The Introverted Photographer

I am an introvert. (Majorly. The first time I took Myers-Briggs, I was 90% introverted. More recently I was down to 80%!!). For most of my life, I've also been extremely shy. People who knew me well wouldn't believe that, but I would explain that they knew me in an environment where I was extremely comfortable and/or, they'd known me for a long time.

Being an introvert and shy are actually two reasons why photography was so attractive to me.

That might not make sense, because as a photographer, I have to interact with people all the time. But the thing is, I only have to work with a very small group at a time. A senior session is two people - the graduate and mom. A family session is probably going to average four people.

As I've grown and discovered what being an introvert means for me and how it manifests itself in my life, I've learned two main things: one - I do much better "one on one". I can talk to a new person, especially if they are more outgoing than me (which is not hard to do :), as long as it's just one or two people. Any bigger, and I tend to not say much. Two - I can be around people, but I recharge alone.

One of the best explanations of the differences between extroverts and introverts that I've ever heard was done by the YouTube channel, Blimey Cow. I don't remember which video, but Jordan explained it like this: you can imagine that the extroverts and introverts are the two kinds of Xbox controllers. The extrovert is the kind that is always plugged into the box. It gets its power from constantly being connected. Extroverted people get their energy from other people; from being plugged in to others. Introverts, on the other hand, are like battery powered controllers. You take them off the charger, use them for a while, but then they need to recharge. In the real world, introverts may be fine in a group and being around people, but at some point, their batteries run low and they need to be put back on their charger to be back to full power. 

This happened to me and my dad one time in a major way. We had been at a gathering in the morning, with people we really liked and enjoyed being with, and then went to another gathering for the rest of the day. There came a point where we were just done. We didn't want to be around people at all anymore. We needed to recharge.

If I had a job like my uncle, I'd burn out. He's a salesman for Verizon and deals with people all day, every day. I could do it, for a short time, but it would be exhausting and draining. But that's why God created us all different! Doing photography sessions, I'm not dealing with a lot of people constantly. Unless I'm doing mini sessions, I'm probably not even doing more than one session a day! With editing, I might only have three sessions in a week!

I like to be around people that I know. I enjoy time with friends, like anyone does. But my personality is suited for longer stretches of time alone and it lends itself very well to photography. Plus, the idea is that my clients become my friends!!

Have you taken Myers-Briggs? Would you say you're an extrovert or an introvert? How does that affect your life?

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little bit. Until next time!

Blessings,
Sarah