And yet, I suppose you mourn the loss or the death of what you thought your life was, even if you find your life is better after. You mourn the future that you thought you’d planned.—Lynn Redgrave
[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Planning for the future is one of those things we are instructed to do from the moment we first begin primary school. Kindergarten prepares us for first grade., then we’re prepped for Middle School which, n turn, prepares us for High School, and at some point, somewhere, we’re supposed to graduate from something being fully prepared for the future, but we never truly are. There are always surprises. Our best plans are laid to waste when the future doesn’t happen exactly the way we anticipate.
We have ten days left in November. Of those, at least two are taken up with Thanksgiving events and, for us, celebrating a seven-year-old’s birthday. Some of you will spend time traveling back and forth, and the more dim-witted among us will waste time standing in line to spend money they don’t really have on things they don’t really need. When all is said and done, there might be four days of half-way decent productivity before December hits. That’s not a lot of time to plan.
Once December hits, this blog shuts down for the rest of the calendar year. Next week we try cramming in all the stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere. I’ll post something snarky on the first just because it’s my 55th birthday and I can’t let that pass without flinging something silly into the cybersphere. Beyond that, though, the rest of this year is given to planning for the next: what we will post, what we won’t, what we’ll change, what we’ll completely eliminate, and whether there’s anything new worth tossing into the mix. There are a lot of things to consider. We’ve already been doing research, looking at the year’s stats, and formulating ideas.[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Today’s picture is exactly what one would see if they were looking over my shoulder while I’m in research and planning mode, attempting to divine the future. We play with pictures and try new editing techniques. We do a lot of reading. We check trends. Yet, for all that activity, I almost always end up sitting here, pipe in hand, headphones on my head, and when appropriate a shot of scotch within easy reach, wondering if I’m wasting my time.
What makes planning for the future so difficult and uncertain is that we do so expecting certain things to stay the same. We expect the same people to remain in our lives, fulfilling the same roles, behaving in a predictable fashion. We know some things, such as technology, will change, but we expect the base elements of our lives to stay put and when they are suddenly and unexpectedly altered, everything we had planned for the future suddenly goes out the window. There have been too many years where I counted upon a level of stability that just didn’t happen; the future wasn’t remotely predictable.
December planning may be a sure sign of mental instability on my part, but at this stage of my life it’s as much habit as anything, and I really can use the break from trying to find 600 or so words at 4:00 every morning. Looking into the next year, I know PFC Letbetter will be stationed in Japan, a handful of people are getting married, politicians and terrorists will both be disruptive, and mobile devices will complete their takeover of the internet. Beyond that, though, anything is a guess and if you want to see how it all turns out, you’ll just have to keep watching.[/one_half_last]
Beware The Ides
DISCONTENT (2011). Model: Rachel
The same author who warned his Julius Ceaser to, “beware the ides of March,” (Julius Ceaser Act I scene ii) also has Polonius instructing Laertes, “This above all: to thine own self be true,” (Hamlet, act I, scene iii). Both are instructions that photographers and other creatives would do well to heed.
[one_half padding=”2px 6px 0 2px”]I have had work published in a lot of magazines around the world. There was once a time when we were averaging more than 20 new publications a month. Then, things changed. A lot of things changed, actually. The “digital revolution,” the “dot-com bust,” and the “let’s lay everyone off and hire contractors” movement. Business wasn’t handled the way it had been in the past. There were more photographers in the market than ever and occasionally one would even find one who knew what they were doing. Demand for creative talent diminished as stock companies flourished.
Then came digital printing and online magazines. Suddenly, there were new magazines popping up everywhere looking for, begging for, content with which to fill their pages. I would pass by more upscale newsstands and not recognize two-thirds of the banners facing me. I would pass by a month later and find a whole new crop in their place. Longevity didn’t seem to be in the cards for most new titles.
Being a freelance creative means going out and finding the work; it’s never going to just show up at your front door unprovoked, though that’s what many of us dream. We network in circles with which we’re less than comfortable. We push ourselves well out of our comfort zones. We play nice with people we really don’t like all that much. We do whatever it takes to get that plum assignment.
Then, we’re asked to work for free. Or at least, if not for free, for roughly a third of what our services is actually worth. We sit at our desks or on our couches and begin to wonder: is it all worth it? Why do I keep chasing something that seems to want no part of me?
Hello, self-doubt. I’ve been down this road enough times now I know it’s coming, typically mid-March just as things are starting to thaw. We have fashion weeks out of the way, we’re scheduling editorial shoots as heavily as we dare, and all the while we’re thinking, “Is it worth all the trouble?”
Shakespeare’s Caesar is warned against the betrayal of his best friend, Brutus. Perhaps the soothsayer would similarly warn creatives against the betrayal of ourselves. Once we begin to question whether we’re good enough, once we start wondering why someone else got a job we wanted, once we start thinking that perhaps we made a wrong turn in our career, we’re slowly but surely killing ourselves. We might as well be plunging a dagger into the heart of our creativity.
Not that some self-reflection isn’t occasionally necessary, and no, freelance creative work isn’t appropriate for everyone. Yet, when we begin doubting ourselves we betray the talent within us that leads us to be creative. Coming up with new ideas, exploring new concepts, stretching the bounds of our media, requires us to have faith in ourselves, faith in our talent, and the resolve to see a project through to its end, even if that end isn’t exactly what we had hoped when we started.
“This above all: to thine own self be true.”
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[one_half_last padding=”2px 2px 0 6px”]The commercialism of creative fields has created a sense of competition that, too often, is unhealthy. We begin worrying more about whether an image is commercially competitive rather than whether we captured the image we intended to take. When we look at magazines and see styles dramatically different from our own, there’s a temptation to change, mimic what we see is being published, rather than continuing to pursue and refine our own style. In short: we stop being true to our creative selves.
I was perusing through a stack of magazines recently, one of those stacks where, once again, I recognized none of the titles. In considering the imagery being used, I found myself asking, “Is this what I have to do to be commercially viable anymore?” Where does one find the balance between what seems to be popular demand while staying true to one’s own creativity?
Again, we’ve been here before so I have some idea how to snap myself out of this deadly loop of self-denial and betrayal. It goes something like this:
I know there are some who argue against my approach, who say we have to “evolve” and “change with the times.” What works for someone else may not work for you, though. What works for me works for me and may not help someone else one bit. Some people do need to evolve and do so well. Others, though, need to hold tight to what they are already doing.
What’s important is that you are making those decisions for yourself. Stop chasing trends that are going to change next week. Stop trying to be like someone else. Stop mimicking someone else’s creativity.
Don’t be your own Brutus. To yourself, above all, be true.[/one_half_last]
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