“You’re so talented!” – I’m told this a lot.
I know I should just accept the compliment with a smile and say thank you very much. And I do. But, rightly or wrongly, there’s something about the “talented” label that doesn’t quite sit right with me.
The problem lies in the question of where talent comes from. Can you acquire, it or are you born with it – like baldness or hayfever?
Because what the kind and wonderful people who compliment me on my talent haven’t necessarily seen or understood is the thousands of hours of work I’ve put in so that I can look talented.
Nothing about my photography journey has come easily or naturally. Everything good I’ve produced has come from working really hard at it, shooting as much as I possibly can, thinking deeply about what I’m doing and channelling my drive, ambition and emotion into my work.
I don’t think ignoring or minimising what it really takes to be good at anything in life does anyone any favours. It makes it seem like talented people are just lucky – beneficiaries of an accident of genetics – and that minimises all the hard work they’ve actually done. But worst of all it implies that talent is something only a chosen few have while everyone else simply “don’t got it”.
I worry it’s a form of gatekeeping. People who have achieved excellence in creative pursuits don’t want you to know that it’s not that hard to be as good as them, if not better – all you have to do is put the effort in. If everyone else finds out how achievable it really is, maybe they’ll all do it and all of a sudden the talented ones won’t be talented anymore – they’ll just be average!
Come to think of it… I don’t want that either…
Forget everything I just said. You’re right — I am incredibly talented. You’re not. Stop being creative! Take up accountancy!
birds.photos 