We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth Leitzke recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Elizabeth , so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
For artists, including myself, imposter syndrome, or the feeling of doubt in relation to one’s skills, talents or accomplishments, is a pretty common barrier to overcome. If you add to that being a minority in the field, that hurdle is even bigger. This is where mindset becomes vitally important. I believe that a healthy mindset plays a big role in my success in so many ways, but when it comes to being the only person in a room that looks a certain way (for me, being a black woman) I believe that it is that much more important.
I don’t walk into a space full of my peers immediately noticing differences in skin color, ethnicity, race, gender, or any of those kinds of things. When I am in a room full of photographers, the differences that I notice are in level of knowledge/skill, area of specialty, length of time as a photographer, etc. So when I go on a job, I walk in believing that the person I am working with carries that same mindset; that what they will see when they see me is a skilled photographer. Obviously, that is not always the case. There have been and will be times when the person I am working with will see my skin color and that I am a woman and they will pass judgements based on one or both of those things. In those moments, I carry with me the understanding that those judgements are a reflection of that person and not of me and my abilities. From there, I have two choices; I can either absorb those projections and let them consume me (and fuel that imposter syndrome) or I can deflect them and move forward.
Being able to deflect and move forward is a part of my mindset that truly helps me be successful as a black woman in the photography industry. I’m not always good at simply deflecting and moving forward because, honestly, it hard to get past the hurt that those moments cause. But as long as I do not let it consume me, then I can continue to grow and be successful in my field.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hi! I am Beth and I am a photographer in Jacksonville, FL. I was born and raised in the Jacksonville area and have lived in various parts of Florida my whole life. I am a lover of giraffes, the sunshine, being outside (when it’s not too hot!), nature and of course all things photography. I am a mom to a daughter and a dog. When I am photographing, I am in my happy place! My love for photography started at a young age and has only grown from there. The thing that drew me to photography the most was the emotional connection I felt to images when I would look at them. I wanted to create images that would evoke an emotional connection in the people who were looking at them. I started that journey by joining my high school year book. From there, I went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in Visual Communications. When I wasn’t in school, you could find me with a camera glued to my face, taking pictures of anything that would hold still. I ended going in to the healthcare field after college and photography became just a hobby when I had time. In 2019, photography made a comeback in my life! In 2020, after my husband passed away unexpectedly, I decided that it was a great time to pursue my dream of making photography my career. I had the time and a lot of new photography equipment and more importantly, the drive! I am focused on becoming a fine art photographer as my main goal. However, I do not believe in learning only one type of photography, so when you look at my website, you will see a variety of types of photography.
My favorite type of photography that I do is macro still life photography. It allows me to really get creative with how I see objects and how I want to present them to my viewers. I use unique angles and perspectives to showcase my subjects, presenting their uncommon beauty to the world. Typically, I shoot against a black background so that the subject is the main focus of the image. There is nothing to distract your eye or draw it away from the essence of the work. I believe that showing off the uncommon beauty of common items is what sets my art apart from others. I am continually looking for intriguing subject matter to draw my viewer in and invite them to spend some time connecting to my art.
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?
The first thing would be not taking things personally, mainly in the area of negative feedback and rejections. I have learned that not everyone is going to like my art and that is okay! I am never going to make everyone happy, I am not going to win every contest or be accepted to every show, so the best that I can do is take away the lessons and use that to help me in the future. My advice on how to develop this is to allow yourself to feel the disappointment and/or hurt from a rejection or negative feedback, but then go back and look at why it happened (even ask if you need to) and learn how to improve based on that feedback. This one is very tough to do, but in the long run, it will help with success!
Secondly, is that I always keep learning! it is important to always keep learning and expanding your knowledge base. Learning and education are so important! I don’t believe that we ever learn everything there is to know in our field. So always make sure that you are taking the time to learn something new. If you are just starting out and are trying to figure out how to do this, my advice would be to read articles or books, take classes, watch YouTube videos, talk to your peers! There is so much information out in the world and so many ways to access it, that you can always find a way to expand your knowledge base and skillset.
Lastly, which goes hand in hand with the other two, is that I have learned to take advice/tips from my peers. Sometimes that advice doesn’t;t pertain to me, but other times, it has been a game changer. In turn, I am willing to give advice/tips to help someone else out. I believe in being a part of your community in your field and that means being able to take advice, ask for opinions and suggestions or help and to give back in some way. My advice here to someone just starting out is to do a simple search for local groups and find one that sounds like it would be a good fit and go to a meeting/get together. If you don’t want to physically go out, then find some on Facebook and join. The key here is to be active in the group so that you can build a network and a tribe. Having found a group of people who love photography as much as I do and who truly support each other has been so vital in my success! I was talking to a photographer friend recently and was explaining that I shy away from doing portraits in part because I don’t know where to go take them and she reminded me that I have a group of people who would be more than happy to help me figure that out! That kind of support is priceless!
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The biggest challenge I am facing right now is the road blocks that I create for myself when things are too hard or overwhelming for me. My mom tells a story about how my sister used to get upset because things always seemed to be easy for me and my mom would say that she worried about what would happen when I found something that was hard for me. Well as an adult, that story really resonates because as we get older, we tend to face more challenges in life. In photography in particular, I have found that when I get to something that seems too hard, I create a reason or justification as to why I shouldn’t do that particular thing and I move on to something easier or more familiar. Since noticing that particular quirk about myself, I have become determined to push myself to do those hard things! To do that, I have had to start looking for the road blocks that I am creating for myself and figure out how to overcome them. And then, actually do it!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.eaphotography.art
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/e.a.photographystudio
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/eaphoto683
Image Credits
Headshot: Keith Bartholomew Models: (Not sure if you need this) Kaya Sanders-Jones, Hoffeld Family
