SELF-CARE FOR CREATIVES

By Kaley Pomeroy & Ellery Cogswell, Production Assistants

Self-care–a term that’s taken 2019 by storm. Let’s be real, 2017 and 2018 too. You can’t really escape the term if you have any type of social media account. In fact, you could even be out with your friends on a Friday night and the music you’re yelling over is preaching about self care. Weird times I know. The good news is that we all finally recognize that self care is important, not only for our own sanity, but in order to produce the best work for others.

Nowadays, the most often talked about aspect of self-care is that it looks different for everyone! But what exactly does this mean for people who work in the creative industry? A lot of the time, people think “creative” is synonymous for people who jump on pogo sticks while drinking a local IPA on tap and somehow simultaneously petting puppies, then calling it “brainstorming”. Even in Mad Men, creatives are portrayed as overconfident and childish.

In reality, when you’re a creative, your mind is always working. You’re always thinking. Even when you don’t think you’re thinking about work… you are. As creatives, we draw inspiration from our everyday lives, whether we’re doing it consciously or subconsciously.

So how are we, as creatives, supposed to practice self care when the answer goes beyond getting up from our desk and taking a walk around the block? (Granted, it is never a bad idea to do that.)

Unplug.

Unplug unplug unplug. It’s easy to forget how attached we are to our phones and technology in general. Unplugging makes us more mindful of our surroundings and our mental headspace. It can also physically separate you from your work, as smartphones have made working on the go almost too accessible.

Log off.

While social media has proven to be an amazing tool for both networking and personal branding, a lot of pressure is associated with keeping up with social media accounts. This pressure can manifest into unhealthy mental spaces. Challenge yourself to take time to meditate–whatever that looks like to you.

Branch out.

While we all love our creative friends and spend a lot of time around creative people in general, it’s important to make an effort to surround yourself with friends who aren’t creatives. A room full of creatives can quickly turn into a discussion about work. We find ourselves at parties thinking of ways to reverse the crippling effects of climate change utilizing social media paradigms. While we recognize that creativity isn’t just restricted to people who work as creatives, spending time with your friends with other majors will give the gears in your head a little break. It will pull you out of the inevitable spiral of creativity that a room full of creatives have the ability to foster.

Take breaks.

Schedule time to disconnect from your work. It can be easy to keep going, especially when you’re on that creative flow. Know your limits and learn when to take a break–it’ll help your creative flow too. Sometimes a fresh perspective on a project comes from stepping away from it!

Set goals.

Make realistic goals for yourself so you can achieve the feeling of accomplishment. In creative environments, you can sometimes feel like you’re running in circles and not getting anything done even though you’ve been working for 8 hours straight. Setting goals you know you can achieve helps avoid discouragement when you’re overwhelmed and have a lot on your plate.

Dealing With Adversity While Photographing Clients

By City of Springfield Photography Team

While working with the City of Springfield, our team of photographers have dealt with many different forms of adversity while shooting. Ranging from lighting to teaching our clients how to model, there are many conditions while shooting that we had to prepare for. While there are many forms of adversity, we have had to overcome the following four: client restrictions, lighting, teaching clients how to pose for portraits and time management.

Posing Clients

It’s not always easy to take photos of the company’s employees. Many times the employees are camera shy, working in fast paced environments, and of course, are not professional models. In order to make them feel comfortable and relaxed in front of the camera, it’s important to establish some sort of a platonic relationship before taking their photo. Due to the fact that they’re not a professional model, you’re most likely going to have to coach them. Coaching includes, giving them directions on body positioning, face angles, posture and hand placement. Don’t be afraid to tell them what to do!

Client Restrictions

When you first arrive to the shoot, you need to listen to your clients and abide by their rules and restrictions. If you are ever questioning or hesitant about taking a certain photo of a specific item, area, or individual, you must ask. It’s common courtesy, and it can help you build a stronger and more trustworthy relationship with your client.

Lighting

After you have established trust and understand the client’s shooting barriers, it is important to adapt to the shooting environment. Most client’s workplaces are not going to be photo-ready with perfect lighting 100% of the time. We suggest bringing a tripod and adjusting your camera settings. It’s essential to understand your camera settings before dealing with a professional client. Many times the lighting in the client’s workplace will not be the best, so you need to know how to fix your white balance, aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. To improve this, try test-shooting in different environments with various lighting. When photographing clients, it’s important to have a tripod with you just incase. If you want to get a shot in low lighting and increase your shutter speed to get a higher quality photo without any noise (grain), a tripod will ensure photos don’t look blurry. If you are unsure about the client’s work environment, don’t be afraid to ask them for a pre-shoot tour. Greater insight never hurts!

Time Management

There will be times when you are going to be placed in a fast-paced environment, for example in a factory, and you will have a lot to shoot within a short timespan. Planning out your time with your client is an essential part to the overall success of a shoot. As stated above, a pre-shoot tour is a great opportunity to help plan out your shoot. By being proactive, you will bring your A-game because you will know what to shoot, when you need to shoot it, and where you need to position yourself to get the best shot. Not to mention, this will absolutely impress your client.

Good luck with all of your photography endeavors. Shoot your shot!

ADVICE FOR FUTURE PROFESSIONALS

By Katie Dawes Copywriter

The world of media is exciting, fast-paced and at times, intimidating to future and new professionals. As many transition from their academic career to a professional one, it can be challenging to navigate the new working environment. Here is our advice to future and new professionals!

Be a Sponge

At the beginning of your career, it’s crucial to stay hungry to learn. Retain as much information as possible by engaging and asking questions. Personal goal setting is a great way to ease the transition into the professional world while still actively retaining knowledge about the industry.

Ask for Feedback

It is important to find a mentor or environment where you feel comfortable to ask questions and/or advice. It is always a good idea to reach out for informal and formal feedback. Discussing accomplishments and improvements show you are both engaged and that you are eager to learn and grow.

Build Your Network

You’ve heard it before, but it’s all about who you know. Networking is a crucial component to advancing yourself in the professional world. Making connections and building a network has evolved so much in the digital age and it is more important than ever. Social media is a great tool to connect with people and establish yourself in the professional world. Platforms, like LinkedIn and Twitter, facilitate a professional space to demonstrate skills and engage with others.

Give Them Everything and More

In order to stand out at the start of your career, always be proactive in your work and anticipate your employer’s needs. Give them more than they asked for and request for new projects or assignments when the opportunity arises.

Having a Hard Time Staying Busy?

By Molly Kempf Producer

Here’s how to optimize your college experience:

People think that when they head to college, classwork will take up a majority of their time. Although it's essential to devote time to school, typically, there is plenty of free time in most schedules. Just like anything, too much downtime can be worse for a person's well-being. As Sage Journal says, "Busy people are happy people."

1. Get Involved

The SOJC has over 30 student groups, and although they are competitive, the best thing you can do is at least apply. If you aren't accepted the first time around, don't get discouraged. Keep working to build your skills in the SOJC and reapply. The SOJC says, "Joining a student organization is a great way to get professional development, add professional-level work to your portfolio, engage in hands-on learning, and network with leaders in your field." Joining a group has helped me find like-minded people and learn what other students are doing to be strong competitors for a job post-graduation.

2. Network

In Public Relations, almost every professor touches on the importance of networking. The SOJC says, "Public Relations Is All About Connecting People- To information, to organizations, and to other people." Networking with professors and students with similar passions can lead you to future opportunities and strengthen your skillset. Interacting with people in the field and getting their feedback can help you become more successful and confident in your abilities.

3. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone 

 We can only grow as people when we decide to do something that makes us uncomfortable. Whether it is learning something new or putting yourself out there, it can be challenging but worth it. For me, getting a part-time job has helped me to learn the necessary skills to work with other people and learn how to handle myself in chaotic situations. I've gained new relationships and had the opportunity to connect to people I wouldn't have gotten the chance to if I was just a student. I've been able to apply what I've learned at work to all aspects of my life and have become more confident in my communication abilities. 

The Freedom to Create

By PAC ARC TEAM

This quarter our team was assigned to create a video for the Performing Arts Collective Arc. The PAC ARC is a community of students living together and pursuing a degree in the arts including dance, music, and theatre. Our team was incredibly lucky to have a client that was open to any and all ideas that we suggested. At first, our group thought of a regular sit-down interview-style video for our client, but we quickly changed to a different idea as we were reminded of the creative freedom we have to choose any style of video. Our faces lit up with excitement. For weeks to come, we thought of anything and everything from mood boards, to interviews, to audio. We set out to shoot our video in the Gerlinger Annex, an old building at the University of Oregon campus. Our final idea included neon lights, a spotlight, and a fog machine. We decided to give it our all.

Once we arrived, our team of seven was put to work setting up our equipment and getting our dancers ready. I was handed the C200, a massive 10-pound camera, on a shoulder mount and was given the task of videographer. I looked at Michael, our faculty advisor, like a deer caught in headlights, but luckily he was patient and showed me exactly how to use the camera. We had a tap dancer, three contemporary dancers, and a french horn player. First, we started with the tap dancer. We circled around her following her patterns and movements. With a variety of close-ups and wide shots, we were like a well-oiled machine working around her. Then came the three performers, moving together as one as we caught glimpses of one behind another in each close up scene. Next was the french horn player. He was set up on a stool in the center of our group. Our team circled around him holding up the neon lights high in the air. I was in the middle of all the action. I gripped the camera in between my stomach while moving around him as the lights circled clockwise and counter, then up and down, and back and forth. The lights reflected off of the fog and onto the french horn highlighting each button and pipe. After the french horn player, we did a spotlight dance with the contemporary dancer. Michael sent the C200 and me to the back where I was told to follow the dancer in the light so it created a perfect outline of her in the shot. We then had our two contemporary dancers, one featured Makenna, a person on our team, dancing together.

Michael helped our team to use the spotlight to create a block of light that moved up and down over them as they danced together. He directed us to get close, to focus on their eyes, and to move with them. This shoot was approximately four hours in total, but the time flew by. Everyone on set had a positive attitude and had fun with whatever was thrown at them. Our team was able to learn how to use different cameras, how to use the spotlight and the neon lights, and how to work together as one during each film takes.