Rejection and Her Ugly Sister, Doubt

For the past month I've been working on submitting some of my 2015 weddings to different inspiration blogs. Yesterday, I received my 4th rejection and I have to tell you: it sucks. Every wedding Shawn and I photograph I feel the improvement in us as a partners and as photographers, but being sent denials starts to wear on me. It makes me feel completely inadequate and almost as if all the progress I see is not real.

Nothing really compares to skimming an email for the word "unfortunately", and then shutting down when you see it. There isn't any way to prepare for it or deal with it any better. But the more I've put our work out there, the shorter my "shut down" time has become. What use to take half of a day of repeatedly analyzing and thinking of what I possibly did wrong has now turned into responding with a "thank you for your consideration" and moving on. My photos might not be for everyone or every blog, but I do know that there is a place out there for myself and others with a similar style. It's just about digging through all those rejections and finding the eventual acceptance email. Disclaimer: In the process of writing my thank you emails, I do sit for about 5 minutes just staring at the words, wishing they could wrap me up in a tight hug, haha.

Everyone has to face rejection at some point in their life. I'm definitely not trying to say I'm the only one that is feeling the frustration of the word "no". However, being able to talk about it and put it out into the world has taken it off of my shoulders. It's therapeutic letting others who are also feeling low know that I'm right there with you. I'm not a big shot name in the wedding industry yet, but I am a friend and I've certainly had enough "unfortunately" emails sent to me within the past month. I am here to listen to the failings, the short-comings, and the let downs. You've been nice enough to stick with me through this very raw post, I want to always be there for you :).