Why You Should Tell People That You Admire Them

Something dawned on me the other day: it had been a very long since I'd emailed anyone that I admired to tell them that their work inspired me. When I was starting out in photography, I spent my days browsing the internet for inspiration. I loved this process, and occasionally, someones work would really stand out to me. I'd get totally sucked in, and eventually would feel compelled to email them to tell them how much I admired them and their work.

I don't know what happened, but somewhere along the way I stopped doing that as much. Maybe it's because emails became a bit more of a chore to me, due to the amount I have to deal with on a daily basis. Whatever the reason, I simply didn't reach out to people as much.

Recently, I discovered the work of a photographer called Andrew Kearns. He's a travel photographer, who vlogs, and someone I've grown to admire so much. He's incredibly hard working, creates beautiful imagery, and is extremely open about how he works. So often, people hold back on sharing their processes out of a fear of being "copied." I don't really agree with this, and Andrew clearly doesn't either.

After days of watching his videos on Youtube, I felt a need to reach out to him. I simply wanted to let him know that he inspired me, thank him for creating the videos that he made, and give him encouragement.

Why did I do that? Because I know that whenever I get told that my work inspires someone, nothing makes me feel happier.

I genuinely don't think that we take the time to tell people we admire them enough. So from now on, I'm making a point to reach out to the people I'm inspired by. I'm going to comment on images more, rather than just tapping like, because a like means nothing... telling someone with actual words what their work means to you is so much more impactful. And I encourage you to do the same! Tell the people you admire what you think, why you love what they do. It will make their day.