By Nick MacNeill
While doing a great job for the Kingdom of Heaven (creating photos and videos for me), one can very quickly get burned out and lose desire to create good work for the organization that they are helping out. I have been learning this first hand as I have been working for one myself this summer. There are a couple things that charities, non-profits, or mission-base organizations might do at times to make you not want to be a part of their mission.
1. They Will Likely Over-work You.
Since I am the only one creating the visuals for The Catch, they expect me to shoot every day for every event at every moment of the day. We are hosting a summer camp this week for young baseball players. I am expected to shoot everything they do, even though each day is the exact same routine, the exact same kids and staff, and the exact same everything else. There is only so many kids playing baseball that I can photograph, but the staff obviously do not realize that. It eventually (by day 2) all begins to look the exact same.
2. They Might Under-appreciate You.
Especially when you are the only media professional on-site, they will eventually expect you to do it all without preference and without need of encouragement. They will stop thinking that you are a human and begin thinking that you are a walking camera. Obviously, not every organization will do this. Some are better than others. Unfortunately, my boss isn’t very good at communicating with me, so he makes me feel like I’m just another body standing around. For example: I had to take headshots of all the staff for the camp poster, and I was happy at first to be able to set up a mini-studio and take great portraits. However, he did not communicate any expectations for any aspect of the shoot, and he didn’t even have everyone there that needed headshots. I didn’t know this. I shot the staff members and gave him the edited photos ready for the poster. He told me “Actually, not everyone was there that needed to be, so let’s have you reshoot everyone.” That made me a bit unhappy, but not as much as the events that followed. He had me reshoot it outdoors in the direct sunlight, without any help, and he assumed I could set up my things in about 5 minutes. I quote, “How long do you need to set up? 5 minutes?” This week, I’ve been so upset with the whole experience, and honestly, the lack of appreciation for me making my best visuals for them has made me want to yell at the sky and just take a few days off to cool down. It doesn’t help that I have more important things to edit, like weddings. Anyway, long story short, I had to reshoot the headshots three separate times. Not to mention, my boss is out there taking photos and video with his own DSLR camera, which implies that he thinks he can create the same content that I do for the team. Which, in that case, would make my job and long hours of work utterly pointless.
Especially when you are personally sacrificing a ton to help them out and not being paid a cent for it, it really comes down to how they make you feel while you work.
3. They will Eventually Thank You.
At the very end of the experience, they will ask you how it was. We have already had a few team meetings to see how everyone is doing. At those moments, it’s nice to have someone who does care about how you are doing, but once the meeting ends, it’s back to being super focused on the tasks and not seeing anyone else’s feelings. Anyway, when I tell them that I’m exhausted and have a lack of motivation, they tell me “well, it’s almost over. Just hang in there.” It’s hard to hang in there when I stay up late every night editing work for them and other work for myself. No one understands that photos don’t instantly appear on the website once I click the shutter release on my camera. They take space on my hard drives and time from my clocks to get there. Not to mention wear on all my equipment, since none was provided for me. I have had a good time overall, but this week especially has worn down my spirit of perseverance.
At the end of the day, I’m still breathing. I’m still alive. Barely. I have a new coffee maker. I have a loving girlfriend working alongside me. She is a huge encouragement to me, and I really wouldn’t be able to do it without her. Especially this week. I have a good team with me. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are still faithful. They are always there to comfort me when I’m feeling like it’s not worth it. I have a mom that texts me with smiley faces. I have a brother and sister that encourage me through funny snapchats. And last, I have new friends on the baseball team. They are some of the few that encourage me daily about the work that I’m doing. And, really, they aren’t even working with the organization.
When bad happens, I just need to remember that it doesn’t outweigh the good.
I’ll continue to hang in there.
