In the past, we used to define “work” as a place you’d go to. These days, we define “work” as what you do instead of where you go.
—Gerb Kingma
What I “do” is almost impossible to define — I’m pretty sure it is a constantly evolving position that requires my attention 24/7. I’ve mentioned before that the part I like best about what I do requires creativity. I’ve also mentioned I struggle sometimes… especially when the phone is ringing, the house is buzzing with activity, and I’m being pulled in so many directions all at the same time.
The creative process is pretty much the same — no matter if you’re taking photos or creating a piece to be published or designing a website or writing a book. You first have to plan… think about the project and the outcome you desire. For a photo project it might be the story you want to tell about your subject(s) — i.e. the personalities/determination of specific competitors of a sporting event — or the best location to shoot a couple/children/pets/extended family. For an advertising piece, your ideas will target a specific audience and will probably spin around how you want them to feel when they see your finished project.
Now that you’ve organized your ideas, you begin to create and construct. This can encompass about anything from sketching, arranging, designing… and everything in-between.
And then — reflect, improve and add the finishing touches.
So that’s how it’s supposed to go, but I find that I often start in the middle (creating and constructing) before I’ve really organized my thoughts and ideas. Every single time I jump ahead like that, I end up spending a TON more time reflecting, improving and re-working simply because I didn’t think through my ideas in the first place. Take for example the pumpkins yet to be carved that are still resting on the front porch. I’m likely to just grab a knife without purpose and hack a face. I’ll share the outcome of that project with you soon, Internet. Then you can say that I should’ve taken my own advice insofar as planning and organizing ideas.