We recently connected with James Wolf and have shared our conversation below.
Hi James, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Honestly, by being knocked down, rejected, and humbled time and time again. And as disheartening as it was, I believe that my discouragement was the seed for my perseverance. I like to consider myself a confident person by nature – don’t get me wrong, I definitely have my fair share of insecurities both in my art and my personal life. However, I’ve always believed that self-confidence is one of the most beautiful qualities a person can possess, and also believe that the best and healthiest version of self-confidence comes from, well, one’s self – void of the need for instagram approval or verbal praise. If you are confident in your art, and know and believe what you create is beautiful, then I believe that confidence will attract people who respect, trust, and also believe in you and your art as well. It was at a pretty young age that I feel that I chose to not wait around for other’s to aid in my self-esteem journey and decided to turn inward and work on myself for myself, and not for others. I believe working on your self-love is one of the most loving actions anybody can do, because once you learn to love yourself well, you gain the ability to love those around you even more beautifully than before.
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?
My name is James Wolf, and I am a Nashville based wedding and portrait photographer. I’ve been shooting weddings for about six years now and have grown to love wedding photography with a deep passion. I have always been the extrovert in my family – a wedding to them feels like an overcrowded nightmare. To me, it’s the perfect environment new people and sharing their story through my lens. I have always loved people since I was a child, making friends was like second nature to me. I’ve always been fascinated by the story each person has to tell, so I think its especially beautiful when stories combine through relationship and weddings.
While I’ve been shooting weddings for six years, I’ve been taking photos since a small pre-teen boy. However, instead of capturing photos of stunning brides in white dresses, I was taking photos of literal blades of grass and then convincing myself that I was a photography genius. Clearly, I was onto something.
It’s a humbling and mind-boggling feeling for me to come from taking photos in my backyard with my mom’s nikon coolpix to now capturing weddings at incredible venues with incredible couples and families. I even had one of my favorite wedding photos recently go viral on Pinterest! I was so caught off guard by this and all I can say is that definitely made one of younger James’ dreams come true.
I am forever grateful that couples trust and believe in my art enough to book me. It will always be one of my favorite feelings to experience.
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?
Most of what I have to say are going to be things that we as creatives have heard our entire lives. But, we hear them so often because they ring so true. First off would be to eradicate comparison from your creative process. Comparison kills. While I am an advocate for looking up to other creatives for inspiration, I feel that those lines can quickly blur into feeding comparison and imposter syndrome. Second, perseverance is so important. Push yourself to be uncomfortably creative, and understand that our best successes are often fostered by our mistakes. And remember that mistakes are not necessarily failure until we choose not to persevere. Third and finally, I would say time management is a pivotal pillar of success. This is a skill I am, truthfully, not the best at. However, I find that the most successful people are those who manage and protect their time. I’ve been told that your healthiest yes’s come from your most difficult no’s. I’d say the best way to improve any of these qualities is to put them into practice and not to bite off more than you can chew. If comparison is something you’ve been struggling with, then perhaps unfollow those accounts that keep popping up – but write them down somewhere so you can revisit them when you’ve reached a mindset with healthier boundaries that distinguish inspiration from comparison. Or if perseverance is hard for you, try incorporating it into your every day life, not just your creativity, whether that means running an extra mile during a jog, or doing something for an additional thirty minutes than what you originally planned for.
How would you describe your ideal client?
I LOVE this question!! It’s honestly quite simple. My ideal client would be somebody who loves to have a good time, isn’t afraid to try new things, is authentically themselves. To have photos that feel organic and emotive, it often requires clients that are organic themselves. Authenticity translates through the lens and helps tell a story. I want clients that I can connect with, be personable with, and have fun with. While I may be your photographer, I am also here to be your own personal pocket-sized hype-man, creative director, and trusted friend throughout our entire creative process together.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jameswolfphotography/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/jjwolfphotography/
Image Credits
@jameswolfphotography
