Navigating Success as a Christian Photographer: Faith, Humility, and Sharing Wins

I was prepared to write a short post on social media about some exciting competition results from this week. I had even started it last night and wanted to wrap it up this morning. Then I did my devotion. It is titled We Can Boast—But Only in the Lord. Wow. Okay, God, I get the picture. This is something I have battled with for my entire artistic career. I have had hundreds of conversations about this very thing. In fact, I’m not entirely sure—because we talked about a lot of things—but it most likely even came up during the podcast I was asked to be on, which ironically also launches today, and I have linked below if you are interested.

As a Christian artist, how much should we actually share about our wins? If I knew the answer, I would put it here. But because I don’t, I am writing this in hopes that each of you reading this might offer some insight. I know other Christian creatives battle with the same thing, and that is why this became an entire blog post and not just a quick social share.

“Boasting. It’s practically a national pastime,” the first paragraph of my meditation states. How true. I will gladly boast about my family and their many accomplishments—but should I? How does a proud mom hold in that pride? This may surprise some, but up until a couple of years ago I rarely put anything on social media. It wasn’t until I was repeatedly told that no one would know how specific my photography niches are unless I shared them. And they were right. If I don’t show my photographs to anyone, how will you know that I really only photograph hardworking Americans and epic senior experiences?

Back when I used to have art shows regularly, this was especially perplexing when it came time to publicize them. I felt that talking about what I was doing was bragging. I would often compare myself to a colleague I taught with, who continues to have shows all the time, and then prod myself to be more like him. He is an expert at promoting his work, and I often encouraged myself to try to do the same, in a God-pleasing way. To me, that is the difference, and it’s why I felt compelled to put this into words today. God has given me the talents I have, and I know He wants me to share them with others. He also wants me to never forget where they come from—Him. That is exactly why it says in 1 Corinthians 1:31, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Truth be told, I continually work hard at improving my craft. I continue to invest in my business by taking classes, attending workshops, and drawing inspiration from some of the most impressive photographers in the industry—many of whom I now call tremendous friends. This wasn’t always the case. For years, I didn’t believe this was necessary. I have a master’s degree in photography, for Pete’s sake. It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I realized how wrong that attitude was. God threw open the door, and I came to understand that not only can I continue to push myself as an artist when surrounded by others who understand what it’s like to be a professional photographer, but that simply being around like-minded people builds me up and inspires me to grow. That is exactly what we hope for our students at BLC, so why shouldn’t it be the same for me? Sometimes I am a slow learner.