The latent possibilities that will net you the greatest fulfillment however will be in those original concepts that you derive from your own imagination. These are the culmination of all your years of training and preparation that come together to mix something new in your reservoir of ideas. My clients have been all the more satisfied when I presented them with alternatives for original content and concepts that better fit their ideals. The more you do it, the better you will be at achieving this goal. Cultivate your imagination. 

Art Model, Melissa ©2009 Terrell Neasley

Time is always of the essence it seems. You get a client gig and the expectation is to produce and render those results now. When do you ever have time to experiment, try new things, or sometimes shoot just to see what happens? You become stagnant when all you do is the same old, same old. You never know where you will find your new treasure. Venture out into new areas and genres of photo and just see what you can do. This doesn’t mean you have to jump into subject matter you hate…just something different. If you don’t like shooting sports, or fashion, then don’t. But you can rent a new lens and play with some macro work. Find a friend who can borrow a light modifier from and play with it in new ways that maybe it was never intended for. Or better yet, see if you can create your OWN lighting. I made my own light wand with red and white light using cathode ray tubes and a battery pack, all attached to a monopod.

These are things you can bring back to the table when you are in negotiations with a client and he or she’s looking for that new “fresh” look! That thing that no one else has. Something they’ve never seen before. But more importantly, think about the sense of fulfillment that you’ll garner when you surprise even yourself by discovering that new thing almost by accident. Odds are, you will not make these discoveries shooting for someone else. No one can push your imagination like YOU can. Slow things down by limiting yourself to 50 shots or less. Shoot from a single focal length like a 50mm prime. Change your angles and shoot from either a high or low perspective. Regardless, change it up. Work outside the norm and the comfortable. Experiment!

Art Model, Melissa ©2009 Terrell Neasley

Counter the Effects of Burnout

Don’t lie to yourself. You get tired of working for someone else, sometimes don’t you. Ever want to just escape photography all together… even just for a little while. Personally, I don’t understand it but I know in other jobs I’ve had, sometimes you just need a break. In photo, that should never happen but I can see how it might come to pass. You spend all your time shooting for others that you simply get burned out. This is less likely to come about if you spend sufficient amount of time shooting for yourself. Make your own work the priority over shooting for someone else. Pay yourself first. Shoot for yourself first. Much like they tell you in the airline safety message, in the event of a decrease in cabin pressure, put your own mask on first BEFORE you help someone else.

Art Model, Melissa posing for figure drawing session ©2009 Terrell Neasley

Keep yourself healthy and in good shape and do the same for your photographic mind. Keep it sharp and exercised with new activities and fresh ideas. You, therein serve yourself AND your clients by staying fresh. You’ll definitely be able to see better when your mind is renewed on a continuous basis. Mental fatigue is murder to the mind of a creative. Stave off that fatigue by doing your own projects. I could as easily add a fourth good reason: PROFITS! The better you get a feel for the industry, your trade, and your capabilities the better you know how to create your own projects and then market them via social media to your own benefit. This can be work that you eventually sell, or use it as an opportunity to showcase your wares. Either way, you can make money if that is something that is important to you. In any case your limits are self-imposed. Lack of gear does not create a ceiling for you. Its not the absence of promotion of exposure that shackle your ability to grow. You are bound to this world today by gravity, but it is your imagination that allows you to reach escape velocity and venture to the stars.