Video: Zack Arias.

One year ago this month, photographer Zack Arias posted a video called Transform that made an impression on me. He poured his heart out in a very open and vulnerable way that spoke to the things I believe many of us struggle with as photographers, designers, artists, and creatives of all stripes. Although a photographer, he used video to tell his story in a powerful way. I believe this method of communicating will continue to explode online as a new generation of kids grow up on YouTube and television.

The specialists like Zack are starting to realize that the new social media (now just the media) world we now live in will demand even more skills out of niche players than ever before. Photographers must now be web designers, social media experts, producers, directors, workshop hosts, and many other things to stay in business and compete. The pace can turn any creative into a heap of overwhelm. What Zack says in his video is key to overcome this shift we are now experiencing in every industry from music to photography to film to publishing.

Going a Hundred Miles Per Hour

Ever feel like you are headed for a crash? That you cannot sustain the speed you are traveling? In last night’s opening ceremonies coverage of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, I watched in sadness as Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year-old luger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, flew off the track at 88 m.p.h. into a steel beam at the Whistler Sliding Center. His death rang out as a warning to us all. We cannot sustain this increasing amount of speed in our lives. Where does it end? Pushing the limits is heroic, but at what expense? What purpose? The gold medal winners of the luge will be those who cheat death by flirting with the limit of being out of control. And our culture will reward them as heroes.

Suffering From The Sickness

Comparison. You see someone doing a great thing and you compare his work to yours. Her life to yours. His skill to yours. You mark the difference. You can’t help it. You are infected and suffering from our sinful human nature to compare and despair. We forget that we each have a story to live and a special contribution to give. No one can live it for us. The world will never be blessed with your presence again. No matter what level we think we need to attain or successful accomplishment we need to achieve, comparison is a step backward.

Finding Your Voice

It will take time to stop comparing, to get to know ourselves and what God put uniquely in us to live out. That’s OK. When you find it, your confidence will grow. You will be less likely to compare. Because you will be speaking out of your own heart, not trying to copy someone who is also fallible.

Artist vs Entrepreneur

Some of us will make money with our art. Some of us will be long gone when the money follows our work. Others will never see a penny. Many artists choose one path or the other. They are either an artist or a business person. “I hate money” or “I will hire the business side out” are common phrases heard among artists. The reality is, to be a responsible artist, you must put money in the right perspective. It can enable you to create. You control it. It does not control you. Don’t be afraid to learn how to control it to work for you. A carpenter is not afraid of a hammer or saw even though they can crush or cut. A carpenter learns how to use these tools in his craft. Money is simply a tool. Artists must learn about money and business as if they were brushes in their bag.

Being Patient

Slowing down takes time. Resisting comparison takes time. Finding your voice takes time. Learning your craft takes time. The way of an artist is paved with patience. Going a hundred miles per hour down an unpaved road doesn’t exactly make your life a pleasing experience. The struggle doesn’t have to be so hard but many artists make it hard because they have to do their art full time right now. They will go into debt, make bad business deals, copy others who they see as more successful, and miss the entire point of their existence. They will hit speed bumps and run off the road. They might even get on a dead-end road. All because they lacked patience.

Transforming Is Worth It

Life is about your transformation. No great story has a character who doesn’t transform. A main character who ends a movie the same as he began is probably in a bad movie. The same goes for your life. We are not born perfect, which means improvement and change is a constant part of our lives until we die. Change brings struggle. To struggle is the way of the artist and the way of life. To struggle for something worthy of our struggle makes it all worth it.

Personally in my life, I feel like my thinking takes me light years ahead of what my body can actually do. There isn’t enough time in a day to accomplish all the things I want to do. Slowing down in simply my expectations would help me tremendously. Patience stings when it’s at the expense of what you know you could be doing. But as I am learning, in the end, it’s not about accomplishment as much as it’s about who you become. The accomplishment will come in time if what you are transforming into is worthy of your struggle. I hope these ideas resonate with you as much as they did for me.

Every now and then you get the opportunity to step into another world and experience something new. When you get these opportunities, take them.

I recently got the opportunity to work with my friend Brandon Oursler on a photoshoot for Lauren Grissom, an aspiring young model and past Miss Tennessee. It was really fun. I was able to shoot some video, brush off my editing skills, and enjoy the art of fashion. We shot on location in Spring Hill, TN, and braved mosquitoes that rivaled the humming bird variety back home in coastal Carolina.

8 Video Tips For Your Next Shoot:

1. Storyboard the shots you definitely want and capture them sooner rather than later.
2. If you are interviewing anyone, know what questions you want to ask before the event.
3. The more footage you shoot, the more editing time you create.
4. Bring a tripod. The newer and smaller cameras are prone to hand shake.
5. Double check your bags for everything you will need before you leave. Repeat.
6. Always get permission from the location to shoot or risk being kicked out.
7. Relax. If you are not comfortable, your subjects will not feel comfortable.
8. Good audio can be your secret weapon.

Video: Michael Masnick at Midem '09.

If you are an artist who feels stuck in your art and not sure what direction to head, you are not alone. What I have found though is that you are only limited by your own creativity. I personally have been in a rut artistically, especially in this transitional time in the creative industries and greater economy. I feel like there is so much opportunity, so many tools, and so much freedom, that I am paralyzed. I feel like a painter given a huge white canvas and told to paint anything. Outside distractions easily keep me from using my creativity to find ways around my perceived limitations. The good news is that there are ways to break out!

Are you a musician? Take notes on how Trent Reznor builds his business. Are you a photographer? Take notes on how Chase Jarvis builds his business. Are you a cartoonist? Take notes on how Hugh MacLeod builds his business. The list goes on and on. These men are thriving in the arts during a time when others are hanging it up and throwing in the towel. The difference? Simple creativity.

Creativity costs nothing. Except maybe brain power. Stop. Think. Write down your crazy, impossible, wacky, fun ideas. Don’t limit yourself. Make a list. Then only share it with others you know can think bigger than these ideas. You may not know these people. I know here in Nashville, they are plentiful. If you do not know any big thinkers, you are smart to keep this list to yourself. Pick one idea that you like most, and then figure out ways to pull it off for free. You may need volunteers. You may need to recruit students needing class credit. You may need to borrow gear. You may need to exchange something you have of value for something you need. You may need to politely ask someone for something. Do it!

Only after you have accomplished your new idea I believe, should you then share it with those who think smaller than you. Watch their reaction. They may say you cannot do it. They may call it stupid. They may point out where you will fail. Then you can kindly share that they are wrong. Because you already did it, and you know what works. It might even nudge the dreamer asleep in their heart.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Trent Reznor is innovating so fast, those that follow his marketing moves cannot even keep up. The last I heard, he was rolling out his own iPhone App for his fans to connect better. According to Michael Masnick of Floor64, he follows this business model:

CwF + RtB = $$$

This translates, “Connect with Fans” plus “Reason to Buy” equals “Money” to sustain. Chase Jarvis recently gave a talk entitled The Consequences of Creativity where he shared a very similar model for the photography world, or more accurately, the content publishing world:

Create >> Share >> Sustain

His point was to share everything we create, no matter how large or small, and that the results of those creative moves will spawn ways you can sustain your creativity.

Now, many creatives just starting off like myself may argue that these business models help only those with money, connections, fans, time, publicity, or the benefits of old-school traditional marketing that make launching new ideas easy. I hear this argument loud and clear. And for some, it is valid. For most, however, including myself, it is totally an excuse to feel better. To let our inner realist kick our inner dreamer around and feel good about it. But bullies never change the world.

If you’re a small thinker, hater, or safety chaser,
whiner, realist, or black coffee maker,
take just a moment to visit a dreamer,
or even better yet the King of all dreamers,
and find an idea that tickles your fancy,
create it, connect it, and share it where all see
the incredible fruit of your creativity.

If you’re a photographer slash videographer slash musician slash one-man multimedia band like me, today is a great time to be alive. As Thanksgiving comes to a close here in Nashville, TN, I am thankful for one of the biggest game changers ever to hit the image capture industry — the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Why? Convergence. This baby can make video look better than most video cameras on the market, and it’s a professional photography camera. With a limited budget, telling a story on a professional level in more than one way used to be extremely difficult. You either had to commit to photography or videography. They each had their own fields, expertise, and equipment. Today, that’s all changing.

I have been waiting for this to come for a long time. Between RED bringing modularity and ground breaking digital cinema technology to the masses and Nikon and Canon bringing video to the photography world, all we need now is for someone like Digidesign or Shure to step in and build an audio capture add-on. This is only the beginning in a long line of devices that will converge into one master capture device, making guys like me able to work faster, better and cheaper. Not to mention watch our multimedia art, visual story telling, image directing, whatever-we-will-call-it niche grow.

One telling article I ran across earlier this year on PopPhoto.com, The Photographer As Director, called us visual chameleons and imagemakers. Is anyone else actually glad we are finally getting some attention here?

Expressing and communicating through any and all media through less and less devices is happening. Once the tools level the entry barriers, it will increasingly become more and more about what you have to say and how you say it. Stop dreaming and start creating.

Today, we can.