chaos and creativity

The Origin of St. Patrick

He took a long draw of his beer and emptied the glass. “If you buy me another one of these, I’ll tell you the whole story, includin’ the part about Patrick…,” he leaned in a little closer and spoke in a hushed tone, “…being an Englishman.”

creativity

Radically Propel Your Creativity

Think of the inside of your brain as a vast constellation of stars. Each star is a thought or an experience. Your ability to uniquely connect or coagulate those stars to form something new is the talent of being creative. It's why you're an artist, writer, musician, photographer, etc.

podcast

Street Cred vs. Social Media Stats?

In the day and age of the internet, many young artists think the way up is by gathering hundreds of thousands of followers, no matter what they have to concede artistically. But like everything, there's a price to pay.

podcast

Taking A Wrong Turn - How to Bounce Back from a Mistake

In this episode of the Chaos and Creativity podcast, Kimi and Lou discuss some of the wrong turns they took in their careers, and what helped them bounce back.

business

The Value of Free (Part Two)

For nearly a decade, from 1995 to 2005-ish, the mantra “information wants to be free” suffused the internet. This set up a cultural expectation: If it’s online, it’s free.

features

The Ghost of Communism

The true story of a fashion photographer who goes to the Soviet Union as a photojournalist, not quite knowing what photojournalists do.

podcast

There Are No Rules

In this episode of the Chaos and Creativity podcast, Lou and Kimi debate the merits of self-help books, agree on the rules of creativity (hint: there are none) and talk about the downfall of the artist.

creativity

The Value of Free (Part One)

Most people think creative talent — photography, writing, music, acting etc. — is part of the genetic makeup of a creative person, much like arresting beauty is part of the genetic makeup of a model.

photography

What Do You Do All Day?

It was a loaded question. She was a 23-year-old upwardly mobile, fabulous-clothes-wearing corporate mover who made a boatload more money than I did.

fashion

The Secret Life of Models

Stalkers, masturbators, crowded apartments, and battered feet; welcome to the glamorous life of a fashion model.

photography

The Players and the Wackadoo Process of an Advertising Campaign

We were trying to conjure a word that we could use to describe our industry to the brave photographers venturing into advertising. Wackadoo is all we could come up with.

photography

Military Style

The military style hierarchy translated into an effective, well-run set. It had to. There were too many elements involved in the shot for it work any other way.

bidding

The Psychology Behind Photography Bids

There are these magic times when you’ll get called to shoot a job because of who you are. Your style, your demeanor, and your ability to execute. The only question that remains is money.

copyright

What is a Usage License?

Usage License is a phrase that is often bandied about without a clear understanding as to its purpose. Yet, it is critical for you as a photographer, illustrator, or any other commercial creative artist.