On being the 400 likes guy.

Funny how this world is rolling lately.
It's all about the responses we get, right?
I upload a picture to instagram, update my status in Facebook, and I need to see how many likes and comments I get.
Why? Why do we do that?
We want approval. To be looked at. To feel more confident.

It's all so oddly... blatant.
No one seems to be hiding that we are bragging left and right! Am I right?!
Don't misunderstand me. I am aware that I do the same thing, so I am not pointing fingers.
It just makes me step back and wonder.

Wouldn't life be so much more free. More relaxing. More genuine, if I was just running because it felt good, and I liked being outside instead of because I want my time to be a certain number. Or because I wanted to be able to post to instagram that I am training for a half marathon.

Wouldn't it be the same if I was doing photography simply for the gift that it is to my client?
For the satisfaction of capturing a mother and daughter's genuine giggles?
Instead of checking back to see how many people have viewed the image, or liked it?

When I was away at the Cultivate Workshop a couple weekends ago, we started talking about a certain photographer that my friend had met.
He was totally big time.
He shot celebrities.
He shot in locations all over the world, and his work was flawless.
When she checked him out on Facebook, he had FOUR HUNDRED LIKES!
Say what?!? Doesn't the amount of likes your business page have represent your talent? Your popularity? Your big-time-ness?

But ya know what? The guy didn't care! He didn't care who liked his page and who didn't.
He cared about his work. He was obviously shooting because he was passionate about the images he was capturing! And that was all. It was not for a show. It was not to impress people all over the world.

And that sums it up for me.
I want my work to be for my client. That's it. I don't need to parade myself around and try to paint a picture of how amazing I am. How many clients I am booking. How many people like my page.
I want to stop trying to impress imaginary people with my website, and my page.
It's not about them. It's about my client.

And the same way with my writing. Would I write any differently if I knew no one was going to read my thoughts? Would I care about being clever, and articulate and grammatically correct?
Maybe. But maybe not.

Being off social media for the week sure made life a lot easier.
I was not thinking about other people's responses to my life.
I was not thinking about other people and comparing my life to theirs.
I was thinking about the people in front of my face.
My family. My friends. My church. My teens.
And that is what I want.

I want to write how I write because it's how I love to write. period.
I want to take pictures of people in a way that will make them feel beautiful. That will make them cry when they see their images. period.
I want to stop caring about how many likes and comments I get.
Because at the end of the day, it's not about that. Not about that at all.

I want to be the 400 likes guy.