YOUR FRIENDLY ND PHOTOGRAPHER



By ND, I am of course referring to ‘Nero-divergent’.. someone who differs from the typical in a neurological sense. This term is used widely to indicate a number of conditions, disorders and syndromes. In this case specifically, I’m referring to ADHD. 


I am now just over 2 weeks into our 6 week Central Australia adventure. I did what so many people do when faced with an expanse of time to fill and started to plan the things to occupy my time. I’ve brought boardgames, a crossword book, and of course my camera. I thought I would fill my time resting (ha), maybe doing some yoga in a quiet spot under a lovely tree by a creek, maybe I could write a blog post or two to fill the hours in the car? 

The flies had other thoughts about my yoga and the kids aren’t keen on me allowing the appearance of resting, it seems to offend them. But the blog posts can definitely be done right?! Then I met two obstacles.

The first one being the unexpected glare on my laptop screen making it unseeable while driving, and the second one being a really gripping audiobook. Meaning any car trip has the laptop stowed away and my ‘AirPod headband thing’ on so fast the kids haven’t had a chance to as ‘Are we there yet?’, yet.


So we come to why I’m writing this now. Well, we’re at a place called Agnes Creek. It’s about 300km south of Alice Springs. Tomorrow we’re Heading North to meet up with our wonderful traveling friends and will be with them for the next few weeks. Cue the little voice in my head saying ‘you told me you were going to write a blog’ ‘If you don’t write it now, you never will’ ‘Don’t try to convince yourself you’ll do it while your friends are around because you wont’ ‘Procrastinating again are we??’. Some people will recognise that voice.

Sometimes she sucks.

See having ADHD, something I thankfully can now identify rather than just wondering why I’m so weird/anxious/stressed/lazy/pathetic/emotional, comes with a handy little self-monologue that is constantly telling you what you should be doing, berating you for not doing it, and that you’re not any good at whatever it is you ARE doing. So in defiance of that voice, here I am. Writing. Well… typing.


What does ADHD mean to you, if it’s a characteristic of your photographer? There are many professions where attention to detail and efficiency are key. There are many ways of ’treating’ the symptoms and anyone can excell in an area that interests them, and gives them that little dopamine boost. I ummed and aaarrhh’d about whether to divulge my diagnosis or not. It’s not something I’m ashamed of, in fact the diagnosis itself has given me deep validation about the ways i’ve felt and handled things over the years. It’s not really about me, it’s about you, my clients. How do you see me now? Do you see me as someone who is going to be hard to get a hold of? Someone who wont give you a straight answer? Maybe someone who can’t stick to time frames or will keep putting off editing sessions for other activities like doom scrolling or bingeing nonsense?


I’m going to lay it out here now as i sit by the fire somewhere in the expasive red-dirt Northern edge of South Australia. (Pic included) The pros and cons. The good, bad and ugly (as I see it) for how my ADHD impacts my photography.


PRO - I can't wait to meet you!


I’m genuinely SUPER excited about our session.

I’m not putting it on, I really am excited. When plans fall through it really bums me out. Faking the enthusiasm isn’t something I’m really sure I can do, so if I say I can’t wait to meet you, I mean it.

PRO - Capturing images is our love language.



Many ND types find themselves in the creative fields. Arts particularly, but photography definetly has a few spicy brains amongst the ranks. This isn’t because it’s easy, or we missed our calling to be doctors and pilots. It’s because it interests us. We ENJOY it, its more than a job, it’s a passion. It gives me that dopamine boost I need to sustain my interest. Without interest there is no motivation. That is why you should never fear connecting with a ND photographer- they wouldn’t be doing it unless it was their passion, and because it is, they will give it everything (and more), to the point of putting off OTHER less exciting chores or tasks to continue working on your session. Best case for you is when your tog’ hyper focuses on your session and you start getting photos before before you’ve even left the carpark!


PRO - Creativity


While there is a certain routine that many sessions will adopt, I don’t have a written down playlist for the shots we will take. I usually let the moment, people and surroundings do that for me. Thinking on the fly would give most people heart palpitations but it’s something I thrive on. I love coming up with unique and creative shots, regardless of how many times I’ve been at that location.

CON - Imposter Syndrome


This one wont affect you much at all, but it does affect me.

From the moment you reach out, i’m already thinking you’ll probably find a ‘better’ photographer and ghost me. I triple question everything I say, sure I must sound ridiculous. My fees are low, becuase I still struggle to feel like I earn it. I work hard and I put the hours in but I cringe at the mention of fees or invoices to the point I often have to be reminded to send one. Over the years I’ve had a few invoices not paid… and I can’t even bring it up.


CON - Errors (they happen)


The good thing is, I learn. And the fear of repeating the mistakes is so high, I will create a ridiculous series of countermeasures so ensure it wont happen again. 

Recent errors for your reading enjoyment include (but are not limited to)…


  • showing up with an almost flat battery
  • calling kids by the wrong name
  • going to the wrong house
  • getting the time wrong
  • losing the lens cap (I don’t learn with this one, I still lose them frequently)
  • Wrong price/name on the invoice
  • accidentely only uploading half a gallery
  • bringing props, leaving them in the car


CON - RSD


Otherwise known as Rejection Sensitivity Disorder. I can almost hear my fellow ADHD’ers nodding in solidarity at this one. I overthink way more than I should, and will probably take to heart things that were not intended to be so.

For example… I may post a photo from our session. If the client in the session doesn’t react to it, I will over think what that means. I will deliver a gallery, one that I love. Invoice is paid, transaction is done…but crickets. For most people, they would think 'what more needs to be done?, they’ve paid you, they said thank you at the session, there have been no complaints, do you want a medal?’ Well, no, I don’t want a medal. But my nerves are so high when I deliver a gallery hoping you love it as much as I do that when I get no response I feel a bit.. crushed. The same when a gallery never gets downloaded. It just sits there and I wonder what was wrong with it. Maybe they just forgot to or didn’t read the instructions and didn’t know how. But the thought of emailing and asking months later fills me with dread because what if there WAS something wrong with it and then I am dissapointed.

She’s examples are simple, but RSD can strike unexpectedly over the smallest things.


I could choose to not share these things with you, and try to uphold an aura of normalcy. BUT…an interesting quirk about the condition is that I CAN and WILL share, to anyone who will listen and often those who won’t, and their dogs too!


So that’s all for now, photos will follow, because as I said, they’re my love language.