Today we’d like to introduce you to Abigail Collins.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I wasn’t truly confident in who I am and how I feel until I turned 40 in 2020. My self and artistic self are connected in that way. Both seem to flow more cohesively now. My artistic journey began with my studies of photography and writing in college. When you first dip a toe into the creative world, you are just a baby, and, as in life, you start to grow little by little.
It’s tough because it’s YOU that you are relying on to create something from nothing, to tap into what inspires you and what may inspire other people. You may be confronted with a lot of resistance. Some people come out with a bang and create something brilliant on their first try, but that quick ignition can throw you off balance. I’ve been a slow burn my whole life, and now the fire is glowing brightly.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Resistance is a huge struggle. The book “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield talks a lot about this. I read gift and recommend it all the time. I’ve had a few curve balls thrown at me in life, but the biggest struggle of it all, even in the navigation of those curve balls, was my resistance.
This can take form in many ways: putting off exercise even though I know it makes me feel good, wanting to write about something that inspires me but telling myself I’ll just do it at some vague ‘other time’, or knowing that the only way to deal with someone or something that’s hurting me is to face it head-on, but I instead tell myself I can just deal with the negative impact a little longer. Essentially, the resistance to putting yourself first can be devastating and will prolong your full potential.
Perhaps the biggest forms of resistance are self-doubt and fear, and they both paralyze you. I’m not sure they ever truly go away, but there will never be any growth or forward momentum in your life if you let them lead your life. Through experience and a lot of inward reflection, I now have the tools to recognize those feelings are there while knowing the outcome of moving forward is more important.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been a professional wedding photographer for almost eight years now, and have been a portrait and boudoir photographer even longer than that. The only thing that sets you apart from everyone else is simply being yourself.
There are a gazillion wedding and portrait photographers in Los Angeles, and a lot of them shoot the same way and use the same filters, but there is no one else in the world exactly like me, and the same goes for you. If you can rock that to the best of your ability then people will want to work with you even if you are just starting. Your ideal clients are people that want to connect with the part of yourself that you put out into the world.
That part of you could be anything; your vulnerability, your written words, your strength, or simply your artistic style. I know it sounds cliche to say “just be yourself,” but that piece of advice is honestly legit. You may not understand who “yourself” may be right now, but it will come if you are willing to do the work, and why not work while also connecting with some amazing clients?
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Our time on this earth is limited, and I feel one of the things we all may have in common is searching for our purpose. Why are we here? What am I going to do with my life? I don’t think happiness should be an ultimate goal or purpose. Being happy of course feels good, but if it’s what you think you should feel all the time you will end up miserable.
Life is far more complex than just being happy. Some of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had were after going through something that made me feel just awful, but I came out on the other side. I faced the resistance inside of me and was able to grow and accomplish something I didn’t think I could, and that feeling is one of the most amazing.
Although being a parent is one of the hardest aspects of my life, the simple answer to this question is always going to be my family. The underlying question to this is what happened in my life to create this thing that makes me happy? What did I overcome, and how did I do that, to be able to have this positive feeling? When this positive outcome is challenged, how do I balance that?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.abigailrcollins.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailrcollins/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbigailRCollinsPhotography
