)
- How mindfulness can improve your creativity, reduce stress, and prevent burnout
- Simple ways to start a mindfulness practice that actually fits into your life
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Transcript
Mindfulness in Photography: An Introduction
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey hey welcome back to Empowered and today i want to talk about something that is kind of becoming like trendy I think but I don't care it's something that I believe to be really important and it is mindfulness and I want to talk a little bit about what mindfulness is and why it's important for photographers I really believe that it has gained a lot of popularity for good reason So essentially, mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and engaged in the current moment without judgment, without distraction.
00:00:39
Speaker
And I
Mindfulness Beyond Meditation: Presence in Photography
00:00:40
Speaker
have ADHD, so I think that when I first you know learned about meditation, i was like, no way, that'll never be me. But it's a lot more than meditation. It's just about really paying attention to your thoughts, to your feelings and surroundings,
00:00:55
Speaker
and observing them with a sense of curiosity and openness. For photographers, mindfulness can be a really powerful tool for improving your craft and really for overall well-being. for improving your overall wellbeing I think one of the key benefits of mindfulness for photographers is that it's going to help you become more present and focused in your work.
00:01:20
Speaker
So I'm not talking about our business really right now. I'm just talking about you becoming the most present, most, you know, meaningful, heartfelt photographer that you can be.
00:01:32
Speaker
And when you're using your your camera, it can be really easy to get caught up in all of the technical details of your camera settings or the composition or the shoot that you're that you're working on or the lighting or your subjects. And you can lose sight of the experience of being behind your lens.
00:01:51
Speaker
so Mindfulness can really help you to stay grounded and connected to the moment. and This
Stress Management and Resilience Through Mindfulness
00:01:56
Speaker
allows you to capture images that truly convey the essence of what you're photographing. really allowing you to feel something when you are capturing your subjects so important Now, another way that mindfulness can really benefit photographers is by reducing stress and increasing resilience. I'm to say that again.
00:02:18
Speaker
Reducing stress and increasing resilience. You are going to be busy at certain times of the year, and running a business is sometimes going to be stressful.
00:02:30
Speaker
And if you don't have practices in place to take care of yourself, the artist, you will not have the resilience to persevere. And I want you to be here in 10 years, telling your story, inspiring our community.
00:02:46
Speaker
Photography can be demanding, it can be competitive, and it's easy to get caught up in the pressure to produce amazing images on a tight schedule. And by practicing mindfulness, you can cultivate a sense of calm and perspective that's going to help you stay focused on what's truly important, why you're here.
00:03:05
Speaker
That's what's important, why you started this whole thing in the first place.
Appreciating Beauty and Building Connections
00:03:09
Speaker
This is going to help you avoid burnout and manage stress and bounce back from setback setbacks more quickly.
00:03:18
Speaker
So I really believe that mindfulness can help photographers to develop a deeper sense of appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the world around them. And by being fully present and engaged in any given moment, you can develop a more profound sense of wonder and awe for the subjects that you're photographing.
00:03:37
Speaker
You can fall in love with the subjects that you're photographing.
Practicing Mindfulness and Self-care
00:03:41
Speaker
And this helps you to capture images that are more meaningful for you, but also more meaningful to your clients. And it helps you to connect to your audience too on a deeper level, to those that you're sharing about your work.
00:03:53
Speaker
I really believe that mindfulness is a powerful tool for photographers who want to improve their craft and overall well-being. This is going to help you stay focused during photo shoots, but again, help you reduce stress and resilience.
00:04:08
Speaker
So how you can start with a mindfulness practice can be very simple. It can simply be, and this is how I started, sitting in silence for five minutes.
00:04:20
Speaker
No guided meditation, nothing. Closing your eyes, putting a timer on, and taking five minutes before you start your workday to center. This is hard. It's really hard for me to do, but it's something that I would challenge you to start trying.
00:04:34
Speaker
Another thing that you can do that if you're not a still mindfulness kind of person is challenge yourself to take 20 minute walk every single day. And if you're sitting here saying you don't have time for that, then you definitely need to make time for it.
00:04:48
Speaker
We as business owners, as mothers, we don't take any time for ourselves. Those two simple things, five minutes of silence or a 20 minute walk could make all the difference in your mental wellbeing.
00:05:00
Speaker
Another way that you can practice mindfulness is by doing other self-care things that you love, like a face mask or bath or coffee date with friends. I just want you to be intentional.
00:05:12
Speaker
I want you to start thinking about being intentional and prioritizing self-care. Mindfulness is a practice. If this is the first introduction to it, I hope it isn't. But if it is, I'll have more for you later in this little empowered podcast experience that I'm going to be continuing to contribute to.
00:05:30
Speaker
i just want you to start thinking about how you can be more mindful today.