Hopefully you recall the brilliant Subservient Chicken site from way back. You type in a command and the chicken executes it. Funny shiznit, right? But how bored do you get how fast?
Me? I used to be a sucker. Back in the day, I’d linger at that site for a 3 or 4 minutes. Today? I’d get bored in five seconds.
Unless…
Unless after every command I issued the chicken, he did what I asked and then added something of his own. Something totally exceptional and unexpected. Like a backflip. Or the worm, or a karate chop to the camera, or better yet, he produced a chocolate cake.
And you know what? In my experience, the art director, creative director, the photo editor people–whoever are that people that hire you to create pictures–are exactly the same. If you continue to deliver the expected and nothing new, they get bored. Sure they’re safe in part – it’s why they have a job – but they’re perhaps a little bored. And they might be bored by you. And in the creative world, boredom equals death.
For the first three quarters of my somewhat short career in the business of professional pictures, I was the worst offender. Client said “that looks great!” I called it a wrap, tossed my camera to my assistant with a point of flair just like you’d find on a button on the suspenders of a waiter at TGI Fridays. Ugh. For years, I thought my job was done when the client was happy. But now…[click the 'continue reading' link below...]
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…now it’s when the client says she’s happy that I really start to work hard. That’s the starting point.
Look here. You’ve got to realize–and I get sick to my stomach every day when I listen to people who don’t get this–that you are getting hired by people for your creative vision and your ability to execute. You’re a professional. You’re not a monkey with a trigger finger and a D90. If you’re getting hired, you have vision. Period. And you’ve got to trust that vision and better yet, you’ve got to put it to use.
A vast majority of the ADs, CDs, PEs, want nothing more than to be associated with making exceptional work. But like most photographers I know (myself included for years and years in my past) the people who hire you are also driven by fear and the false belief that good commercial or editorial art meets baseline objectives (this color, this composition, this expression). Everyone on set is protecting their mortgages. Well, I’m here to tell you that that’s, in large part, crap. And it is crap that happens to be is in a self-perpetuating cycle, unless you choose to smash it. Good art meets baseline objectives, but then kicks them on their head, walks all over them, lights some of ‘em on fire and finds a new solution that wasn’t even in the creative brief. Call it magic? I don’t care what you want to call it. But once you get the “client happy” picture in the can (and never run amok without getting that “happy” shot in the can…NEVER without it, because remember the mortgages…) that’s when you should push hard. Turn the concept on its head. Ask for permission to go nuts and try things and break rules and create something that means something to you inside, even if the schedule only gives you ten minutes. Keep that AD from boredom. Keep her mortgage, but give her an opportunity to share in that rare thing that got you hired instead of somebody else. Just try it.
These are the times when truly remarkable pictures get made. When you push your AD, they get fired up and throw some ideas right back. Your creative energy will be contagious. And in the end, if you’ve done well, your AD will thank you for it. And you should thank them right back. Because they’ll come back to the shop looking like a hero, which–if you can create something that feels great to you and makes them look good at the same time–is exactly what your job is really about.
Don’t be a chicken. Do a backflip or make a chocolate cake.
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Beautiful! I think this is the real creative nature, striving to reinvent yourself, to go one step further at every chance you get, to get excited about creating something truly new.
Thanks Chase!
i really needed this.
thank you.
happy to be a new subscriber!
Just wanted to add a yes that’s completely true from an AD perspective. I work with the people I do because they are good at what they do. I want them to suggest things that I haven’t thought of and give their input because they are the experts in whatever it is that they do, not me. I expect the same of web programmers, printers, photographers, illustrators, etc…
Definitely, if you’re doing a job, and you got what your client thinks he needs, is the time to create what YOU really need. On the long run, you’ll feel good with your work, and people will notice……
Great post…
Trusting our vision was one of the hardest things I ever had to learn. We have a vision, and if we don’t click with the client, then we just don’t click, there is no ‘maybe’ and that’s what makes the experience so much better. Great post, so true.
THAT’s why you get the BIG money!
Long live the subservient chicken
the mysterious stranger
Well said, and whar a great post. At the end of the day if you are not satisfied as an artist creatively you have not done your best. Atleast I feel. This post reminds and re assures me of that.
Thanks for the great post. I took you advice on a recent shoot at a hospital. Working efficiently to get the shot that was requested and fit the layout. After the AD reviewed the images and said they were perfect and just what she was thinking I asked the doc if he had a few more minutes. In the next 3 minutes we tried a few creative angles and ended up with a very strong portrait that ended up not only being selected but they changed the layout to make it a two page spread.
pure,100% un-censored inspiration. I really feel the need to push myself to create something completely new, away from the norm. Thanks for the continued inspiration.
Ollie Gapper
Great points. I’ve been on both sides of the equation and totally agree with your perspective.
-Barry Fiske
http://www.barryfiske.com
Great post man. It’s always good to have the philosophy background to help with seeing the world in different perspectives. Old thinkers knew how to be new thinkers.
That's a …. ahum ….. eye opener. Impressive post, Chase. It"s not always easy though and also difficult to apply when you're out shooting an assignment on your own …..
Nevertheless, one could argue that, once you're happy with your own pic, "that's where it starts", but hey, then you also won't ever stop.
Nice Article… I would like to share a short story about it…
Brittany always loved going to sports events and concerts, but she always settled for the cheap seats because there was no way she could afford to pay a broker 3x face value for good seats! she couldn’t believe it when she searched and saw tickets selling for 3x face value (or more!)… maybe she could be doing the same thing, and enjoying games and concerts even more with the good seats she would be able to get. So she decided to start buying and selling tickets back in 2006 to help put her through University… Learning this business took a lot of hard work though, because there was no guide out there to show her how buy and sell tickets successfully… Source: The Ticket Broker Guide