Self-assigned photo shoots are really a necessity. Shooting for yourself keeps things interesting and on your own trajectory. When the paid jobs are not where you want to be or where you want to go, it's doubly rewarding. Sometimes, for one reason or another, those shots may not be ones that you can use or ones that fit precisely into your portfolio, and your portfolio needs to represent exactly the kind of work that you want to attract. This latter point took a long time to sink in for me, but it is one of the most important things that a commercial photographer needs to learn. We all want to show work that we are proud of and that shows the world we are versatile and capable. But you need to ask yourself if any given shot in your portfolio is the kind of work that you want to continue to do, and further, if it is consistent with a focused message. Who are your ideal clients? What do they look for? Show them what they are looking for! Chances are, if they are looking for that specific thing, they probably don't want someone who does that thing along with all sorts of other, unrelated kinds of work. I'm sure this is not news.

For photographers, as well as many other disciplines, self-assigned work is really magic. It's an avenue that is freeing, useful and necessary. If you're building a new portfolio, especially one that is heading in a new direction, or if you are unhappy with the alignment of the work you are shooting for pay with your goals, self-assigned work is the answer. It's freeing because the what, when, where, who and how are all up to you. It's your chance to create a world from play-doh, to appropriate a phrase that someone used last week who I unfortunately cannot recall.

But here's where it gets tricky, for me at least; that clean slate. Which way should I go? And when I choose, who will give me permission? There's that word: permission. I used to be a professional musician, and there was always an undercurrent of guilt when I was practicing or working on something that wasn't income-generating. That's a pretty debilitating way to be if you are an artist. I'm not sure what made me like that, but as a musician I was always wary of the people who I would encounter who had “real jobs”. Well, I am older now, and my coping mechanism has grown from the unwavering support of my wife and the fact that I have seen the other side, and I know now that I have it so much better. Now I can give myself permission to work on something that has no practical value at this moment and is not generating income. I can do that because I know that what I am working on is part of what I want to do to be where I want to be, so that I can be sought out by clients, to do that thing.

The essential factor in giving yourself permission to do self-assignments is structure. Where do you want to go? My friend, photographer's consultant Selina Maitreya, talks consistently about “vision”. Without that, where are you going? I am reading David duChemin's new book and he has almost the  identical message. In order to get where you want to be, you need to figure out where that is. Once you have done so, make it happen. And if you don't have enough work that leads you in that direction, create it. I find it very useful to get myself into a situation in which I must create such work. For me, it has been taking the form of art shows. I create the kind of work that I want because no one is really dictating content, and it gives structure and permission to do so. But whatever form the structure takes, make sure that it leaves you free to create the work that you want to keep creating.

I have been spending a lot of time recently building a new portfolio book of my portraits. The portfolio content is exactly what I show on my web site, at least initially. I envision the web version being somewhat more dynamic in content. This is my web-based people portfolio : http://www.adrienbisson.com/people

I settled on a Lost Luggage, green translucent, hard plastic housing. Someone looking at it recently asked me if it was glass. It's not, but it definitely doesn't have a "plastic" look. It's a very rigid and thick, ground-glass-looking, and translucent material.

Preparing the prints is a much bigger job than you might think going in. I have 25 shots in the book, plus a cover and back page, with contact information. So 3 books makes it 81 pages. And my book is 11x11, so I used 11x17 paper. Moab, who manufactures the paper that I am using, makes an 11x14, but it required a special order which would have delayed this for a couple of weeks. The waste is perfectly usable for 5x7 prints or proofing, so I didn't throw anything away, which is a bonus. I use a Moab paper called Entrada Rag Bright 190. It is double sided, although I am printing only on one side. But not having to check orientation is a plus. On the other hand, it is very heavy, and needs to be fed manually into my Epson 3800, which is pretty tedious. But it has a really refined, rich quality to it that makes the colors really pop. It is well worth the effort.

Putting the book together was mildly frustrating. You need an extra hand to thread the posts through the hinges. Plus if you have more than about 8 pages, you need to buy the extension posts from Lost Luggage. Otherwise, the separators don't fit. You can use fewer separators, but that pinches the hinges together. The hinges take a little practice, but once they are on, they work very nicely. Although these strips of Mylar with adhesive are a little pricy, they really do the trick, allowing the pages to turn freely and not folding the prints themselves.

And here is the final product. It does look really nice when you have it all put together.