MWAC…we say it and we sneer. We jeer when Missy pronounces it the way she does and we roll our eyes when someone says they’re proud to be one.
MWAC, DWAC, GWAC…they all mean the same…someone with a camera.
We scoff and pronounce ourselves professional photographers and move on.
But maybe, just maybe these chicks have it figured out. In a way. The technical crap churned out by newbies – not figured out – no way – no how – but just maybe they have some other things figured out that we haven’t been paying attention to.
I’ve been fairly absent over the last few weeks. I’ve been doing my end-of-the-year analysis for the business, some studio cleanout & reorganization as well as just spending a lot of time with my family. I even did a mini-remodel in our kitchen.
It’s been a long time since I took a break. I finally stopped trying to fit photography in with all my other activities. I had hit burn-out. I stopped letting it take priority over my family and home. I started to think. And started to ask myself some tough questions.
When is the last time I referred to myself as anything other than a photographer?
When did being a photographer become my identity instead of my occupation?
When was the last time that I put “work” on the back burner to enjoy life?
You see where I’m going with this?
For a long time I looked at the MWACs and rolled my eyes whenever they had their children in the studio with them or had a baby strapped to the front of them while shooting a wedding or were vocal about needing to schedule sessions around children nap times. I still think this is an extreme and would not make them practices of my own, but I guess I’m going to have to give them some credit for trying to maintain a better family/work balance than I have been.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. it’s not work, it’s a passion. Whatever. It doesn’t matter what you call it or how much you enjoy it, it’s still work.
I’m going to be giving this a lot of thought as I revamp some things for the new year. How about you?
Coming from a small town, seeing business owners putting their families first is nothing new or out of the ordinary – for many occupations. I used to work in an office where the owner's kids were there every day after school. It just wasn't a big deal. People have families – clients have families – it's not some big secret we need to hide or be ashamed of.