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Concentration and focus are among the most crucial skills to master as a freelancer and photographer. Being productive in your workspace is the key to gaining an edge over others when it comes to the basics. In this article, I have collected 11 of my best hacks for maintaining daily productivity.
The first step toward leading a more productive lifestyle is effective planning and organization. This involves creating to-do lists, jotting down important tasks, and keeping a notebook. While I do keep some of my to-do items digitally, it is the act of physically writing things down that aids in better task recall. Consider investing in a quality Moleskine notebook, it will prove invaluable.
It’s easy to get sidetracked and spend too much time on tasks you shouldn’t be doing. Personally, I sometimes procrastinate by tidying up or handling miscellaneous home errands. While taking breaks is important, knowing how to manage your working time versus your leisure time is crucial for efficiency. Remember, we all have the same 24 hours in a day; it’s up to you to manage your allotted time effectively.
I place a high value on having an inspiring workspace. Your workspace should be functional and motivational. For me, this means working on a desktop setup rather than on a laptop. Although there are occasions when using a laptop is unavoidable, I always strive to work from my desktop setup instead of just using a laptop in bed or at a café. Additionally, surrounding yourself with small inspirational items, like an aroma lamp, can create a work-conducive environment every time you use it.
You have numerous tasks to complete each day, and it’s impossible to accomplish everything in a single day. Knowing how to prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency is crucial for efficiency. Just because something is urgent doesn’t necessarily make it important, and vice versa. I categorize my to-do items into four categories: urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent but important, and not urgent and not important. I prioritize addressing urgent and important tasks first, which may include meeting image deadlines or working on an article.
Learning might not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering productivity, but it is closely linked. Photographers often fall into the trap of sticking with the same methods and techniques, both on and off set. While effective, this can hinder your personal development. A productive photographer continuously expands their knowledge as it exercises the brain.
You’re not a one-person operation. Chances are, you need an accountant to manage your business, at the very least. From there, consider hiring a retoucher or even finding a producer. Outsourcing allows you to focus on what’s truly important: your creativity. As an artist, free yourself from tasks that don’t inspire you; for me, that would be retouching.
Knowing how to edit your work efficiently saves time and strain on your eyes. I advocate using presets for this reason, but not just any presets—create your own. This greatly assists in developing your unique visual style. Embracing automation is also essential. I use a lot of Photoshop actions when I need to. As well as that, although I do use my own presets to edit images, I still go ahead and make adjustments unique to the specific image. I have learned which instrument does what, and this knowledge allows me to make beautiful edits in no time. I would strongly suggest learning and playing around with your editing software to really get a hang of what everything does and how they work in combination.
Limiting distractions is self-evidently crucial for enhanced productivity. I’m easily distracted by things as significant as an email and as trivial as a fly on the wall. That’s one reason I use a monitor hood—it narrows my field of vision and helps me stay focused. Another helpful tactic is installing apps that block access to certain websites, such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. I personally use an app called SelfControl, available for free on the Mac App Store. Additionally, keeping your phone on silent and out of arm’s reach helps minimize distractions.
If you can’t outsource, automation is your next best option. There are solutions available that can sort through your photos, group them, and select the ones in focus, among other tasks. When I used to shoot events, I often relied on the auto-edit feature to process images more quickly. This is especially important when dealing with high volumes of work. Even if you primarily work in Photoshop, consider creating actions that save time on repetitive tasks. Another useful program is Retouch4Me, which offers AI-enabled presets for efficiently retouching multiple images at once.
Taking care of yourself may not seem directly related to productivity, but it plays a significant role. Neglecting self-care can lead to fatigue, which hampers your ability to work efficiently. Taking time off, engaging in physical activities, or pursuing hobbies can help clear your mind and keep your mental engine running smoothly. In essence, regular maintenance for your brain is essential, so make self-care a priority.
Networking is another point worth emphasizing. Knowing how to make efficient sales is a direct path to increasing profitability. Being an effective salesperson can attract higher-paying clients, allowing you to take on fewer assignments. Perhaps only three clients a month can meet your income targets. Productivity in this context involves being approachable, likable, and memorable.
These are my tips for becoming a more productive photographer. They have helped me establish a more efficient business model while working fewer hours and earning more. If you follow these tips, I believe you will see improvements in your life and a greater sense of efficiency. Have you found any productivity tips that have made a difference for you? Feel free to share them in the comments below!
Multi-disciplinary artist’s practice “investigates Indigenous beauty, the body, the socio-political and the spiritual.”
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Dana Claxton, a UBC professor and Indigenous multidisciplinary artist, has been awarded the 2023 Audain Prize for Visual Art, the top art award in B.C.
“Dana Claxton is one of B.C.’s greatest artists,” says Michael Audain, chairman of the Audain Foundation. “Besides having an outstanding international reputation, Ms. Claxton has had a considerable influence on younger artists and her UBC art students.”
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Claxton said she’s “in a daze” after receiving the award.
“I was surprised and elated,” said Claxton, who receives $100,000 from the foundation. “It’s a beautiful phone call to get. It makes me think about everybody who has lifted me up over the last 30 to 40 years. Everybody who I’ve worked with, their generosity and their creativity, the paths they were forging.”
Claxton is a multidisciplinary artist who works in film, video, photography, single/multi-channel video installation and performance art. She is also the department head of the department of art history, visual art and theory at the University of B.C.
Asked how she decides which art form to work in, she said “intuition, impulse and then research.”
“You see the image and then you’ve got to make it,” said Claxton, an Indigenous artist who is a member of the Wood Mountain Lakota First Nation in Saskatchewan. “I get inspired by everyday life, I get inspired by spiritual practices, my own Lakota culture. I’m inspired by reconciliation, I’m inspired by this complex history we all share, we live in a treaty country. There’s a lot to be inspired by. I’m inspired by the beauty of the natural world.”
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She’s known for blending historical and contemporary themes in her art, “collapsing the historical, the ancient, the modern and the contemporary, and sometimes even the future.”
A good example is Buffalo Bone China, a multimedia work that includes a video showing scenes of buffalo galloping on the prairie, a bleached white bison skull and hands caressing china on a table.
Buffalo were slaughtered to near-extinction in the 19th century, literally killing off the food supply for Native people. Bizarrely, some of their bones were made into bone china in Britain.
“It’s incredible,” said Claxton. “While my own family was starving, the British were eating off the plates.”
Claxton’s ancestors came to Canada from the U.S. with Sitting Bull in 1877. Her family settled in the Wood Mountain reserve, which is in a beautiful region near Grasslands National Park in southwestern Saskatchewan.
The 64-year-old Claxton was born in Yorkton, Sask., grew up in Moose Jaw and moved to B.C. with her family when she was 11 years old. She credits her mother with her humanism and “teaching me how to see.”
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“There was a fellow (in Moose Jaw) who was a street person, and he had no legs,” she recounts. “He travelled about downtown on his homemade board with wheels, and he always had his little black glove that was so worn out in front of him. My mom would give me money to go put in his glove.
“You can imagine, you’re four/five/six years old, and I was terrified of him, because he was different than me. But I always had to give him money. Through that he was humanized. I saw him as a human being, and I would look forward to my mom giving me 25 cents to go put in his glove. She taught me how to see people.”
She got her first camera at age 16, but she said it was her experience at Spirit Song, the Native theatre group in Vancouver, that really helped her find her path creatively.
“In the ’80s, it was this place where all urban Indians who were creative went to,” she said. “We got theatre training, dance and music and script writing. I wrote my first script there, the Red Paper, which is referencing the White Paper, (Pierre) Trudeau’s White Paper (on Native people). I made it into an experimental film, and never stopped from there.”
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She hasn’t — her latest project is writing a script for a feature film with actor Sam Bob and Courtenay Crane.
“It’s a Vancouver story, and it’s wicked,” she said. “A beautiful Vancouver story from the mid-1970s of a young Salish man.”
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… I pulled in about 2:30 this morning and made it to bed around 4AM which is not that much out of the norm for me … Katie was very happy to see me, even after a week of being spoiled rotten by Jami … it was good to get some rest in my own bed! The trip was fun as I got to spend time with friends and family and re-acquainted with So Cal traffic delights … thanks to the addition of many more lanes, the freeways are about the same as they were when we left … it is a wonderous place … so is home … back with my friends and critters and a slower pace of life.
The show at the Smothers Theater on the Pepperdine campus went well and looking forward to a return visit next year … incredibly talented and professional people in charge of the theater and they made everything work for me! Thankyou!
A portrait of a Coopers Hawk in my backyard, perched just above the bird feeder looking for a quick meal if a hapless bird comes in for food. Coopers Hawks dine primarily on other birds but will substitute other creatures if the birds are not available. Until you have seen a Coopers in aerial combat with another bird, you haven’t seen air to air combat … they are masters of it and will fly through bushes and trees in pursuit of a meal.
Below is a Black Hawk as he leaves a perch in a tree overlooking the fishponds at Bubbling Ponds Fish Hatchery in Page Springs. Black Hawks are large hawks and are typically found in riparian areas … fish and other creatures found in the vicinity make up their diet … they are regal in flight!
Making another supercomputer for a friend … all the parts are here, so tomorrow another monster computer will come into existence.
Into a new day and week and methinks it shall be a very good one … I can think of no reason why it will be other than that … it is a choice we make every day we are here. Keep breathing and smile … make someone’s day.
Cheers,
Ted
After the day’s struggle, there is no freedom like
unfettered thought, no sound like the music of silence.
And though behind you lies a road of dust and heat, and
before you the fear of untried paths, in this brief hour
you are the master of all highways, and the universe nestles
in your soul. Therefore, in the night, sit still a while
and dream awake, ere you lie down to sleep.
excerpt from Ere You Lie Down to Sleep by Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
More about Ted Grussing …
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