It took me longer than I wanted, but this post is finally here. With this post I’m closing a series, written mainly about creativity and inspiration, but also the process behind creating a specific project. Here are the previous posts in the series:

1. Connecting the ‘Why and the ‘How’. (Process/vision through to execution of a project)

2. Training our Creativity. (Exercises for our inspiration)

3. The Benefit of Challenge. (Improvement/growing of skills through adversity)

© Heber Vega 2012 | Photograph part of the story of the last Kurdish antique cleaner.

This week we have Open to Collaborative Work.
It’s not a secret that the life and work of photographers sometimes get pretty lonely, and therefore we get used to the idea of creating and working alone. This is not a bad thing, and I’d say it’s necessary for the journey. The problem begins when we think that’s the only way to do things in our craft. That attitude has a flaw; with time we don’t listen to other artists or photographers who may have experience and skills that would enrich our work. How are we making artistic decisions for our work? Are they based only on our own thoughts and opinion? Worse yet, are we the only ones critiquing our work?

Unless we are the next Beethoven in photography we’ll have a problem with this approach. We’ll end up with a crappy website design because we think it’s a cool template. We’ll end up losing some jobs or revenue because we don’t know how to deal with contracts, and try to be our own reps and lawyers. What about the accounting part? Yeah, those red numbers don’t look good, do they? And I haven’t even touched the artistic side of creating photographs. When was the last time someone reviewed your portfolio? Have you ever spoken with a photo editor or art director? Ok, let’s get more basic; have you ever talked to a painter and asked how to improve the ‘light’ in our frames? Have you talked to other experienced photographers about what they think about our ongoing projects? You can guess my point with all these questions: we are not alone in this world. Surprise!

Martin Luther King Jr. once said:
“All I’m saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated, that somehow we’re caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

It should not be a surprise to us that we can improve our work by sharing and working with other creatives. Most of our work can improve dramatically if we ask the right questions of the right people. If you still have doubts, check the leaders in our industry today: McNally, Jarvis and Arias, to name a few. You will discover a team working with most of them.

Joe McNally said this two post ago:
“The above is of [dancer] Alexis Fletcher, who is truly magnificent. She is particular, as
classical dancers tend to be, and she can float through the air as effortlessly as the rose petals we blew into the frame with her. She would look at every frame we shot together, and effectively, she coached me through it. She remarked on my timing, and her form, critically, but also wonderfully. Because of her devotion to craft, she, effectively, pushed me to be a better photographer on the set that day.”

When was the last time we allowed our subject to ‘coach’ us through a shoot? Well, McNally sometimes does. Are we afraid of losing our own vision by working with others? Afraid of losing our own identity as artist?

Jim Jordan, explained a good balance here:
“That’s what sets good photographers [in this field] apart. Instead of throwing in the stylist or makeup artist to do all the work, I show them what I want. The direction needs to come from the photographer so that it fits with their vision.”



Working in a team doesn’t mean you will lose your vision, instead it will be enriched by the skills of other artists.

If there’s one thing I want to build into my life, it’s having friends and colleagues who can contribute to my soul and hone my vision. As I give to others, I also try to ‘stay close’ to people that I can learn from. This is a list of people that you may have around you that can help to make your business better: designers, accountants, videographers, painters, singers, musicians, art directors, editors, photographers, journalists, storytellers, dancers, athletes, etc. You can learn far more from each of them than you ever learned in school. So give them a call, listen to them, and ask good questions. Study their creativity, inspiration, discipline, etc.

Let me give you 5 ideas that I’m starting to use that I think can improve our work. If you have a better idea (I know you do) please share it in the comments.

1. Work on a multimedia project. Create a project that is bigger than what you can put into place yourself, and therefore find people interested in working along side you. Benefit from each other’s skills. Consider partnering with a videographer, musician, singer, editor, sound engineer, designer, etc. You can direct, and of course provide the images.

2. Find a photo editor. If you are on a tight budget, find someone who has talent to describe what s/he sees in photographs, someone who understand photography and has ‘good taste’ (in your opinion). Ask that person to critique your latest projects, and see what you think about the process. If you trust her/his opinion then you have found your editor. The key here is once you have
placed your trust in that person, allow them influence your future work.

3. Find a designer. If you have someone who knows their way around design, ask for advice on your logo, personal website, portfolio, brand, etc. Again, once you have found someone who you trust, start building a long-term relationship, so that person can influence your future work. The same for a ‘retoucher’. If you suck at Photoshop (like me) then find someone you can work with.

4. Interview artists, and learn from their experience. Ask questions about inspiration, creativity, concept, execution, etc. Want to go a step further? Make a photo essay based on their work. That way you get to shoot and learn as well.

5. In your next photography project, don’t make it ‘personal’ work but a collaborative work. Shoot the project with someone else. Define the goal, vision and process but essentially go with another photographer and learn from his/her approach. Want to make it even better? Gather a group of photographers around the project and watch the synergy that happens.

Bonus: Invite friends and family to an ‘personal exhibit’ at your house. Print your work and let them talk about it; what they like, what they don’t like, why, etc. Invite critique; praise from a room full of people who love you won’t help you improve your craft.

Finally, the most important part of collaborative work: give. If people perceive you as someone only interested in ‘taking’, you will be avoided. Generosity always comes first. Let me know how these ideas work for you. Thanks!

A month ago when I was scheduling posts for my blog, I didn’t think that some of these posts were necessarily related. But now after publishing the last two, I can see that there’s a back bone joining them all together.
Here are the posts I’m talking about:

Connecting the ‘Why’ and the ‘How’. (Process/vision through to execution of a project)

Training our Creativity. (Exercises for our inspiration)

© Heber Vega 2012 | Photograph part of the story of the last Kurdish antique cleaner.

Next I want to explore the ideas of challenge and collaborative work, and how they can benefit us as photographers. When I say ‘challenge’, I am talking about activities that take us out of our comfort zones, that introduce us to a different way of creating. For ‘collaborative work’, I’d include any type of activity where we exchange ideas and work along other artists in the process of creating a project. I’m going to explore these subjects a bit deeper and have some examples that we can apply in our work.

The important thing to remember here, is that challenges & collaborations are an important element in the growth of artists, and without them our talent and skills are not going to reach their full potential.

Challenge: “a task or situation that tests someone’s abilities.”

Last year, while working on the ONE-SHOT workshop, I remember talking to Erin Wilson about how much I like the adrenaline that comes with assignment work. I love the challenge, although it doesn’t feel that great in the moment. Every time I get hired for a specific task as photographer, I like the feeling of making things happen within certain limitations, like time, funds, circumstances, etc. The reason? They have made me a more creative photographer in the process, and have allowed me to explore new things that have become valuable for my work, but that I’d never have discovered otherwise. It’s a journey of personal discovery; there’s so much inside of us that we don’t tap into for various reasons, including fear. Taking on challenges gives us a reason to face the fear. Lastly, constrains are always good if you make them work for you, just keep that in mind.

Here is a list of challenges that can make you a better photographer and that I have experienced myself. These activities have really enriched my work.

1. Limit your gear. Use your cellphone camera or your iPhone for this project. Or use your DSLR, but with only one lens at one focal length. Explore how you see the world at that perspective; go out and shoot for a couple days to really explore the limitation. Whatever happens, don’t add more gear. Just keep shooting.
2. Take a pro-bono assignment. Find a non-profit that identifies with your values and offer to work for a couple of weeks, or for a specific project. Better yet, don’t bring your camera at the beginning, listen to them carefully, and then create a project that could help them promote their cause. To make this effective, give yourself time restrictions.
Let’s say you will do this assignment in x number of days but no longer than that. Treat it as if it’s a paid assignment with a deadline.
3. Step into multimedia. Create a project where you will build with more elements than just your photography. Start with audio. Take the time to record people, ambient sound, etc. Perhaps music? Where can you collaborate with some musician and create something unique for your work? What about putting together a whole website for that project, with interactive materials, then finding some good designers interested in something like that? What about video? Read some basic information about video and storytelling and then give it a shot. Nothing to lose, and so much to gain in the process.
4. Write a column. Find someone who might be interested in publishing a story of yours, and pitch a story. Complement your photography with a longer article that explains the context of your images. Try to work either with another writer, to proof-read your work or better yet, a real editor. You’ll see how they can cut to the chase quickly.
5. Explore another culture for a photography project. Save some money and then go to a distant location where people don’t speak your language, live in a different culture and where you don’t have any expertise at all. This is the closest thing to being reborn. I’m telling you, you become a baby again, and it’s ridiculous how you have to depend on other people to carry out a project in a place like that. But that challenge, and the desire to understand with eyes and ears open to new experiences, beside making you a better photographer, will make a better person.

In my next post I will talk more about collaborative work, and how that can benefit our photography. In the meantime if you want to add another suggestion for a challenge that has improved your craft, please feel free to add them on the comments. And if you take up one of the challenges listed here, please leave a link so we can follow your progress. Thanks.