13/07/2026
Twenty years in this industry has taught me one thing above all else: there is no such thing as certainty.
You never really arrive at a place where you can relax. One month your calendar is overflowing, the next you're wondering where the next booking will come from. There is no guaranteed salary, no predictable routine, no safety net waiting in the background.
Creating is all I've ever known. It's what I love, even on the hardest days.
The industry I entered twenty years ago barely exists anymore. Print has all but disappeared. Fast fashion changed the pace of everything. Budgets have shrunk. AI is transforming creative work at breathtaking speed. Social media constantly rewrites the rules. Every year feels like learning a completely new game.
To survive, you adapt. Again and again. You reinvent yourself, invest in new equipment, learn new software, master new skills, and somehow keep believing that your work still has value.
That kind of career builds resilience, perseverance and tenacity. But it also comes with anxiety, chronic stress, disappointment, and, for many creatives, a level of trauma that people outside the industry rarely see.
So the next time you work with a photographer, designer, stylist, makeup artist, videographer, illustrator, writer, or any creative professional, remember that you're not just hiring someone to deliver a service.
You're working with someone who has spent years fighting to stay relevant in an industry that never stops changing.
Creative work deserves the same respect, professionalism and gratitude as any other career. Behind every finished image, campaign or project is someone who has sacrificed stability in pursuit of creating something meaningful.
And despite everything... we'll probably wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.
Pic by Empire Photography since 2011
