It’s like seeing a big jigsaw puzzle already put together, then someone takes it apart completely and hands it to you to recompose – with no accompanying direction. You look at a thousand tiny pieces of one big puzzle and don’t even know where to begin.

Recreating, or just imitating, really impressive photography is the same way. You see a great photo, but in attempting to do something similar, you find you don’t even know where to start.

Give yourself time and practice. The more you learn about camera use, lighting, Photoshop, and composition, the better you will be able to put those pieces together. Link to images you love in forums and ask for advice from other photographers on how to do something similar. There’s no shame in mimicking other work until you define your own style – you can’t go from John Doe to Henri Cartier Bresson overnight.

Your style will develop as you learn, practice, adopt, and shed different shooting and processing practices. Just like we as people are products of a lifetime of experiences, our art is the product of both who we are and what we have learned, and unlearned.

Kaizen my friend – little improvements each day. You’ll be where you want to be before you know it.

Your invoicing idea is a good one and a will make for a great future article. Any time you do use discounts as incentives, with clients or family or friends, an invoice featuring your regular prices and how much they’ve saved will make them realize the value they are receiving, regardless of what they’re actually paying. I know I enjoy reading that “You saved $xx.xx today” line on my Barnes & Noble receipt every time I use my member card. Makes me feel good for being a member – and your idea makes your clients feel good for being your customer.

I would add a suggestion for a future article about pricing: INVOICES. I post my prices all over my blog, and I hand out invoice-style estimates to people upon booking, or at least after a shoot or at the ordering phase. They KNOW what my prices are, my real prices, and if I am offering a discount because I’m new, or they’re friends, I have a discount column right on the invoice. Then there’s never any awkward billing phase. They either order and pay, or they don’t, and since I started doing that my clients are never surprised by my prices or balk after ordering. In fact the discount makes them appreciate the bargain I’m offering w/o putting myself in the Sears league.

Wonderful stuff! Thanks for your “permission,” your encouragement, but mostly your real world concrete advice.