With the state of current affairs, our individual and collective stress levels are running high.

Social distancing, remote learning, the “Stay Home” initiative sound catchy but bring on anxiety due to the unknown and the disruption of our daily lives.

To reduce stress, we need to feel a healthy level of control over our environment.

Unfortunately, we often default to trying to control our world without much clarity. Awareness is always step number one to managing stress. When we determine precisely the reason something is making us stressed, it is easier to find an area that we have some control over.

Are you stressed over being “stuck at home”? If so you can go for a walk or go for a drive. You can change your wording from being “stuck” to be “safe.” Being “safe at home” feels much better.

Maybe you are stressed because the kids are being schooled at home while you are working from home, and you feel the pressure of trying to be a parent and productive worker.

Set aside a designated place for school for the children and an office for you. You might need to rearrange furniture or rooms (even a closet will do), but remember it is temporary. This way, you can control when you are at work/school, and the boundaries between work and home are less ambiguous.

Perhaps you have the news going all day, trying to catch every tidbit of information about the virus.

Ask yourself what would happen if you weren't the first to know. You can control how much time you spend with the news. Set aside a time of day and a time limit to watching the news, say from 6-7 pm.

Reduce your social media because much information there gets passed around without being verified.

The best place to get the current information regarding the virus and ways to keep healthy is the Centers for Disease Control. The State of Connecticut's Governor's office is the best place to find information regarding mandates, and check your local town's website for updates on local news if you live in Connecticut as I do.

Last, one of the best stress-reducing activities in times like these is to help others.

Look for ways you can volunteer, find ways to support the small local businesses in your community, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

How do you cope with stress? Comment below, if you feel comfortable sharing. Please stay safe, and stay healthy.

“I'm the king of U-turns,” photographer Andy Anderson told our class at the 2014 Texas Photo Roundup. Over the course of the next few days, we'd come to learn that he meant that quite literally: Andy was in constant pursuit of his next personal project. For him that could have meant a dune buggy in a desert, or oilmen at work.

The bigger picture though, to me at least, wasn't about the art of it. Yes Andy spoke at length about how it was important to craft your own vision and continually be honing a unique point of view, and both of those things are incredibly important, that wasn't the golden nugget. The most valuable take-away from the workshop, and from my experiences since then was that photographers who shoot the most personal work get the most commissioned work of the type they want to do.

Other Tiffinbox blog posts that address the idea of personal work are here and here.

This concept has been reinforced by Andy's rep, Heather Elder, who writes the incredibly insightful, Notes from a Rep's Journal blog. Heather has often written that among the photographers she represents, it's always those who shoot the most personal work who find themselves the busiest commercially.

Years ago – I think it was from Nick Onken's blog, but am not 100% sure – I read the best advice regarding the photography business I've ever heard.

“Everything you do needs to be in service of two ideas – take better photos, and show them to more people.”

As I've built my business, that idea has been at the center of everything I do, and if a particular task isn't in service of one of those ideas, maybe that's something I should consider outsourcing (like bookkeeping).

The most valuable take-away from the workshop, and from my experiences since then was that photographers who shoot the most personal work get the most commissioned work of the type they want to do.

It all ties together though. In 2015 I committed to sending monthly e-mails to 2,000+ creatives and current clients via Yodelist as part of my overall broader marketing plan. Yodelist, while far less expensive then their chief competitor Agency Access, isn't a small financial commitment. To see a return on that investment, I realized quickly I couldn't send e-mails saying, “Hey! Come look at the same work I showed you last month!”

The catch-22 though is that much of the work I shoot in a given month won't be available to be shown publicly for a few months following, because it's either part of a broader yet-unfinished campaign, or because a magazine hasn't yet been published. As a result, having new personal work, like my recent “Fuego Faces” series is a key component to my marketing plan as I can shoot something today and have it live on my blog or website tomorrow.

While the “Fuego Faces” project was all shot in a day, my series of photos of New England Craftsmen has been ongoing for 3+ years with no end in sight. I don't exaggerate to say that literally every new client I've worked with during the past few years has referenced the craftsmen series – it's led to thousands (tens of perhaps?) of dollars of new work. I've received creative briefs with individual images pulled from the craftsmen gallery, and lost track of the number of times clients have said, “Just shoot it like your craftsmen series.”

Personal Work by Doug Levy

I try to treat personal work no different than commissioned work, and often that means paying an assistant to come to personal work shoots. It totally depends how you work though. For me, paying to have an assistant is just part of my overall marketing budget. I wouldn't do a client job without a second set of hands, so why would I shoot personal work any differently? To me, spending a few hundred dollars on an assistant = better photos = more paying client work. Personal work is also an opportunity to try new techniques and work in new assistants (or stylists, or digital techs) on jobs that inherently have a lower stress point than those involving large client expenditures.

I frequently get asked by local photographers, “How do I get more commercial clients?” At its root, the first step could almost always be, “Shoot some killer personal work and show it to as many people as possible.”

The following words are by Xavier Vega, an alumnus of Avon Old Farms School, an all-boys college preparatory school in Avon, Connecticut. He delivered them on May 19th, at the opening and dedication of Ordway Gallery on that school's campus:

It is always the path of the artist to have to create his or her own. Never is an artist given anything in this world but their talent – rarely do any of us truly possess it naturally. In a world where hard work is equated to physical labor, artists live in a perpetual limbo of social acceptance. When one decides that one will draw, sing, dance, paint, sculpt, or pursue any other vein of art, they are immediately undercut by the social pressures that so consume their peers.

“Oh, you’re going to school for graphic design? … That’s great! … So are you going to minor in business.”

“You’re an artist. So what is it you REALLY do, you know? Like what’s your job-job?”

It is always the path of the artist to have to create his or her own. I hate to burst any bubbles, but Avon Old Farms School is no different. And this is no fault of the administration or the educational staff, but the blame lies instead in our culture. It lies on the way we treat young men in society. To many, our life should culminate in some hyper-masculine expression of what is thought to be a success: work on a railroad, go to Wall Street, join the military, and the list goes on.

Let me assure you that I do not seek to discredit how valuable physical labor is – physical laborers and corporate workers are the very backbones of this country. Nonetheless, not every man is fated to pursue such a path. Once again, not every man is fated to pursue such a path. For those of us who refuse to do so, we often turn to art, and this will breach the very subject of why I make this speech. For young men like myself or the incredibly talented Graham Deckers, the jungle of success has an artery to its core cut with a machete of deeply-felt emotion, hours and hours of time, and most importantly, inward faith. We must believe in ourselves 101% because our peers often do not do so.

As a young Puerto Rican man from a very humble background, I realize that paramount to my success was my ability to believe in myself when nobody but my amazing family did. For them to even take the risk of believing in me is a huge cultural and social step in a positive direction, and I’m eternally grateful. When your son is the art kid, I imagine it can be terrifying – Who makes a living off of painting? How do you make a living off of painting? All questions reasonably created by our social climate, and that are no more than a reflection of our attitude towards artists.

So then, if you take anything away from this talk: support artists. Be a patron, buy that painting, because what most artists need is simply that – support. Never tell a young man that art is out of his grasp. Condition the young people around you in such a way that they appreciate the arts, understand how difficult they are, or even feel comfortable enough to pursue them. The change starts with the people in this crowd, who I know are intelligent enough to help destroy the wall that keeps boys from pursuing art. You and only you can assist in cutting a path for the next young man who decides to pursue a career or have a passion for art.

I want to thank Mrs. Pinton for being the catalyst to my career as an artist and for accepting this original work in such a space. I also want to thank my parents for being my biggest supporters, and want to thank my little sister, Brianna Vega, for reminding me that there is always tomorrow, and that balance is the key to success in all that you do. Thank you for your time and please enjoy the show.

*Please note that while Xavier's emphasis is on young men, be assured that his message is equally applicable to young women who are interested in pursuing a life in the arts.

The Back Story

My fourth-grader was going to play his violin and sing with his classmates. The stage was nearly set. Like eager parents in the second row, I craned my neck to see where Rohan was going to stand. The curtain had just been closed and a slideshow highlighting the music program at the school played in the screen looming above us.

As we waited for the video to end, I noticed that the chorus was being led in by the teachers, behind the curtain. Towards the bottom of the curtain, I could make out their feet shuffling back and forth in restless anticipation of the big reveal. This was the final concert of the fourth grade and it looked like every student was on stage!

My eyes shifted to the silhouetted figures of the music teachers. Their backs to us, they had their hands stretched out, as if they were waiting to be spirited away. It was graphically interesting. I also noticed the music stands and empty chairs in the foreground.

Background, check. Foreground check. All that was missing was my presence there with a camera. In fact, I had brought my camera along with me.

The Origins Of Failure

As I noticed all of these things in front of me, I was sitting down wondering whether I should go up and make that image I had in my mind quickly. “What would the other parents say or think,” I wondered. Was this my ego talking? Is sure was. Then my younger son insisted on sitting on my lap and that gave me an easy way out of the possibility of photographing what I saw in front of me. This is a text case of laziness. Lastly, as the video wound down, I just became fearful that I wouldn't get the photograph any way. Even as a trained and experienced photographer, there are these moments of sheer anxiety that can't be explained.

But there you have it. Three strikes on myself and I got myself out … I couldn't shake the idea that I had simply failed myself.

If you were to look at the image again, you'll notice that I was a mere three feet away from what could have been a truly wonderful image. But instead, I sat in my seat and refused to move. The cost of a lost moment? Priceless. So, yes, I am kicking myself hard for not committing to make this image when I had the chance.

Future Actions

Instead of beating myself about it, though, I have chosen to write and talk about this part of the creative process I imagine every one of you goes through as well.

So fess up, does this happen to you when you are out making photographs for yourself or for your clients?

Here are my recommendations for doing better next time:

1) If you are sitting down and you see something, spring to action towards the scene. The closer you get to what you want to photograph, the better. (Please use your better judgement however when it comes to photographing something dangerous).

2) Just as soon as your brain starts to fight and says, “NO” … use you inner voice and say “YES”. This sounds simplistic, but try it.

3) Do not be afraid of making a total fool of yourself. If you do and don't get the image, it's ok. There will be other opportunities to create what your vision is propelling you towards. The people around you do not have a camera, nor are they photographers. They simply do NOT see what you are seeing. What differentiates you from them is your capacity to construct these photographs as they evolve in front of you. It's a gift … go out there and receive it.

I am convinced that we often don't reach our goals because we let our unfounded fears and ego get in the way. Do you agree? Have you tried this before? How do you overcome your creative roadblocks? Comment below. Your ideas may not only help you, but also other artists (like me). So, please speak up!

Brent Robertson is a partner at Fathom, a progressive agency based in Hartford that helps companies recognize their culture and realize their dreams.

I had an opportunity to speak with him about how values, when tied to our work, can propel us in business.

I referenced Brent's blog, Possibility of Possibility and two of his blog posts. Here they are:

Live Your Value At Work – part 1 and Live Your Values At Work – part 2

This is the first of many such conversations I hope to have with business leaders about the meaning of work and working in the creative arts. If you would like to suggest or nominate other business leaders you would like to hear from – inside and particularly outside the photography industry – please pen your thoughts below.

Lastly, tell me: Are you pursuing photography by infusing your values into your work? How do your values shape what you do with a camera? Are you defined by your tools? Comment below!