creativity Archives - Chase Jarvis Photography

May 01

How to Break into Professional Photography (Or Any Creative Career)

I’m a self-taught photographer. I progressed in fits and starts and plenty of dead ends. Yet no one was telling me what to learn. I was following my curiosity- just trying to take photos I wanted. Successes helped me solidify new techniques, and failures gave me opportunities to figure out what I did wrong. But here’s the thing. If you want to be the noun, you need to do the verb. I wanted to be... read more ›

348 reads

Apr 24

Is There Such a Thing as ‘Naturally Creative’?

Are some people just born creative, or is creativity something that can be learned? Check this out: in 1968, George Land developed a creativity test for NASA to help them select innovative engineers and scientists. He then used the same test to assess the creativity of 1,600 Head Start program kids, and tested them again at ages 10 and 15. The results? Among 5-year-olds, 98% showed high levels of creativity. But by age 15, that... read more ›

237 reads

Apr 17

4 Essential Steps for Finding Collaborators and Building a Winning Team

The idea of a solo creator who goes off to a cabin in the woods for a month and returns with a finished masterpiece? Purely a mirage. We desperately need to connect with others: those with both similar and radically different influences and interests, those who love what we do, those who will give us honest feedback. We become more fully ourselves when we are in a community of other creators. Working alone can be... read more ›

211 reads

Apr 03

The Relational Paradox: Why We All Want to Be Liked

Growing up, we build up layer after layer after layer of protection to keep ourselves safe. Every time we say something weird in class and the other kids laugh at us or we get picked last for a team, every time we put ourselves out there and fall flat on our faces, another layer of scar tissue is added. Eventually our real selves, and everything that makes us worth knowing, are buried. The central relational... read more ›

192 reads

Mar 27

A Little Known Secret About Creativity

A little-known secret that shouldn’t be one: collaboration is the secret to creativity. It's not just about working with other people, it's about working with the *right* people. I look for collaborators outside my area of expertise, people who bring new kinds of expertise to the table. A designer, a developer, a retoucher—everyone contributes to the vision in a different way. This is how I stretch myself as an artist. The benefits of collaboration go... read more ›

322 reads

Feb 06

Writing Makes Photographers More Creative — 5 Easy Tips

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Getting personal and a little scientific here... Once our basic three needs are met (and often even when they're not), there exists within the human species a hard-wired desire to pursue happiness. For me, happiness has always been inextricably linked with creativity, the two enjoying a direct relationship. The happier I am, the more creative I am. Or more metaphysically speaking, the happier I am, the more open I am to inspiration and creativity. As... read more ›

3.6K reads

Feb 01

Born Creative: How to Put Your Voice into Your Work with James Victore

When it comes to creativity, James Victore has made his name known in a number of ways. The renowned designer is a thought leader in his discipline, using his provocative style to help people find clarity and purpose in their life and work. He lectures and teaches all around the world, inspiring thousands to discover their unique gifts and find success in the projects they love. James is also a published author, having written the... read more ›

738 reads

Jan 23

Why Creative Cross-Training is Actually Better than Productivity Hacks

Let’s get something clear: all the “productivity” gibberish we read in our social feeds day in and day out is largely a waste of time. Productivity has become a self-help institution that deals with the symptoms rather than the cause of our problems. Instead of finding ways to cram more five-minute meetings into a day or accelerate the hamster wheel of emails flowing into your in-box, start thinking about how you can cultivate the state... read more ›

240 reads

Dec 19

6 Ways Cultivating Awareness Can Improve Your Creativity and Life

Certainly I’ve made a career in awareness as a photographer — finding moments or, arguably, the beauty in things. But more important than that, I think awareness (not just of beauty but of things – but awareness in general, internal states, etc) is a powerful tool — one that gets us all out of your head, into the present moment, and more connected to the world around us. In fact, when people are early in... read more ›

305 reads

Dec 05

Making Art for Art’s Sake

I’m a huge believer in making art for art’s sake. Taking photos that no one is going to pay you for. Shooting films that aren’t commissioned or funded. Writing words that the world may never read. I’ve said before that doing and making always trumps talking about it, but there’s also a difference between the doing and making that pays the bills and the doing and making that brings joy, that hones craft, lights creative... read more ›

322 reads