For creative people, creativity doesn’t just happen in front of a canvas or behind a camera. It’s a 24/7 always dreaming, always thinking kind of thing. You can’t switch it on and off when you want. That’s its curse and its blessing.

So how do you keep all those great ideas, creative visions and thoughts straight so you don’t lose them? Put ’em down, log ’em, make ’em stick. Never believe yourself when you say, “This idea is too good. No way I’m forgetting this one.” That almost guarantees its flight the second you’re onto another thought.

Tools
One of my main tools for recording ideas is my pocket-sized Moleskine journal. It’s my notebook, sketchbook and brain-dump hopper. I jot ideas for images I want to shoot in sentence form, sketch out lighting diagrams and record plans for shoots I know I’m going to do. I don’t claim to be a great sketch artist, my sketches remove all doubt, but I do it for the sake of recording and planning, not art. (Click here to see the photo that resulted from the sketch at the top of this post.)

Poker Set Example

For the poker chip set I knew I was doing a straight forward product shot, but I sketched out the lighting layout prior to shooting anyway. Like going a step beyond pre-visualization. The benefit was I had a plan to follow when I got in the studio. A starting point. My strobe positions may have changed and I tweaked layout and added reflectors here and there, but the point remains, I had a good idea of where to start.

Another tool I use is an app called Evernote for iPhone. The main strength of Evernote is its ability to record all three: photos, text notes and audio clips. I always have my iPhone on me so taking a snapshot of a cool location or recording a voice note is literally a finger swipe away. Best of all, when scouting locations, Evernote will record my location automatically with the image if I want (or with notes and recordings if you’d like). Later I can load the Map app and I can get directions back there instantly.

You can send your notes, photos or recordings to other people via email right from the iPhone app as well. You can even access Evernote via the web, and any additions or changes you make there will sync with your iPhone. I haven’t fully tapped its potential, but so far I’m liking Evernote.

The Evernote website and blog have lots more great information about increasing productivity and getting the most out of this app, so head over there to […]