Being a photographer is hard. At times, crushingly so. But sometimes, it is rewarding beyond my wildest dreams. Not financially, that's what the lottery's for. What I'm talking about is personal. Personal satisfaction. The kind which comes from shooting pictures that mean something to me, and not worrying about what they are to anyone else. Shooting on assignment is a juggling act. First and foremost, this means providing my client with pictures that work for the story. What goes into making those pictures is complex. It involves a mixture of client needs, subject collaboration, and my creative vision. The reason my clients hire me, is my ability to whip all those elements into the special sauce that makes great pictures.
Doing self assigned work is different. It allows me to be exactly the photographer I want to be. It is an opportunity to try something different, to take my work in a new direction. To do work that I may not be assigned to do by a client. The beautiful thing about it is, personal work leads to assignments. It's a spectacular win-win situation. Be the photographer you want to be, shoot the pictures you want to, and in the eyes of your clients, you become that photographer. How cool is that. It's like being a Jedi Knight, be the photographer you want to be.
My personal project on the weather observatory on the summit of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire.
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Which helped me to get this assignment, through my agency Redux Pictures, from Geo Magazine, on the voyageurs and the fur trade in Canada.
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One of my most rewarding personal projects, led to one of favourite assignments. I love it when a plan comes together.
2 comments:
Love all those photos! Especially the one in the teepee.
Thanks Mel.
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