Above: Image by Gina Milicia, Magda Szubanski photographed for Foxtel magazine
When I was 14, all the popular kids were getting mullet haircuts. I wanted to be like the popular kids, so I cut my waist-length hair to a mullet.
“Business in the front, party at the back.”
When I was 18, I wanted to be Madonna, so I bleached my hair.
I spent the next 5 years foisting every form of chemical abuse onto my poor fried and battered hair.
I took the same approach with my photography. I jumped on every cliche trend there was. I measured the success of my images by how similar they were to what the popular kids were doing.
I soon realised, adopting every photography mullet and applying them to my photos was not going to make my work better.
The effect was quite the opposite. My work looked like everyone else’s.
My photos didn’t need a perm, frosted highlights or a Mohawk, trying to be like everyone else made my work invisible. I soon discovered that the best way to stand out is to be different.
“An original pebble is better than a counterfeit diamond.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
Here are a few more quotes to inspire you to embrace your uniqueness and stand out from the pack!
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
“The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before.” – Albert Einstein
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” – George S. Patton
“It’s better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction.” – Gandhi
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
