I had a great experience a couple of months ago when I attended a local high school open house (we have a son who is graduating, and a daughter who is just starting). There were a hand full of teachers who made short presentations to the parents and prospective students.

Two in particular stood out. One had been teaching for about 20 years, and another for six or seven, but both had such a passion and a love for what they were doing that they just shined far above the others in the room. They talked about their approaches to working with the students, and how they weaved their own outside passions into their work as teachers.

Having seen our share of good and bad teachers for our kids over the years, my wife and I would have quickly chosen either of these two as a teacher for our daughter during her coming high school years.

It made me think about the parallels in the business of photography, and how much more any of us would stand out to potential clients if we exuded similar passion about our work, rather than just presenting ourselves as yet another capable photographer doing the same old job for our clients year after year.

We each need to find — and keep — that spark alive for ourselves. Shifting gears as time passes is one way to help this happen.

Scott Highton