In the midst of a busy week, I thought I’d share a few brief thoughts on why it’s important to keep moving forward and why it’s important to stay long enough to see you sometimes. where to stand.
Last month was a busy one for me. In addition to many film projects, I’ve also been fortunate to get out of the gate with a number of still photography sessions, which have left me both creatively satisfied while at the same time really exhausted. The first week of this new month has been equally busy. In the case of last week, however, the business that comes from being part of a career as a photographer and director takes place more without a camera. It was meeting with producers, visual reps, mentors, and assessing where I am now, trying to decide where I wanted to go in the future and charting a course that could hopefully be. take me to my destination.
Part of this process is a periodic overhaul of my website, portfolio, and spinner. That’s the part that’s been consuming my time for the past week. These are all constantly updated. However, there are always less frequent times when an update is not so much an update as a complete overhaul. It’s not overnight to become another artist. And many old favorites remain. But, it’s like that night when you’re excited about your first date with someone new. You walk to the wardrobe, about to pull out the best outfit “please give me a second date”, when you suddenly realize that, for whatever reason, you can’t be without any items in the wardrobe. mine. The outfits that once made you feel like a million dollars walking out the front door now sound like yesterday’s news. That’s how I feel when I update my semi-annual home cleaning portfolio when my tried-and-true pictures and movies somehow don’t excite me and I find myself hitting the mark. re-price everything currently there.
This is always a confusing and frustrating process as it is an enjoyable one. Wondering which image to keep or keep leads to bigger questions about whether you want to be an artist. Sometimes it even makes you wonder who you want to be as a human being. It’s like one of those classic lines from “Fight Club” where the protagonist wonders what the IKEA dining set best describes him as.
The previous paragraph can make it clear that I am a reflective person by nature. I am a ruler twice, once cut once. So this kind of insightful analysis came naturally to me. Sometimes, whether I like it or not. This is why I’m a big advocate of getting out there and trying new things as an artist. Planning, yes. However, don’t let planning get in the way of execution. There’s always value in throwing yourself into new creative situations and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, whether or not they bear fruit in the end. This is how you grow as an artist and how you learn. Doing this also sometimes leads to you discovering a new talent or a new passion that you might not have known existed before. It’s good to just get in the car and go, finding your destination only when you’re already on the highway.
But just as important as being brave and trying new things, it’s also important that you step back and re-examine where those journeys have taken you. What new skills did you learn through your experimentation? Do those new skills pique your interest in one thing or another? Will those new side benefits being added to your main line of business benefit your customers? Or, are those hobbies that you enjoy but don’t need to be part of your public character aka portfolio?
Maturity is normal as an artist. If you’re not growing, that’s a pretty good sign that you’re not doing a good job of motivating yourself. You will develop over time, both in skills and interests. The key is to find the right way to incorporate that new development into your photography journey so your career can grow with it.
