Book cover of Arnold Swarzenegger's book "The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding"
An encyclopedia on body building by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself may at first glance see completely unrelated to the art of photography. Shouldn’t a photographer focus on improving the portfolio and expanding the business? Of course, keeping your portfolio up to date is an important aspect as well as showing it to your intended audience. However, there are more pieces to the puzzle.
I remember reading various pieces of advice given by other photographers to newly graduates and my overall impression was that they were mostly negative ones. Ranging from prepare to struggle and get a part time job to the one that stuck in my mind: “Remember to floss your teeth on a regular basis.”
What on earth has flossing your teeth got to do with photography? According to the photographer, keeping your teeth in pristine shape made you less susceptible to high dentist bills that you cannot afford as an emerging photographer. Hence the advice, floss and save money.
So following that train of thought I can easily say that by exercising you keep yourself fit, feel more positive and have in general more energy leading to better productivity. You simply get more done.
But you don’t need Arnold to tell you that you may say. Well, you do. When you start out in photography you seek out your masters. Your idols. You want to learn from the best. Why? The best in the game have only made it there through a combination of talent, stamina, luck and mostly hard work. They have likely been there, done that and you can learn from their experience.
When I got myself to set aside time for training I thought at first I would not have time for it, but I have made time for it. Once in the routine, I want to make sure that I spend that time effectively. As Arnold writes, people have different goals, some wants to build their bodies over the years while others may only want to get fit in the most effective way. Knowing the difference between the exercises will increase the efficiency of that workout in the same way as having the technical knowledge enables you to create the images that you envision.
