Catching up!

September was a busy month both personally and professionally. Early in September I did a shoot for Paige Smith, a Calgary craft artist. Paige takes fine bone china saucers and transforms them into beautiful jewelry holders. This was my third shoot for Paige. She's an excellent stylist and pre-plans everything to the nth degree, which makes working with her a joy.

The Prairie Chapter of CAPIC hosted an evening with Selina Maitreya of Port Authority. Selina is a photography portfolio consultant. I had a one-on-one session with Selina as well, to critique my current portfolio, and to plan out ways to improve my photography and marketing going into the future.

Selina's main tenet is that photographers should develop a signature style of photography, then translate that vision into all the work they do at the expense of their other (old) style of work. (I think that this type of thinking and working would allow photographers in the same market to be more collegial.) Clients would then hire someone based on their vision. Other photographers, in theory, would have different visions, so therefore would be less concerned with what each other are doing in the same market. It may foster greater community among photographers as a whole, and among those involved in photo trade organizations. It would also allow photographers to work in other market regions, as they would be hired based on their particular vision.

In her public lecture, Selina also recommended that all photographers read the book, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield, and to reconnect with their inner creativity by reading, The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. The War of Art is a quick read with lots of "in your face" advice for breaking through creative blocks. It reminds me a lot of Camera Lucida, by Roland Barthes in the definitive style of writing of the author. One quote I'd like to share is:

The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

I'm going to leave it at that for today. I encourage you all to read The War of Art. It is suitable for all entrepreneurs, not just photographers. For links to all books that I write about, see the sidebar.