We were lucky to catch up with Renee Schaffer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Renee, thank you so much for joining us today. There are so many topics we could discuss, but perhaps one of the most relevant is empathy because it’s at the core of great leadership and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your empathy?
For me, it all begins with books. My whole life feels like it was shaped by reading – I’ve traveled continents in my mind, watched history unfold on the page. I was given the gift of reading at an early age by my mother, a now-retired teacher who knows well the importance of literacy. Our home was filled with books, and some of my happiest early memories are from trips to the library where I could run my fingers along rows and rows of spines and choose a book – or five – to bring home just for me. It started the usual way for a country girl of grade school age: books about horses. And then those books turned into novels about historical figures (who owned remarkable horses), or books about different time periods (when people rode horses), and series about friendships (based upon – you guessed it – horses).
I thought I was just reading. But as my appetite for stories grew, so did my understanding of the world and my place in it. Or perhaps more accurately, my desire for understanding. I grew up in a rural community that lacked diversity, but I found it through stories that spanned continents and centuries.
At some point, I began to realize that my ability to put myself into others’ shoes (or hearts and minds) is not a universal skill. I became an English Language Arts teacher of middle and high school students at 23, and this only solidified what I know to be true: well-read individuals cannot avoid empathy. There’s no way around it. It’s impossible to read stories, fiction or real, without developing the muscle that enables your heart and mind to feel compassion for the many, varied lives that occupy the world.
At thirty-four, I’m still reading to understand the world and my place in it.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a family and senior portrait photographer in southwest Kansas. I don’t have majestic mountains to frame the horizon, or breathtaking forests (there are maybe 17.2 trees total in our entire county), or even large bodies of water to work with. We’re landlocked, we’re facing a drought that’s a couple of years in the making, and it’s not unusual to have 30 mph winds several times weekly. So I’ve become an expert in finding beauty in a mostly unremarkable landscape – and to me, that’s pretty special. Anyone can make beautiful portraits among the Redwoods or along the Gulf coast. It takes a fair amount of devotion and optimism to find beauty among the cow patties, but I’m out here doin’ it.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Perseverance has been key, for sure. The photography market is competitive and oversaturated. I had to do a lot of soul-searching to figure out how to set myself apart. Many times, I wanted to give up: so-and-so does better work, has more followers, makes more money. There are a million reasons to quit every day. But I’ve built my business on providing an experience that feels less like your grandma’s family portraits and more like a celebration of familyhood, and putting that goal at the front of my mind daily has been instrumental.
The ability to learn from others is so, so important. You’ve GOT to be able to take constructive criticism; and you also need to seek it out. I don’t spend a ton of time scrolling through competitors’ social accounts because I’ll inevitably start playing the comparison game; but I do seek out opportunities to be mentored or enroll in master photographers’ courses. Even the best (of any field) have room to grow.
And finally, empathy: you’ve gotta have it. In my field, lacking empathy leads to disaster. If you can’t empathize with your toughest clients (toddlers, hands-down), you’re going to wind up frustrated and feeling like a failure after every session. But that quality carries over into every other career, too, I think. In a social media-driven world, you’d think we’d be more empathetic toward others; but I think we’ve gotten lazy about connecting in ways that matter, and the lack of compassion shows. To me, if you’re operating a business that requires human buy-in at all, you’re going to need to be able to relate emotionally, full stop.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
This is an interesting question for a photographer. The pressure to “niche down” is real. A lot of the best (newborn/wedding/family/senior) photographers do only that one type of photography, and they’re masters of it, for sure. I was urged to do this early in my career – pick an area I loved most or felt the strongest in an hone that, getting rid of the other types of sessions. But I don’t really love this mentality, and I’ve yet to embrace it. You know that saying, “A jack of all trades is a master of none”? There’s more to it. “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” Let that marinate a bit.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.reneeschafferphotography.com
- Instagram: @reneeschafferphoto
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/rschafferphoto
