25 Apr A Guest Blogger: Monika de Silva, MdS Designs

Hello, and thank you for being here!

My name is Monika de Silva and I’m a tasselmaker.
Yes, it’s a profession, a trade, a craft or a form of art.
It’s not a mainstream craft, like jewellery making, sewing or weaving, yet after many years of dedication and hard work, this is what I do full time.

Achieving success through your creative talent is hard.
If you follow the countless resources of the internet, all are offering foolproof ways to succeed.
They will all tell you cliches like “stand out of the crowd” and “be different”, but one thing you have to make sure is to be professional.
Having a website and constant presence in social media platforms is one thing, but how you come across as a person is just as important.

Having professional photos taken of your work is a must nowadays, especially in my case, where I work with lots of designers and makers who propose my work to their prospective clients.
Social media is great to showcase what’s going on behind the scenes, you can use your own snapshots, but professional imagery is essential.
And when it comes to professional photography, there’s so much to learn!
Because there’s the black/white background photography which is necessary for your products and the most commonly used for publishing.
And then the lifestyle images, which would showcase your product in a different context, usually in a lifestyle like setting.
But you will also want to have editorial shots, too, which would see your product in a more artistic setting, creating a fine art like feel.
And then your own professional portrait…
Because now it’s part and parcel of your brand, it’s essential to add a face to your work. And while it can be an overwhelming for a lot of people, if you find a photographer you trust, it can be a very rewarding process.
I looked around the internet for one, and it was almost 10 year ago now, and contacted Branka via email.
She replied almost immediately and we hit it off then an there! All I can say is, communication is key.
If you can communicate how you want your products or yourself to be portrayed, you are halfway there.
At the end of the day, your photographer is a fellow creative just as you are, so don’t be afraid to go with their creative flair.
And the last thing I would like to add is that photographs are forever: with the ever involving social media, image and video sharing platforms, your work is destined for eternal life.

So let’s just conclude, that photographers ARE the alchemists of our time.

http://www.mdsdesigns.co.uk/