Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brit O’Brien. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brit, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
This is a constant battle that I feel I’m slowly winning. As a photographer, as a creative person, you’re always looking over your shoulder. Always curious about what other people are doing – and when you do this – it’s hard to not compare success or feel like “Am I supposed to be here?”
I’ve always wanted to pursue whatever I feel drawn in by. It started with music photography, it morphed into tour management, it pushed into creative direction and here I am doing a mix of all of things these days while working as a photographer. It’s easy for me to split my brain into many different pieces and try new things… but that opens the door to imposter syndrome. It’s hard not to stand back and go… “Wait, am I good at any of these things? Am I faking it?”
The answer is yes. There is a reason, I am always reminding myself, that people continue to work with me. I am the only one who sees things the way I do. When people come to me asking for help, and they actively listen to my advice, I realize I am offering them something useful. When you jump the hurdle and start charging people for a service, that’s when imposter syndrome sinks in. That feeling that you’re not living up to a self-designed expectation.
For me, overcoming imposter syndrome starts with reflection, a tour through your own work, and confidence — that three-step process helps me every time. The reflection: Sitting down and thinking about where you started and why. The tour through your own work: help spark excitement by looking at what you’ve created or accomplished since the start — and the self-confidence: feeling that worth, the “look what I’ve done this far, I love it, and I continue to grow and have more to offer.”
As long as you continue to love what it is you’re building/creating – then who are you to doubt yourself?
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 Brit – I’m a photographer and artist manager originally from the Bay Area. I got started in 2012, in the SF music scene. I would take my camera to local shows, work with local bands, and learn with/through them every single day. I’ve always loved music, but at the time thought I was going to become a meteorologist. One of the bands I followed around in San Francisco (Finish Ticket) got a massive opportunity to tour with Twenty One Pilots in 2015 and I came out and photographed some of the biggest shows on their tour. I absolutely fell in love with the lights/energy/fast-paced life of live music touring. I came home and immediately got to work trying to figure out how to make it a “real” job.
From there I toured with Finish Ticket on their first headline tour and met other artists along the way. I began hopping on tour buses with various artists, shooting in venues ranging from small clubs to stadiums in Europe. In 2017, I joined the band Hippo Campus on tour, and have been working with them ever since.
In 2019, I tour managed my first run. I had decided after 5 years of touring constantly, I knew enough to run the show. I fell in love with that as well and started splitting my time between tour management and tour photography – depending on the artist.
Around this time, I put out my first photo book titled “Nobody’s Guide To Life on the Road” — which launched a whole new interest in physical photography and documenting in other ways. During the pandemic, I published my second book “Last to Open” – which featured photos and interviews with touring crew members, who were unable to work as live music completely shut down.
In 2021, I hopped on my first tour “back” with the artist Pinegrove, tour managing their journey across the USA. I fell in love with the music, and the people and was invited to join their management team as the tour wrapped up. Honored, and terrified of this new journey, I accepted. Since then, I’ve been working across a roster of artists in the management space, while creative directing album rollouts and music videos along the way.
I’m very much enjoying stretching the layers of my brain, and working/helping as many artists as I can in the alternative/indie space. I love music and art and am excited for whatever is next!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Resilience: Accepting failure and rejection. As a creative, you are putting yourself on the line, and this is going to happen time and time again — not giving up on something you believe in is key.
Confidence: This took such a long time to develop. People are attracted to people who understand their value. If you are feeling proud of what you’ve created, others will sense and see that.
Time Management: This might be the most crucial skill I have. Being able to build a to-do list and knock out everything on it. Being able to prioritize tasks and stick to deadlines. Especially if your journey involves running a self-made business.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Deleting Twitter (X?), TikTok, Facebook… and avoiding the scroll. Truly life-changing to not chill on social media (for me). This is coming from someone who uses social media for a living, so I am entirely still on it, but I can only access the mentioned apps from my desktop. I open them on my computer to post and log out. I keep Instagram on my phone, and spend a few minutes on the scroll but am constantly improving and working hard to re-train my brain to be present and in the moment.
So much of our self-esteem as creatives has come from “likes” and the validation of the internet. I decided I hated that — but it’s been a hard transition out. It was an addiction, the validation. Letting go, and mind you, I absolutely haven’t, but working constantly toward that, has been massive. Socials just feel like poison in many ways, and as a photographer, I don’t want my career to be about “content”. I believe in the images of the 1980s/1990s music scene and aim to document for the long-term and history – not for the immediate (in whatever sense I can!)
Contact Info:
- Website: brittanyobrien.com
- Instagram: britobrien
- Twitter: britobrien_
Image Credits
@ brit obrien
