Do it Scared
Knowing what to do when it doesn't work out
I’ve been thinking about the phrase “do it scared.” Even after 15 years of doing this, there are still shoots where I’m not completely sure how things are going to turn out. I’ll have an idea for a photo, or a way I want a series to feel, and there’s always that question in the back of my mind: is this actually going to work?
I don’t think that comes from not being confident in what I do. If anything, I’m probably more confident in my work now than I’ve ever been. I know how to make a photograph. I know how to work with an athlete, find the light, adapt when things change, and get something out of any situation. But knowing how to do something and quieting my inner monologue that questions if I know what I’m doing are two different things.
I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted these images to feel like, and I’ve done plenty of shoots like this in the past, but that question of whether I know what I’m doing was still there. Being a spec shoot, I didn’t have time to location scout and had never been to the specific area in the summer before, along with the other variables outside of my control, like the weather, the light, and new talent I had never worked with. At some point, you have to trust your experience, make the decisions you can make, and let the rest unfold.
I think that’s the part of “do it scared” that makes sense to me. It’s not about being afraid that you can’t do something. It’s more about being willing to try something when you don’t know exactly how it’ll turn out.
Some uncertainty before a shoot is normal. I still question ideas. I still get nervous about whether the pictures will come together the way I see them in my head. But I know that I can trust myself to figure it out. Maybe that’s what 15 years of doing this has given me. Not the confidence that everything will work, but the confidence that I’ll know what to do when it doesn’t.
