We were lucky to catch up with Betsy Botsford recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Betsy, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
I always say in a former life I was a musician. The truth is I was never a musician. When I was younger I studied music. I have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Classical Guitar Performance. Despite the degrees that proclaim my proficiency I know in my heart I was never proficient. I always went on stage with “Imposter syndrome” because something deep in me knew this wasn’t my purpose. I wasn’t good at it. I worked hard, but never had that “natural” thing that real musicians have. So I quit. That was my answer. I knew I was not a musician. I was an imposter on stage.
Now I am a photographer and I have no qualms screaming that as loudly as possible “I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER.” There is something very deep in me that knows this is my purpose. I have no “imposter syndrome” with this. There is something in me that feels at home behind that camera. There is an ease of creation when the camera is in my hand. The good seems to flow from me and the work I put out feels like something I can be very proud of. I know I am not the greatest photographer on the planet, but I feel the work I am doing continues to grow and continues to improve. I am proud of the images I have created and the impact I am making in the world as the owner of Point of Light Photo. The donations made from the sales of my photography are feeding people, housing people, and rescuing abused and neglected animals. That feels good.
So how did I get over “imposter syndrome?” I listened to my heart. My heart said, you are not a musician. You need to go find your gift. I believe when we find our gift we start to soar. Our gift carries us. When I looked inside my heart it said “pick up a camera” so I did. I have never looked back and never felt like an imposter with that camera in my hand.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a landscape photographer. I am the owner of Point of Light Photo. I started Point of Light Photo as a more formal approach to sharing my images than on Facebook or Instagram. The idea for my business was inspired by the “Thousand Points of Light Initiative,” I wanted to use my photography to become a beacon of light in a hard, dark world. Point of Light Photo aspires to be one of those Thousand Points of Light by donating profit from the sale of my photography to local and national organizations involved in providing aide to organizations involved in housing the homeless as well as animal rescue and shelter organizations.
Initially the profits were small from sales of calendars, but each year the business grows. Each year we have grown and our donations become more substantial. I could not do what I do without all the support I get from my audience and my followers. I hope this continues to grow and Point of Light Photo can be a substantial force of good in the world.
I was honored earlier this year with a show at the Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center. The volunteers of the center told me it was the most well attended show they’ve ever had. The energy surrounding my photography was overwhelming and the sales from that show will bring Point of Light Photo further forward than ever. I have also been accepted to the Harvest Festival as a vendor with the North Fork Valley Creative Coalition. Between these two shows this year I believe Point of Light Photo will rise to a new level and I am so excited by the future of my little philanthropy.
This year is also a year of expansion for me into wedding and family portrait photography. I think most people think photography is photography but the skills between landscape photography and portrait photography are so very different. The lenses are different, the techniques are different, the post-processing is different. I am excited about the addition of this new direction for Point of Light Photo.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
For those that are early in their journey I quote Elizabeth Gilbert from her book “Big Magic.” Elizabeth tells us that living a creative life is so much more than selling the art. The art of living a creative life is in the creation. She invites us to work with “stubborn gladness” and reminds us that we must always work with the faith that inspiration is always nearby. Even if the money is not rolling in, and the critics are not even aware of our work, we must still work, we must create. And “out of nowhere it all comes together……What you’re doing seem impossible and even silly, but then you hear the thunder of hooves and some beautiful beast comes rushing into the glad, searching for you just as urgently as you have been searching for it.” That’s what creativity is. Just working through the insecurity and the insanity with the idea that you are working with inspiration. The beast is going to find you if you continue to work with stubborn gladness.
That being said, there are things that are more concrete. I have three things that I think keep me going and impact my journey forward.
First, I have had to have the “long game” in mind. The growth is slow. To differentiate myself from the pack has been a long road. Nothing comes quick in building a business. So keeping my head down and not getting frustrated on the day to day workings of the growth is so important.
Second, is the idea that I will photograph with or without Point of Light Photo. It is a deep knowing that even if my business fails the creation of images will not stop. I am a photographer. It is in the fiber of my being. The creation will flow through me despite the success or failure of my business. That takes the pressure off to create “the next best seller.” It allows me to just create what my heart wants to create.
Third, there is a saying “you have a 100% chance of not succeeding if you do not try.” So when I do feel down and I do feel stunted I just tell myself to keep going. If I choose to stop, I have a 100% chance of not seeing my dream of my business being successful come true. If I keep going I may still fail but the odds are in my favor if I keep going. So I do. And I try to do it with “stubborn gladness” and gratitude for every success that I do achieve.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I’ve already spoken about “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I’ve told you about the idea of “stubborn gladness.” That has really helped. But there was an even more important book. I do not know the author of this book, or the name of the book. But I know it changed the direction of my life.
When I was 23 I graduated college and went with my family on a vacation to Australia. We toured Tasmania as part of this vacation. I found a book by a local landscape photographer that had the most beautiful images of the countryside of Tasmania The book had me spellbound. I was a poor, young person at the time. I had my camera with me but didn’t know how to really create beautiful images. This book set that fire inside of me in motion. I wanted to create that same type of beauty. I saw that photography could be more than just a documentary endeavor. It could be a high fine art. Through the power of photography moments in time could be frozen. Beauty could be saved forever. A landscape could sing out into the pages of a book that would allow another person to experience these spaces and wild places in a way that was new.
This book set me on a journey trying to create those beautiful images, to create fine art from the places I’d traveled, to capture moments in time that deepen my understanding of our wild and wonderful world. A journey that allowed me to share my experiences with others through the power of photography.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pointoflightphoto.com
- Instagram: @pointoflightphoto_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063487361741
- Youtube: @betsybotsford9719
