We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rob DeVenuto. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rob below.
Rob, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Back when I was starting my career, “imposter syndrome” wasn’t a label that existed. But I could definitely feel it! I entered into a workplace, green as could be and was working with folks twice my age and three times the experience I had. I knew I was in over my head, and it was a ‘sink or swim’ type of situation. Whenever, I find myself feeling this way, I immediately go into observation mode. I’m watching everything and everyone while trying to picking up on all the signals in the room. This helps me understand the hierarchy, start to understand each person’s communication style/specialties and then adapt my approach to either fill in the gaps or take the best from each person and try to incorporate their traits into my style. This is always my first step. I know I can make friends and friends will help protect you when you feel vulnerable. This is like a security policy.
Now the other half of imposter syndrome are the skills required and how you perceive your set of skills. I am always my worst critic and most likely grade myself harsher than anyone else would. But that’s ok. You need the awareness of where you shine and where you need development. Don’t beat yourself up because you don’t know everything. No one does and guess what, we have search engines, videos, AI tools to help understand any concept we want to learn more about. Once I have my laundry list of skills that I need to improve, I get out there and start practicing. That old adage about how to eat an elephant one bite at a time, well, that applies to many aspects of life. We are inundated with what we think are overnight sensations. Truth is that every performer, artist, doctor, engineer, etc. had to work very hard to perfect their craft and you just have to keep after it. The more you put yourself out there trying to improve, the more you start to see imposter syndrome dissipating. It is a real thing but something that can easily be overcome with grit, practice, integrity, and believing in yourself.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a photographer who loves to shoot many different styles of photography… sports, portraits, headshots, events, astrophotography (when I can stay awake late enough ;), nature and landscapes. I would say my deepest love is for nature and landscapes and really came into focus for me about a decade ago. Working in the high-tech space, it was a fast-paced environment and can be highly stressful. I needed a release, and nature was that escape for me. I could go on hikes, explore and see a completely different view from my day at the office. Then it dawned on me… a lot of folks may feel the same way but might not know of all the beauty that surrounds them. So, I decided to start building my portfolio around capturing the beauty of our regional and state parks and sharing them within my community. It was heartwarming to feel the love and also introduce a new park or area for someone else to go explore. This then led me to join the board for the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation. It is a non-profit designed to raise funds for the parks. I donate all my park pictures to them for use in their marketing campaigns, website, printed materials, and even on products sold in their online store. Non-profits often have big goals but have to use their funds judiciously and being able to help them out with some professional photography is something I take pride in. This has started to push me into supporting more non-profits. When I find a cause that speaks to me and there is a photo opportunity, I always make sure they know I’m willing to work with them and offer services they can use, often at no-charge.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Hindsight is always 20-20 🙂 There are plenty of times I wish I could back to my younger self and let him know it will be ok, not to worry and provide advice. I think a few of the most important things that helped me grow would be 1) Mindset, 2) Practice and get out there and do what you love, 3) Put the customer first but don’t get sucked into the social likes/followers game.
For Mindset, I think this is the most important for me. I have learned that my outlook and how I approach something is on a spectrum and I have the most success when I am calm and relaxed. If I’m stressed, that is not a time for me to think strategically. Stressed times are for me to get busy work done. As an example, I would go on a photo shoot and as soon as I got home, I’d download and start to edit the images. As I was culling through them, I’d start to stress myself out and begin to hate all the images. All the self-doubt and negative self-talk would enter my head. I began to walk away from the editing and just sit on the images for a day or two providing me time to re-center and detach from the event. When I go back to edit, I have a better mindset to process them and am not as critical with myself. It took me a few times to start realizing this pattern.
Unless you are naturally gifted, it will often take a lot of practice to feel like you have something to offer. And there is no substitute for practice. Go out there and try new things, techniques, and most importantly, make mistakes! There is no better teacher than learning from your own mistakes. We live in a time where mistakes aren’t valued or swept aside to glamorize something ‘perfect’. Truth is that in order to create that ‘perfection’, there were many mistakes made in the process. Embrace them, learn from them and keep doing what you love.
The third item is around the customer but staying grounded in yourself. Customers… can’t live with them and can’t live without them 🙂 They are obviously the lifeblood of any business. I always try to take great pride in understanding their project and then over delivering. I want them to be satisfied. But be careful with how much satisfaction you are looking for and where you are looking for it. Social platforms are great to attract new clients and people interested in your craft but never place your self-worth in how many likes or followers you have. It’s a losing battle and one that only seeks to negatively impact your mindset. You will have highs and lows; the important thing is to even them out as much as you can to seek an equilibrium.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Within photography, along with many other professions, I would say how AI is impacting the industry. AI is pretty amazing and has its uses but is a threat to many different paths within photography. For instance, stock photography… Stock photography is where you upload images that other businesses purchase for use in their marketing materials. It is a high content game where the more you publish, the more you have the potential to make, and it is a great way for passive income. Now with AI photo generation, these images are ‘good enough’. I see this area shrinking considerably where the only photography needed will be for companies who want a specific style. Another area is in post-processing of images. AI plays a huge role here and can enhance an image drastically. The trick here is not to overdo it. I use AI sparingly in my edits and mostly to remove an element from an image.
Moving forward, I’m continually trying to learn more about AI and how I can use it better. AI is not going away; the cat is out of the bag (hmm, who even puts cats in a bag???) It is better to embrace it and see how it can benefit you versus fighting it. For instance, I’d love for an AI tool to look at my images and suggest keywords to make them easier to organize and find. Why isn’t this a thing??? I have yet to meet a photographer that enjoys managing their keywords.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.robdevenutophotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robdevenutophotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobDeVenutoPhotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rob-devenuto-photography/
- Other: https://youpic.com/robdevenuto
https://www.pinterest.com/robdevenutophotography/
Image Credits
Rob DeVenuto Photography
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