In the most recent issue of April 2009 “After Capture,” Kate Stanworth highlights the work of photographer Sophie Pangrazzi in her article “Defying Gravity.” It’s a great read, as Stanworth has a gift for describing images in luscious words. Stanworth also offers great insights on Pangrazzi’s creative process.
Of particular interest to me was the fact that Stanworth explains that “the key to her success has been to orchestrate her own projects, allowing her to stay one step ahead of the game and to realize her unique flights of imagination.”
Stanworth goes into further details, but I want to share that this concept – the power of self-directed projects – cannot be underestimated. Over and over again, successful photographers tell me that personal and self-initiated projects are a key to their success, from finding new vision and reinvigorating their creative lives to leading directly to new business.
Wedding photographer Joe Photo raved about the value of making the time to photograph at Burning Man. Commercial photographer Judy Herrmann attributes her financial success and much deeper satisfaction to forcing herself to “reinvent” her style on a regular basis through non-work, “playful” experimentation. Photojournalist Scott Mc Kiernan, founder and CEO of ZUMA Press, says that he (and his best shooters) would not have achieved his level of success without making the time – even when overwhelmed with work – to take on self-assigned projects.
The list goes on and on, and the point is clear. But I think the point is particularly important to embrace in today’s less-than-comforting business climate. Most pressured photographers react to stress by digging in and working harder. That’s important; that’s critical. But to lose site of self-directed projects, I would argue, is to shoot ourselves in the foot, making it hard for our hard work to pay off.
If you can’t imagine engaging in a self-directed project due to you heavy workload and/or stress, perhaps it would be helpful to rethink the phrase. For myself, overwhelmed with my too-much-writing, too-little-time life, I try to think of “projects” that will help me in “learning new skills.” They might be skills that I need to know, but I try to focus on one’s that I’m EAGER to know.
Next, I develop a small project (think “task” if project sounds to big) that will force me to learn that skill. And, I try to keep it small. For example, the scope might be as small as sharing a group of images with a friend. If the friend isn’t waiting and I don’t need to work with these photos, then this definitely has the same value of a more ambitious self-directed project.
Although I feel like I don’t have the time, making myself engage in this type of smaller self-directed project always revitalizes me in surprising ways. And, of course, I do learn new skills. And searching my database of images – for a friend, not for a client — inevitable gets me excited, leads and ends up taking me in new directions, even if those directions are no more grand than working on keywords. But regardless of what important chores get accomplished, I feel more refreshed than if I had taken a nap, and certainly than if I had toiled away without break from the work that MUST get done NOW.
I’m not suggesting that engaging in self-directed projects is easy. But I’m encouraging you – as others have encouraged me – to try, without pressure, to make some room for it. As successful photographers like Pangrazzi suggest, it could be one of the best ways to get most on-track, even it seems off-track.