Over the last days I’ve given you all a sneak peak into our local family adventures. And I will continue doing that. However today I want to advocate taking this extra time we’ve been served and learn a new skill.
An economic crisis for a lot of creatives
This situation we are in right now is not just a severe health situation, but as you all know a very difficult situation for our economy. People are loosing their jobs, companies are crashing, the oil price is way down as well as many stock markets. Now the global economy isn’t my specialty, so I will leave that to someone else. What I do know a little bit about is how this all affects people in the creative business out there.
They’re taking heavy impact right now. I’m saying they, because in this matter I’m fortunate not to be one of them. I’m only a content creator on my spare time. I have a day job that provides a secure income. Not everyone is that lucky.
Photographers and videographers have had their appointments for the next six months cancelled. Workshops and courses are cancelled. No jobs means no income, and as a creative you’re likely not to have a good chance of a backup plan right now. Not many are hiring these days. Well, get a real job then, you might think. Once again, not many are hiring these days. And furthermore; creative work is real work.
Creative work is real work
How many hours a week do you spend watching TV, reading books or magazines, surfing the web, looking at images of what’s going on in the world, listening to the radio or podcasts? Not few, right? The ones providing entertainment for you are people working creatively. How much do you think your business would sell of those cars you are making or that new burger or chair you are producing if creatives did not make images, videos, stories, logos or webpages to help sell them? Not much. Creative work is real work.
Right now we have a lot of time on our hands. In a world where time is the most precious of all valuables, it’s weird to have so much of it all of a sudden. I purpose spending some of this time in a way that can both bring value to you and help out some of the struggling creatives out there. How? Learn a new skill.
Self taught? Really?
I’m one of those self taught photographers. But am I really though? Most of what I’ve learned, I’ve learned through books, YouTube and online courses. I’ve learned from other creatives that have been kind enough to share their knowledge for free. I’m not really self taught. I’m taught by other creatives on the internet.
I have learned both the technical and creative sides of making images, editing video, making a website, writing better copy, you name it. And like most people I’ve taken it a bit for granted that all of this knowledge is free.
Now I think it’s time we try to help a struggling group of people by paying for the skills they are teaching us. And a lot of them have provided us with great ways to do that; the online courses.
Learn a new skill
You can learn almost any new skill through YouTube and numerous niche blogs. Want to learn how to cook Mexican? There’s an hours beginners class for that on YouTube. Or do you want an introduction to Photoshop? Countless of videos for beginners to choose from as well as dedicdated Photoshop blogs. How about learning to play the piano or to do astrophotography? Make your pick, there’s something for everyone. Free of charge.
Want in on an even better way to learn a new skill? Try an online course or take online classes one on one from some of the creators that have just had all their jobs cancelled. Since I’m a content creator, I’ve taken it upon me to make some suggestions in that field. Whatever your field of interest is, my point is this; you have time to learn a new skill. Now more than ever is the time to do it in a way that helps the people teaching you.
Suggested online resources for learning a new skill
Thomas Heaton is the first YouTuber I subscribed to. He is an amazing landscape photographer, and his videos is just very enjoyable to watch. He has made an e-book to help improve your skills within landscape photography. I really recommend this if landscape photography is something you’d like to get into. As well as watching his videos off course.
If you’re wanting to make better videos for the internet, I highly suggest you check out Jesse Driftwoods course “How to make short form videos for the internet”. He goes through everything from how to find the stories to how you make them look good when shooting and editing.
How about challenging yourself to make a cinematic video from your sisters wedding next summer? Matti Haapoja has a great online course to get you started.
There you have some suggestions. Also; if you know a creative that might be struggling with jobs getting cancelled right now, reach out and ask them for online lessons. A great way to both keep in touch, learn a new skill and help a friend out.
Stay safe and take care. Tomorrow I’ll be back with more local family adventures, so you might want to subscribe to get notified when I post;)
