Community Over Competition – The Rising Tide Society – Charlotte Wedding Photographer Casey Hendrickson Photography

We all crave high-fives, thumbs up, hugs, and support. We crave love, acceptance, and feeling like we are good enough in a world that tells you you’ll never be good enough. As a creative, this can be challenging. You work SO. HARD. You do your very best at something, and then someone will either give unwarranted advice, you’ll get that rejection email from a blog, and it just brings you down. We’ve ALL been there.

When I first attended the Come Together event in Virginia a few months back, I was nervous. I knew so many other photographers and vendors who weren’t so very nice had really made me introverted to where I wanted to just close up in my shell and hide, and I feared not knowing anyone at this large gathering. It was a beautiful day, the venue was perfection, and laughter filled the air outside. And I was alone. Shaking a little. Wondering where people I knew would be… And the first face I saw was Michael Alsop. He greeted me with the biggest smile, checked my name off the list like a boss, and sent me into the unknown. As I entered, I searched desperately for one friend I knew would be there, but then ran into Katelyn James – you know, the photographer I obsess over and love and adore and just want to give her oodles of hugs. She immediately ran up and embraced me, we chatted a bit, and then I found Sarah Houston about that time! I was starting to relax a little more, but again, introvert here. Sarah had saved me a seat upfront, and I then met a handful of wonderful photographers, such as Jessica Green, and also reconnected with a few I’d previously met at a meet-and-greet in Richmond awhile back.

During dinner, we watched a video on something a sweet photographer I’d met back at United in 2014 was doing with a few others, and it made me happy! It was an idea that in life, we should help each other out. There are plenty of clients around, but everyone could use encouragement and support. We should all feel welcomed, not hated. If you are trying to build your business up by putting others down, you’re doing it wrong. It’s something I see so much of, and it hurts my soul.

And that’s where community over competition comes in with The Rising Tide Society. It’s a support group for everyone, even if they are in the same city. You see, everyone has their own unique styles and perspectives. You can take fifty photographers out, shoot the exact same couple at the exact same time, and nobody will get the same shot as you. Nobody will edit those photos the exact same way as you. They can be similar, yes, but creative style is there to set everyone apart. Local groups called Tuesdays Together have been popping up all over our nation where vendors and bloggers can come together to talk and learn from each other. It’s an understanding that it’s better to uplift than to bring down. It’s about being in a room full of others willing to share their hearts and minds, and be sure everyone is living up to their fullest potential. At the end of the day, it’s all about the good you can do in the world, the change you can bring, and the hearts you can touch.

If you’re a small business owner and you’d like to join a Tuesdays Together group, please check out the link HERE.