I spent A LOT of time with my father in the woodshop growing up building all sorts of projects. Learning from his father, a taylor in Hollywood, we had a very set method for each new project. We would first do our homework providing a mental plan of what we wanted to accomplish and most importantly, why. That would often produce a diagram to follow to completion. We then went about gathering first the tools needed to complete the task and then all the materials necessary. Gathering all the parts was a big portion of the project, great care was used in selecting each piece. Once we were in motion, Lord help anyone or anything that got in the way of completing the project. Then came assembly and finally finishing. My dad would always say, “Assembly is 1% and finishing 99% of the job.” We eat dinner on the dinning room table he made to this day and my desk I’m typing at is my grandfathers desk. So I’m always reminded of these lessons.
“Mr Prolific,” I was called that just again yesterday with the follow up of, “How do you do that?” Many call me this because of all the content I create and get published on a continual bases. When I told Sharon yesterday that I was able to get five new article proposals out she just smiled and said, “That’s what you do.” My formula though is not mine, it was handed down to me and drummed into my thick skull, I just put a few of my own twists of passion on it. But this is how I get so much content created and out. You can do it too!
I still do the homework, be it for a new location, new subject or new technique. In part because it was what I was taught to do and in part because I am a control freak. It’s what is often referred to as planned luck. Then I start to assemble the parts and that is often the most expensive and time consuming part of the equation. Parts in this case are photographs, lots of them! These photos when assembled have to do more than tell a story for me, they gotta reach out and touch the heart. The majority of the time, I’m assembling parts for more than one project at any given moment. I have a number of ideas in my head and try for economic and passion sake, tackle all I can at once. It is only when I have all the parts and I love those parts, have my heart into all those parts does assembly begin. As my Populur Photographer editor always told me, “Write from your files.” With those images shot and finished, the assembly which is writing the words, comes pretty darn easy. And with that comes the hardest part, finishing the project so it shines to the best of my ability.
As you might guess since it is a business venture, there is a little bit more to it than just this. For example, you’ve gotta have an end buyer for your text/photo package in mind. And there is that little detail of getting the photograph which in some cases, requires more than just leaving the office. And the biggie, being able to deal with utter and total failure anywhere along the way which includes rejection of your idea to start with. But with the investment of mind, soul and heart, come the next day you’re right at it again and hopefully, wiser. So, there you have it, “how I do it” day in and day out. I guess you could just call it the old family recipe.