I read. I read a lot. And you should too.
Listen: I am amazed that students will pick an avocation or a vocation and not spend the time it takes to get good. Graphic design, photography, videography, or web design, at least in the commercial realm, are not about just making things that look pretty. They have a function.
Do you wanna get better at design faster? Read.
What should you read? Anything and everything. Billboards. Your kid’s homework. Brochures. The back of a can of Lysol. Non-fiction books. Publishers Clearinghouse junk mail. Kids’ illustrated books. A company’s annual report. God forbid, you could read your history textbooks. Blogposts about cooking or crafting. Letterhead. Novels. Advertising on the back of your favorite bar-b-que restaurant’s receipt. Software manuals. Free digital books on Facebook marketing. Email from your professors. (Okay, that one may be a little self-serving.) And this should be foremost in your daily agenda: read books by or about your heroes.
If you’re not getting good as fast as you want to, consider the very real possibility that it may be your fault.
Every great person you have ever admired in any arena was influenced by other people, people they often give credit to for their success. Have you ever seen the Oscars or other award shows? Sometimes, these influencers are people they know personally while at other times they are historical figures or people who helped them figure “it” out. Movie stars, for example, always give a nod to the actors and actresses who have come before them, the directors who got the best out of them.
We call these people mentors.
Even if we've never met them in person.
So you know this already. Let’s put this influencer concept to the test. Quickly—name your top three favorite photographers. You can do this. After all, you look at images all day, every day. Say their names aloud right now. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Now explain how they’ve contributed to the industry and how they have impacted the work you’ve done or intend to do.
How’d you do?