Relax and Recharge: The Secret to Thriving in Your Photography Journey

Del Grande is an internationally published journalist and artist working in Tucson, Arizona.

The Old Pueblo’s Santa Catalina Mountains are awe inspiring, right?
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No one has extra time.

As we climb the ladder of success, we gain additional accolades and concurrently ante up our responsibilities. When it comes to being a creative, thinking ahead in order to repurpose an original piece is essential.

Thus, I wanted to share my current workflow and explain how it’s expanding my opportunities to mold my art for multiple outlets.

Crunching deadlines is stressful. Crafting an appropriate outline to maximize the reach of our art is the cornerstone to, not only, growth but freeing up time for leisure. Oh my, I feel like a broken record, but the Covid-19 pandemic was a pivotal moment for my creative businesses.

The proverbial alarm clock was blazing when the world shuttered, and I decided to wake up and ‘get busy living.’

My photography work and writing became front and center.

While many people in my acquaintance circle floundered, I was elevating my style as a photog whilst perfecting my pen. Seven days a week I was making photos and writing narratives that would eventually develop into narratives for my podcast.

But at square one, I didn’t have a plan.

For example, many of the exhibition opportunities I discovered came at the last minute; that meant I had hordes of sleepless nights, editing images just before the clock struck deadline. Eventually, with practice, I implemented easy foundational elements that get molded into site-specific content, depending on where I’m storytelling.

I’m a writer first.

That’s where I begin.

Since producing professional video content is the major focus for my long-term goals — I build my creative works off of this cornerstone. My video content begins with researching the best photography topic to cover. When I’ve nailed down a supreme idea, I get to drafting a script.

That monologue also serves as my outline when I record talking-head videos. Then, bits of insight, or colour from the street photo scenes I’m part of practically seven days a week, get used as copy for Instagram posts and Facebook images.

If I’m really enjoying the insights I’ve scribbled down from being in the field, that text will wind up on X/Twitter as singular posts, or a thread. Photos are always included on Twitter, because images have the power to curb mindless scrolling, which we’re all guilty of.

My original manuscript then becomes the baseline for a new podcast. After my podcast goes live, I make a video of the episode via the Headliner app., which is free and, frankly, essential for my aim.

What’s better is, that original script is ripe for turning into a newspaper article. And that new addition to my artistic output is what you’re reading today.

Due to my working relationship with the Herald/Review newspaper, I’ve been fortunate enough to launch, ‘Pixel Perfect.’ The tone of my writings will change slightly from a YouTube idea to an AP style article. The largest difference is vocabulary.

When I’m writing a news piece, I breakout my crossword puzzle dictionary in order to enhance my jargon. It’s one of my best tips for a new, or experienced wordsmith.

Trust me, go buy a crossword puzzle dictionary, preferable if it’s a few decades old, because language changes in time.

But back to repurposing.

Let’s do some math. If I’m inspired or not, I can write a YouTube script that’s about 600 words long in about an hour. That’s the standard length of a newspaper article, which measures 12 inches of space in a print publication. That foundation will be molded and edited for half a dozen social platforms.

If I have a series of images set for Instagram, a 600-word article can stretch over at least 10 separate posts. When I travel around Cochise County — Presto!, the inviting change of scenery will inspire no less a week’s worth of creative output.

Who doesn’t get whimsical when motoring around our picturesque state?

During the weekend, I can spend at least 12 hours simply drafting YouTube-centric scripts.
So if I really punch it, in two days, I can create 10 or so scripts that will give me five-fold the amount of content.

And that’s what I want for you.
Ask yourself, ‘What’s my strongest skill?’
Start there, then take your cornerstone and scale it.

And here’s the bonus round. As a writer and photog, I know my creativity explodes when I travel.

But it doesn’t mean flying to Europe.If I drive an hour to and from Marana, or between Bisbee and Elgin, I know that luscious afflatus will blossom. Hitching an impromptu shutterbug session just a few clips from home, not only enlivens my vision, it serves as a tributary to my primary creative waterway — putting pen to paper.