WHY IS PERSONAL WORK SO IMPORTANT FOR THE CREATIVE?

Challenging assignments provide the creative artist with the confidence to accomplish increasingly complex tasks based on previously comissioned work. It can also provide a good income. A major automotive manufacturer recently hired for just this reason.

Personal work is when you only need to please yourself. In addition to being set free to do whatever you wish, you’ll still need a disciplined work ethic to repeatedly go beyond your previous experiences to achieve what you may not have thought was possible. That’s a powerful thing, even if you may never receive monetary compensation for it.

Just remember that the thing that got you there (talent and hard work) never goes away. Just convince yourself that there is more to prove for your personal growth as a photographer. The long-term focus to undertake something you really care about is to go beyond and accomplish a personal project. That is meaningful.

Live your own hero’s journey.