The Heart of the Matter

Lately we have spoken with several photographers who are feeling a bit burned out, pulled in too many different directions or suffering from the 'digital bends'. It is truly a painful place to be, full of doubt, fear and surplus negativity. From that lowly place, solutions simply must be found.

Let's look at the three major negative influences and examine them a little so we can understand how to counteract their fierce negativity.

Burned Out
It happens to a lot of professionals, and especially creative professionals. Photographers are on the line for every job they do, and every job can hide its very own challenges and problems. We are constantly solving problems, whether in lighting, subjects, layouts or personalities. Over the course of a career we start to feel under appreciated and under compensated. In many respects we are, but so are lots of people. The nature of the work is that it becomes a part of a whole - we provide one part of that completed entity. Shoot a great brochure and share the accolades with writers, designers, illustrators and more. Also, as the pool of truly talented shooters keeps growing, the expectations are set to a point that great is now the norm.

Pulled In Too Many Directions
Many photographers feel pulled in so many directions that they cannot get their feet under them at all. Shooting, digitizing, filing, marketing, selling starts to become a huge blur and we start to look desperately for signs of slowing. They are rare in showing themselves. In this highly competitive market, there is no time to slow down. We start to believe that the unstoppable race is unwinnable.

"Digital Bends"
What are the ëdigital bends'? Well, they are sort of a reverse decompression that happens when the traditional film shooter moves overnight into digital. Combine the first two negatives with a premature jump into digital shooting and we have a volatile mix. Many shooters have not even begun to use Photoshop, or to understand the overwhelming amount of information surrounding digital. It took some time to understand film, why do we think it will take less time to learn digital? Take the plunge too fast and suffer 'digital bends'.

The examples given are the ones I see most, and usually in combinations of two or more. One shooter I know can't seem to get his marketing together even though he is in a slump. He faces each day with a deep gloom and tries to reason his way out instead of shooting his way out. Another is so stressed by her recent decision to go digital without having even the simplest working knowledge of Photoshop, or digital images in general, that she spends hours a day trying to figure out the simplest color correction. In the end, she is resentful and feels betrayed. Resentment and betrayal are hardly strong bases for building confidence in clients.

So how do we get out of these low places? By focusing on the "Heart of the Matter".

Start with getting excited about images. Your images. Remember what made you burst with pride when the shot came together just right. Take some time and write down the types of shots you really want to do. Be specific. Create a ëshot list' of a dozen assignments that you wish you could get this month. I'll wait. Got ëem written down? Good, now examine them.

Are they the same type of shots you currently show in the portfolio, or have you noticed a change in subject preference? It's ok if you change your direction. Change is a good thing. Do you see a pattern or style that you can start to work on to develop the images for shooting a whole new set of images? Or do you see a set of images that are right in line with what you do, but had never been given the assignment to do them. Great!

Now do them.

You will have new excitement in your photography as you take up the challenge of making pictures for your new initiative. When you are finished, you have brand new work to show your existing clients and new prospects as well. For more information on creating a new portfolio, pick up a copy of "Portfolios That Sell", by Selina Oppenmeim. (see review)

It is difficult to stay feeling 'burned out' with so much wonderful creative energy flowin around and through you.

If you are feeling like you are being pulled in a hundred different directions, welcome to my world too. This particular strain of stress is one I suffer from. Here is how I tackle it. Discover / Define / Delegate

Discover what the many lines of distractions are. Do clients make unreasonable demands? Are you trying so hard to please too many people that the 30 hour workday could never be enough (...they come in 30 hours? -ed)? Have you created such a hectic workday that it seems scrambled and disjointed? Yep.

Define the processes. Now that you know the challenges, define the way to get rid of them ... or at least minimize them to a working size. For example, clients call with additions to the shoot or expect unreasonable turnaround. Set up a menu that lets clients know what the turnaround time is and why it takes so long. When we get additional work added to our projects (we call it ëscope creep'), we always let the client know that the idea is a good one. Then we remind them that it is not part of the agreed to scope and that we will get back to them soon with a revised price for the project to include the new suggestions. That usually does it. Either way, we stay on track.

Delegate. Yes, I know, many of us are sole operators, and how do you delegate to yourself? Well, it may be simpler than you thought.

Set a schedule for the different projects you have to do in a day, and delegate the associated tasks to the specific ëhat' you wear during that period. For instance, you can create a schedule to simplify the wildly disparate things on your task list. Assign the marketing to a specific day or time of day. Accounting and record keeping is assigned to a different day. Structure your days so you can market, shoot and stay current on all of your administrative duties as well. A little planning and creative structuring can be very helpful.

By setting up schedules, you can turn your phone on to voicemail and work on something without getting hammered by unwanted calls that waste time. And by scheduling your personal shooting, you guarantee that it will get done. I really recommend the book "7 Habits of Highly Successful People" for a more in-depth look at time management.

Curing the 'Digital Bends'
There is no substitute for knowledge. Take classes, workshops and seminars and read everything you can about the digital arena. Shoot self-assigned images that will let you explore the challenges of digital within the realm of your subject matter. Ask other digital photographers how they handle the different shooting methods.

Scott Kelby's book (The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers) is fantastic, and if you live in Arizona, may I highly recommend Steve Burger's class at www.prodigital.com. Learn the heart of Photoshop and digital workflow from a master.

I hope this short piece helps you see some possible solutions, and remember that careers change, preferences change, priorities change...in short, change happens. Prepare for it, welcome it and learn from it.

But if you love what you are doing, it will always be the thing that will propel you out of bed in the morning and make long days fly by,

Don Giannatti

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