Professional Development

Image by Ante Vekic
Is it time to return to the classroom?

Sometimes I spend so much time reflecting I forget to practice what I preach. So I said yes when my friend B suggested a photography workshop offered by Gulf Photo Plus.
When it comes to taking classes I see all of them as my professional development. It never hurts to try a new medium much in the same way it doesn’t hurt to review skills I feel comfortable using. I even see it as opportunity to observe others teaching to inform my own practice.

Some have shared with me that the cost of taking workshops can be prohibitive. I have several responses to this. One response I have to this is: if you aren’t willing to invest in your professional future, why should anyone else? I mean seriously, if you want others to take your hopes and dreams seriously then you need to as well! Investment can mean time and money.

My second response is: be creative! I’ve learned almost everything I know about blogging and websites from free sources! I didn’t have to pay to learn how to start my up wordpress account, that I should buy and link a proper website name (and how to do it), as well as suggested steps for moving to wordpress.org when I want more autonomy. All of it was for free! I’ve found countless instructional videos on artist techniques as well, thank you YouTube! So, if you really want to invest in your creative future, you can. No excuses.

How many of you feel prohibited from developing creatively? How have you made strides to fix this problem?

I am anxiously awaiting my workshop in November. I’ll be sure to reflect and share about the experience when all is said and done.

BE COURAGEOUSLY CREATIVE: How do you invest in your creative future? What activities do you suggest for creative professional development?