Last month, I wrote a post titled “Why is it so hard to call yourself a photographer?” and it made me realize that while not everyone struggles with this, many of us do. A past version of me included.
It’s almost as if we’re at war with ourselves, resisting the very thing that lights us up. Why do we struggle to admit what we truly want to do? Why do some people embrace their creative identity with ease, while others (like me) spend years fighting it.
And where does fighting it leave us? Not in the best place. I’ll tell you that.
Looking back, I know I wouldn’t have been able to own calling myself a photographer if I hadn’t done a few key things.
If you’re struggling to call yourself a photographer, maybe these can help you, too.
First, I stopped running from it
I spent years running from what I truly wanted to do—photography. I practiced when I could push through the resistance, but it was a battle. You’d think something so simple would be so easy to do. Just grab your camera and go? Nope. For me, it was never easy at the beginning. And if you’re reading this post, you might be in a similar situation.
For years, I practiced photography on the down low, too afraid to admit out loud that photography was what I wanted to spend my free time doing. Though, in truth, those closest to me already knew. I was always a little obsessed. But I buried that part of myself, convincing myself that something more practical was my true path.
I became a dedicated Biology student, pushing my creative side down in favor of academic success for years. I dabbled in fitness coaching, nutrition coaching—so many other paths—always searching for something that felt right. But deep down, I knew. I always knew.
It wasn’t until I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield in 2021 that I understood what I had been doing all those years. I was running. And the first step toward becoming a photographer was simply stopping.
Recommended read: Must-read Creativity Books for Photographers
Practice, practice, practice.
Once I stopped running, I started practicing. The only way I knew how, by offering photography sessions to friends. Even though I had years of experience, it felt like starting from scratch again. My photos weren’t great. And I questioned everything. But my friends supported me. And I have to tell you, having people who believe in you makes all the difference.
At that time, I wasn’t photographing what I truly loved. But I practiced anyway. I made time, even when my schedule was packed with full-time school, a dental assistant job (I was pursuing a degree path to dentistry back then), a CrossFit coaching position, and more. I squeezed in photography because I knew deep down it mattered.
At first, practicing meant taking pictures of my friends with my bulky DSLR camera and capturing everyday life on my iPhone.
Now, it looks like scheduled photography outings and carrying my lightweight camera everywhere. The point is, the more I practiced, the more I owned my title.
You can’t just think about being a photographer. You have to be one.
Recommended read: Tips to Help You Take More Photographs
I created a creative Instagram account
Ah, social media. My relationship with it has always been complicated. More hate than love, if I’m being honest. But like it or not, it’s part of the world we live in. And for me, it ended up playing a key role in helping me call myself a photographer.
As I started practicing more, I knew I wanted to publicly share my photography again. While on vacation in Hawaii in 2018, my husband and I were tossing around name ideas, and he came up with mekennasmoments. So right there at breakfast, I created the account. That small step felt huge. It was me saying, “Hey, I love photography and I’m going to share it.”
At that point, I had moved across the country to go to college and left photography behind in pursuit of “success” (ugh, so dumb in hindsight). No one in my new town knew I was into photography.
Most people just saw me as the girl obsessed with fitness. So putting my work out there? It felt vulnerable. I cared way too much about what other people thought back then.
Even though I only posted my best images, I started getting clients by sharing my work. That account helped me declare to myself and the world that I wanted to be a photographer.
Years and a few military moves later, the account faded. But when I started a 365-day photo challenge (more on this later), I brought it back to life. This time, I didn’t just share the polished stuff. I shared everything: the experiments, the overedited pictures, and my learning moments. And that’s when things really shifted. I felt like a photographer, because I was showing up as one.
It also helped me let go of my personal account, which never felt right for me. I didn’t want to share every detail of my life or scroll endlessly through everyone else’s. It was draining.
Reclaiming social media as a creative space was yet another game-changer.
It let me show up as a photographer, and it helped me stop consuming, and start creating.
I bought an easy-to-use camera
For years, I shot with a borrowed Canon 5D DSLR. It was bulky, impractical for travel, and—if I’m being honest—I rarely used it for what I actually wanted to photograph. Instead, I relied on my iPhone.
After graduating and landing a full-time job, one of my first purchases was a lightweight travel camera. It felt ridiculous spending that much money on a camera at the time, but deep down, I knew I needed a camera that fit my lifestyle and what I wanted to document. And buying that camera was a game-changer.
For the first time, I started truly documenting my life. I started practicing constantly… after work, on weekends, and every trip. Not only was I no longer running from what I wanted, I was owning it.
That camera became a turning point for me. But don’t feel like you need a new camera to start. I documented my travels on my iPhone for 4+ years before making that investment. Use what you have to get started. Thankfully, iPhones are pretty great these days.
I committed to a photography challenge
Consistency is key. As you’ll hear everyone in the world say. Sure, we all know this. But actually becoming consistent can be a challenge.
Where do you start? What do you do? How do you do it? You want to be a photographer, but you can’t seem to follow through? I feel you.
For me, another pivotal point in my journey was my decision to do a long-term photo challenge.
After completing a 75 Hard challenge, something clicked in my brain. That experience showed me what was possible with intentional daily discipline. And years later, on a random Thursday in September, I impulsively started a 365-day photography challenge.
That decision was another game-changer for me. It was the single best decision I ever made for my photography. It forced me to be consistent and kept me practicing photography through my first year of graduate school, a cross-country move, and nearly full-time travel.
The skills and habits I picked up in my pursuit of sharing a photo every day for 365 days laid the foundation for me now.
Below, you can see my 365th post!
If I hadn’t done that challenge, I wouldn’t be writing this blog right now. It was the catalyst for so much in my life. More than any other step, committing to a photography challenge helped me call myself a photographer.
I audit my actions and let go often
Even now, I catch myself hesitating. I’ve built my photography habits brick by brick, yet sometimes, I still wonder, should I be spending my time on something else?
I’m naturally curious, always drawn to new ideas. But that curiosity can also be a distraction.
In my morning pages, which is something I have been doing every morning for over 10 years, I often check in with myself and reflect on what’s working (or not working) in my life.
Recently, I discovered that I needed to let go of writing travel blogs on this site after it kept coming up in my journal. You will see a big gap between March 2024 and August 2024 on this blog, partly because I was swamped in graduate school, and partly because I removed my travel blogs from this site.
I love documenting our trips with my camera, and I thought sharing detailed guides of everything I spent time planning would be helpful. But writing them drained me. I poured so much time into writing many detailed travel blogs, only to feel frustrated and unfulfilled when reading them back.
When I finally decided to let them go, I felt an immediate relief, like I had reclaimed space in my mind and regained creative energy.
I’ve learned that I am best at documenting my travels with a camera, not words!
So, how do you know when it’s time to let go of something?
When you slow down and tune into how you’re feeling, there will be signs. It can show up as a quiet frustration, a gut feeling, or a deep sense of exhaustion.
And in order to know what to let go of, you have to get really clear about what you truly want. And you have to check in with yourself often and ask: Are my actions aligned with the life I want to create?
For me, letting go means releasing anything that pulls me away from where I truly want to pour my creative energy: photography.
Because deep down, I know I am a photographer. And that’s what I want to nurture.
Final thoughts
I didn’t own calling myself a photography overnight and it wasn’t a single moment that made it happen. It came from a series of quiet, intentional choices.
I had to stop running from it, start practicing it regularly, create a creative space for me to share my images on, invest in tools that supported my lifestyle, and commit to a photo challenge to build true consistency.
And of course, I have to continuously check in with myself to make sure I’m investing my time in things that push me in the right direction and if I’m not, let go of them!
If you’re struggling to call yourself a photographer, know that you’re not alone. Taking action towards your dreams will help you own calling yourself a photographer. You can claim it by showing up for it, again and again. And the more you do, the more you’ll believe it.
If you’re working on calling yourself a photographer, what’s the #1 thing preventing you from owning it? Let me know below in the comments or send me a message, I’d love to hear from you!
