There is a strange breed of person out there who likes to closet away their knowledge. They squirrel away tiny pieces of information, holding it tight in their fists as if letting one fraction of it out will render them useless. Perhaps it will. Perhaps this is all they have, but guess what, we are all in this together, all trying to eek out a meagre living hammering away at our art, whatever it may be. If you are skilled enough and have an intimate relationship with your creativity, your work will stand out.
So perhaps, like me, you live in a smallish city. There are only so many safe locations available for shooting and then one day you discover a new one. Perhaps it is only temporary. I will give you an example. There is an enormous amount of building going on around me. Office blocks are rising from the dust on a daily basis and new roads seemingly appear overnight. There is a block near a park which has been marked off with green siding boards, all weathered and antiqued in a beautifully un-obvious manner, Here the roads are empty. New roads devoid of the clutter of city life. One day I discovered this when location scouting and I literally slammed on my breaks and jumped out of my car in a state of ridiculous excitement. Perfect backdrops for portraits. Rows and rows of green and blue exquisitely weathered boards available whenever I wanted.
I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I wanted to share this with every other photographer I know. Why would I not? If they use the same location it is hardly going to distract from my work. It is not going to make my technical ability dwindle or my creative soul float off into the ether. Who cares if they shoot there too. Who cares if everyone shoots there for the next month. How is that going to make my work less?
Lets get down to the technical stuff. I am only too happy to share any technical knowledge I have. There is a joy in mentoring fledgling photographers. Watching as they develop and learn. Seeing the excitement when they master a new skill or find a way to create what it is that has been making home in their mind for so long. The only reason you would not do this is because you are insecure about your own creative ability and if this is the case then sorry for you. Then you probably suck at your art and seriously need to take up a new creative outlet.
There is immense joy in sharing and teaching but here is what is the most important thing in all of this. When you teach you learn. You learn about yourself. You find new ways to express yourself. You sometimes even acquire new technical skills. No one knows it all and we all, however skilled we are at our craft, have something to learn. Every sweet encounter with teaching is a lesson for you.
Go ahead and share your locations. Share your skills and mentor and encourage someone who wants to learn. You will, in all this, not only improve your own art but you will find great joy and freedom. Be secure in your own skills and find your own growth in the process.
If you seriously want to become a master at your craft you need to teach. It is an essential part of growing your own knowledge and skills. Through teaching you will learn. You will learn of yourself. What moves you and what doesn’t. You will find new inspiration and stir the flames of your own creativity and best of all teaching encourages you to unlearn what you think you already know.
nikivanvelden 