Have you ever gone through the process of purchasing a house, a building or some land? If so, a friend or financial advisor may have reminded you about of the importance of “location, location, location.” As long as you’re in the right place, you can’t go wrong. If your housing needs change five or ten years later, you can sell the place and move on to another good location, location, location.
When it comes to photography, it’s all about position, position, position. It’s the position of the things in the background, the position of things in the foreground and also the position of the photographer.
Have you ever gone on vacation and handed your camera over to someone who has no idea how to take pictures? And you end up with something awkward like this?
You probably don’t want all your vacation photos turn out like this, but if you’re a visual person (like me), you enjoy these little tricks you can play with a camera. I can’t lift a mountain, but with a little help from a friend, maybe I can figure out how to hold up a small island?
My husband took this shot at Kata Beach in Phuket, Thailand. We knew the result we were trying to get, so it made it easier for us to work together quickly to make it happen. This was our first attempt at getting the shot, but we were still way off.
As he was directing me into the right position, he was also making adjustments himself. He told me I needed to be closer to the camera, so I ran forward.
With a few simple adjustments, we were able to get the effect we wanted. By looking through the camera he was able to tell me how to line up my arms and hands just right to create the illusion that I was holding up the little island in the background.
Achieving a shot like this on your own with a tripod would be nearly impossible, even if you had a timer or remote. But if you partner with the right person, you can pull off an interesting shot like this within a few minutes.
Today I had a great conversation with a good friend, Julie Fast. She’s a best selling author and has been one of my writing mentors for years. I shared with her some of the challenges I’ve been facing as a writer and she knew how to coach me into the right position. Good friends or wise colleagues can help you to move into the right spot fairly quickly.
When I told her I was thinking about forming a writing critique group again, she reminded me how much time I put into this in the past when I was the founder, president or organizer for various writing groups, such as FCCW. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie with fellow writers, it also took time from the main goal: writing. She remembers those long conversations we had years ago.
She reminded me that it would make more sense to take one of my books in progress and bring it to completion. This was her reminding me of a past position and the affect it had on me. As a writer, she understands my goal and challenges. She has the history of my past position, an understanding of my present position, and the vision and experience to guide me into the position I seek for my near future.
Get it done when life gets tough: Advice from Julie A Fast
Julie helped me to to understand my position, position, position and what I need to do to move the island . . . to accomplish my big goal.
What island would you like to move? If you’ve been trying to reach a big goal for a long time, it’s probably time for a checkup. Anytime you’re trying to get somewhere, it’s important to make sure you have all the right stuff and none of the wrong stuff that can hold you up.
Sometimes it only takes a few minor tweaks and a little repositioning to help you get through. Chances are you already have a colleague, mentor or friend who can help you make the necessary adjustments to get into the right position, position, position. This is how to accomplish a big goal.
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