You are not "Just"

I was making my daily rounds of ad shoots today and I overheard something that really helped my crappy day hangover from yesterday's weather messing putting off two shoots for me.  I was in a local business to shoot and I overheard the janitor getting a down-dressing by one of the employees.  The owner came over, patted the janitor on the back, and told the rude-ass where he could shove his attitude, if he didn't like it, he could hit the bricks.

that's not the part that got to me.  The part that got to me followed after the douche-nozzle slumped away.  He to the man that he was just as important as anyone else in the building.  If he wasn't there to clean up, customers would have no interest in coming in because the office would be a mess, the toilets would be a nightmare, things would generally smell very bad.

Here's why this moved me.  I've often said to myself that I'm just a photographer.  That's all I am and that's all I'll ever be.  I go around with lights and a camera and take pictures of people.  In reality, what I do, and what we all do as professional photographers, is make people, places, and things look the best that they possibly can.  If you shoot catalog ads, you are directly responsible for how people see a product in print and, more so, online ads.  If you shoot headshots, you are responsible for how some of the most powerful people in an organization present themselves to the world on social media and on their business cards.  If you shoot family portraits, you are responsible for the only tangible thing that people will have to look back on when someone passes on(It's sad but true).

What I'm saying is this:  No matter what your work focuses on, keep in mind that you are just as important as anyone else in the room.  Present yourself and your work well, act like a true professional while you're working, and never, EVER, let anyone tell you tat you are "just" anything.  You are you and you are important.