This week I’ve found a new source of photography inspiration, and it’s not in a place I expected. I read and research extensively about photography – not just the business side of photography, but about a much wider range of topics – interesting projects people are shooting, how they are shooting them, what they are shooting them with, new technology, old technology. Almost whatever the topic, I’m a consumer for reading about it. This week my new source is not where I expected. It’s a new source, photography inspiration.

I found key learnings applicable to my Melbourne lifestyle project

When I’m looking for information on post production techniques I have one go to source. It’s at lynda.com There you can find a massive range of training materials on almost any topic, and it’s the first place I head to when I want to learn something about Photoshop, or more recently Lightroom. There I can learn from experts, quickly and easily, with videos to show me exactly what they are doing. What I didn’t realize is that it has a range of other material which is much more inspirational than factual. So what have I been checking out?

This week I’ve watched a cool piece called “The Creative Spark: Nick Onken, Travel and Lifestyle Photographer”. It was inspirational to watch Nick work and to see how he managed his shoot and promoted his work. It was especially interesting to me as I’m currently shooting a series on Melbourne lifestyle, and I could see a direct correlation between watching him and applying the learnings to my project.

So what did I learn? There is lots to learn but my main take outs were:

Lesson 1 – People skills are key. Nick demonstrated how important his people skills were to get his subject to be at ease. He showed it in a lifestyle shoot with a model, and again in a shoot involving kids for a not for profit organisation. It reinforced what I already knew – people skills are key. And I also know some of it is a natural talent, and some of it comes with practice.

Lesson 2 – Knowing your camera let’s you focus on being creative not being technical. Years of shooting wildlife and weddings has taught me to know my camera really well and be able to intuitively make changes to settings. I really don’t think about it much. I just change them because experience has taught me what works. Nick summed it up, by knowing his camera well it allows him to focus on being creative. I’m going to push myself to be more creative on my next shoot.

Lesson 3 – There’s lots of ways to monetise photography projects. Nick goes into some detail about a book he has had published of his travel photography. He didn’t shoot with the book in mind, but had a strong collection of images he was subsequently able to turn into a book. There are lots and lots and lots of ways to monetise good images. Have you considered a book for your own work?

Lesson 4 – the value of strong images. There is a section in the video where Nick speaks with the guy running the not for profit Nick has done extensive work for. He outlines the power of Nick’s images and how it has helped their organisation grow. I have no idea if Nick was paid for this work or not, but it was clear the growth in the organisation was influenced heavily by the strength of the images and how they were used.

Lesson 5 – not everything works, that’s how we learn. We all love to show our very strongest work. In one brief moment Nick talked about trying new things, then reviewing and being ok when things don’t work out. What felt like a great idea just didn’t translate into a great image. It happens. It’s normal. It’s not failure, it’s part of success. I liked the reminder – keep trying new things, keep learning.

They are the top 5 lessons I took. Now I’m going to find some more inspiration. Check out lynda.com for a huge range of training and inspiration videos.

(Note: Lynda.com offers a free trial period but then a subscription is required.)