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Perspective. Observation. Clarity. These words help me find vision. And vision is something we need in order to differentiate ourselves within the horde that’s creating images. But I believe these words are also a component and fundamental layer in storytelling.

So, what if we took the Big Bang Theory and applied it to storytelling? That the moment of creation is when the story begins to have structure. That it’s something tangible. That if you inserted all of your facts and research on a story into the three act formula, the result would be that moment. But what happens before the Big Bang moment?

Perspective

First, you must have one regarding your story and you must apply it. For a moment forget objectivity if you come from a journalistic background. Of course you must maintain ethics, but your vision is created from being subjective.

Perspective also can be used as a tool. The same story can be told from different points of view. Finding the viewpoint for your story is a key part of the information gathering process and deciding how to tell it. Brainstorming other POV’s is a great way to get around roadblocks; it’s an important tool to have in the box.

Observation

This is a quality we already mastered when creating still images. It’s so ingrained in our thinking it’s hard to extract the idea from our thought process. It’s something we just do. But how do we use it when storytelling?

A great exercise is to engage in people watching. Do it whenever you have a few free minutes. (Airports are great places to practice.) Become a harmless stalker. Learn to read people, their reactions, their motivations. And if you want to go for gold, engage in conversation with strangers and take the next step as if you were interviewing a subject. You have nothing at stake, you’re just honing your skills of observation.

Clarity

Learn to be clear. Learn to be direct. Ask others who understand story telling for blunt force feedback and become comfortable with it. Sure, it can be a shot to the ego, but you’ll need to get past that to grow as a storyteller.

In an effort to find clarity you may also have to go off on wild tangents. While they often turn out to be nothing more than distractions, exploring an alternate direction can sometimes lead to clarity. You may discover what’s important to cut from your story. Exploring tangents can also lead you to undiscovered perspectives and aid your story’s journey into existence, so don’t rule them out entirely.

Previously published on ASMP’s Strictly Business Blog.

John Welsh is a photographer from Philadelphia and, in an effort to keep himself sane, tries not to think about what was there before the cosmological Big Bang moment (if that truly is how we all got here).

digital image from a location scouting trip in Pennsylvania Wilds

Location scouting in the forest deep in the Pennsylvania Wilds

How are we supposed know what direction to launch ourselves when we are facing a digital industry that evolves every time we blink? The idea of Making Great Images will always apply. That’s what makes us professional, it’s a given and something that needs to be a cornerstone of our work habits and ethics. But beyond that, how are we to navigate what once had a reasonable and straightforward path towards success?

The Old Days

Even before the collapse of stock photography, there was a method to success. Maybe you worked on staff at newspaper or did editorial work for magazines. Maybe you ran a large commercial studio shooting products or catalog imagery. Maybe you shot food or architecture. There was once a travel photography market that opened up new opportunities in addition to paying your bills. Those days are gone. They’re not coming back and don’t expect them to, but this isn’t about doom or gloom, this is about how you save yourselves as well as an industry that needs to survive.

The Problem

So, if you are one of us who may be left with fewer answers than ever before about how to survive and thrive, well, join the party. Embrace the fact that you don’t know and are not trained in the modern ways. That’s been a reality in every industry that undergoes fundamental change. Deal with it. What I find fascinating is how we as image makers, that think of ourselves as part of the creative class, fall into the rut of being extremely inflexible when it comes to changing with the times. Resistance is surely part of our nature, but as creatives aren’t we the ones that should be full of energy and have little fear? When challenged with creative problem solving for a client we are motivated and energized. Why don’t we treat our business matters that way? It’s really that simple. Take a step away from yourself and try treating yourself as if you were your own client. Identify the problems you are facing getting your work in front of new markets. That’s a first step. But what are you going to do when you find yourself working with next generation clients and how are you going to meet their expectation?

Creating Digital Solutions

So, maybe during your latest shoot, you created this brilliant set of images for the coolest client. Besides client usage, where are those images going to be seen and by whom? Can your work go viral and reach outside of it’s intended space? Or are you aiming to be selling yourself like a celebrity and be hired as the guest Instagrammer at a hipster media event? What about producing short videos that find themselves on Social Media the same day they were shot? How about making images for those really distracting Digital Billboards that light up the Interstates? What about revisiting 360 degree VR or better yet, creating Cinemagraphs?

Some of these scenarios may be familiar, but even if they are foreign, your Oldest School clients, the ones that think in Jurassic, will eventually be replacing their marketing & communication directors, or people that act as their art buyers. They create newly titled positions that haven’t been thought of yet. But for sure, the new blood will understand how to reach the Digital Generation, we all need to keep up with them.

How about this? Rather than study the market you are trying to reach, perhaps it’s best to become the market you are trying to reach. Constantly read about every visual trend. Be curious. If you haven’t Smartphoned yourself and seriously started shooting with it, just do it. Use Social Media to connect and communicate. Imagine the ways your work can be used, especially in ways that aren’t conventional (we don’t want to be viewed as Jurassic either) so when that call, email or text message comes, you’ll be able to exceed your client’s expectations.

Previously published on ASMP’s Strictly Business Blog.

John Welsh is usually found on the East Coast, most likely in Philly doing some ASMP chapter related things, while navigating the ever-changing photographic industry landscape…or something like that.