Fear is an emotion that many photographers succumb to, which is really unfortunate. Fear, when looked at properly, can be a very motivating emotion that should help you get beyond your limitations. This emotion can actually help to push you out of your comfort zone… and towards mastery of your limitations in photography.

There’s nothing wrong with experiencing some of the most common photography fears. The problems begin when you let them rule you and prevent you from becoming better as an artist in this creative medium.

image by Tomasz Stasiuk

If you want to know how to overcome and master some of the most common photography fears, then read on, brave soul.

Fear That You Don’t Know What You’re Doing

Frequently, you’ll feel in over your head when you try something new in photography, as with most situations in life. Often, when just starting out, you’ll also feel overwhelmed by all of the technical details you’re trying to learn. The temptation is to try your hand at another hobby or pastime and quit, but there’s a much better option.

Instead of quitting photography, just surrender to this fear and accept it. That’s not defeatism… on the contrary, it’s highly empowering. See, when you accept that, as a newcomer to this art form, you’ll inevitably not know a lot of things, it becomes so much easier to want to learn… and therefore become better more efficiently.

Understand that you’re going to make lots of mistakes at first, but they’re all learning opportunities. As long as you accept them as wonderful gifts that will make you better as a photographer, you’ll have the necessary determination to keep learning, making mistakes and ultimately improving until you become a champ.

Fear That People Will Disparage Your Work

Fear of criticism and ridicule are as deep-seated as anything else in the human psyche. So it is with the fear that your audience will disparage your images. Here’s a newsflash for you, if you already don’t know it by now: Art is always subjective. Due to its subjectivity, any art will always attract praise as well as disparagement, maybe even generous amounts of scorn!

The reason is, of course, that people have different opinions and make judgments based on their own personal preferences and experiences. So if someone doesn’t like your shot… don’t take it personally.

Realize that it’s already a victory for you in that you’re putting your own work out there for the whole world to judge and critique. Since the response is out of your hands anyway already, just subjecting yourself to the court of public opinion is proof enough of your mastery of this particular fear.

Fear of Taking Shots of People

Some photographers have an innate fear of taking pictures of people. Hey, sometimes it just gets overwhelming for some photographers, probably because shooting people – as in event or street photography – is basically this medium’s version of public speaking! Any time you’re around a big number of people, it’s quite natural to feel a bit overwhelmed and like you’re not going to measure up in the moment.

Common aspects of this fear include wondering how “weird” it looks to other people to see you photographing strangers on the street and worrying about the reaction of people you’re photographing.

Mastering this fear is virtually a no-brainer: All it takes is a commitment from you to execute by going out in public and just throwing yourself into it. Intrepidly go out there and first start by shooting people in markets and parks, places where others are likely to also have cameras with them. As your courage begins to improve, start taking your camera to more exclusive areas where you’re the only one photographing people.

Fear That Your Photography Equipment Is Inferior

It is bound to happen sometime: You start to feel envious of other photographers’ fancier gear. As a result, you’ll also likely feel inferior and like you don’t measure up. And all that just because your equipment isn’t the latest and the greatest! Feeling like you’re at a disadvantage because of your older equipment resonates deeply in the photographer’s mind because it ties into questions about the overall quality of your images. You think to yourself that, if you only had the latest and greatest equipment, maybe your shots would be perfect each and every time.

It’s so natural and human to compare yourself to others in your field, especially if you think that you can stand to improve your own skills and output, that you shouldn’t even bother moving away from this feeling. Just like with the aforementioned fear of not knowing what you’re doing, the best remedy here is to be all Buddhist-like and… just accept it.

After all, that nagging feeling that you don’t have the best gear is based on a grain of truth. Photographic technology is always improving, just like anything tech, so it’s not possible that you’ll always have the newest and the best. Okay, maybe you’ll have the highest-end camera or lens for a few months or maybe even years… until something better comes out soon thereafter.

The most important mindset you should embrace is knowing what your current gear can do – and what it can’t. That way, you won’t ever disappoint yourself since you know you’re performing as expected: within the realistic limitations of your equipment.

Fears… Schmears

Fear is awesome. Contrary to conventional wisdom (which is wrong much of the time), it can be a liberating opportunity that you can seize for personal and professional growth. By getting out of your comfort zones in photography, you set yourself up for massive increases in knowhow, experience and confidence.

Remember that fear is never a bad thing. The only thing that can be bad for your career or hobby of photography is how you react to fear. If you shrink away from your fear (read: a challenge to be conquered), you’re only hurting yourself. If you bravely meet your fear, understand it, and then determinedly work to master it, then you become its boss.

Once that happens, sky’s the limit for you.