Often there is no book or course to learn how to do what you want to do – so how artists and creatives overcome such challenges? How have some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community managed to learn their craft?

Seth Louis

Started learning the technical side of photography back in 2020. Shooting in manual mode was something that was new to me, so learning where to set settings for ISO, aperture, and shutter speed was a bit challenging at first, but after experimenting for a few months I started getting the hang of it. Once I felt I had a good grasp of where I should have my settings I began doing self portraits and taking pictures of friends and family, making slight adjustments to capture the best images. Read more>>

Bennell LaPorte

Events, typically known for the lavish nature of their final product, are all about people and relationships. Most anyone can learn the basics of event planning, things like finding venues, helping a client choose flowers, and negotiating a contract. However, it takes a nuanced skill set and approach to simultaneously be the holder of all the event details while creating something from nothing based solely off a client’s spoken desires. Read more>>

Semayah SaraVon

When I first started music I was around the age 4 or 5. originally I was sure I was going to grow up and be a classical musician. I saw myself playing in concerts or symphonies and while that is still in music, it’s no where near the world I ended up in. My musical journey has been a lifelong venture. I started with piano as soon as I could identify letters. Classical training takes a level of discipline and practice that has helped me surpass many levels of musical understanding that many are unaware exist. It taught me that every note has its place and it’s importance in a piece. Read more>>

E. A. Dodson

Every month I get around two or three messages from other creatives, like insanely talented creatives, asking if they can shadow my team and I on projects because they’re interested in learning more about what truly makes someone a “Director of Photography” or “Cinematographer.” First, I always do all I can to get others on set with me if the project allows for me to do so. I love meeting and working with new people because believe it or not, I usually learn something from these individuals. Yes, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but a lesson is always undoubtedly present. Read more>>

Jonathan Davis

Learning the craft can be overwhelming at first with trying to learn completely new software, understanding settings, and buying gear all being hurdles I faced myself. With pictures and video I believe the best way to learn is to do. The more you put yourself in unfamiliar territory the more you will be forced to learn. Something I wish I did more of at the start was understanding my settings completely. Your settings play a big part in what your photos will look like so copy and pasting settings from others will NOT help you instead. Read more>>

Marie Mercedes

How I learned to be a creator was really, just a process of understanding. Being a creator was more of a factor in expressing myself using various apps. Being a creator also allowed me to brainstorm ideas and develop strategies to implement them. Knowing what I know now, there is no faster way of speeding the learning process because if you speed up the process you won’t learn the foundation. Sure, videos can go viral in an instant and change your life, but you want to make a lasting impact and not be forgotten over just going viral and not having anything to back it up. Read more>>

Mick Bodie

To be honest, this is a pretty typical suggestion but it works. With photography & videography, the most important thing to scale up your skill is actual reps in the field – shooting yourself, friends, clients for free, whatever it is you need to do to get behind the camera more and put yourself in different environments so you build a muscle memory of how to adjust. Beyond actually picking up a camera, there are also soooo many free available resources (YOUTUBE!) that you can reference at any time. Read more>>

Akintadé Owoyemi

The skills that are most essential is to be successful above all else and to believe in yourself there’s a lot of people that doubt what they can do for themselves to make a difference to the future and the other things you do need for your life in your mind that we are doing better for your future future today than we do not have a relationship between us and I have a good relationship with my friends and family so I’m sure they are good for me and I don’t want them in my mind hurting Read more>>

Molly Salerno

When I first started representing the company, I had ZERO clue what to do with makeup. I didn’t even own a mascara. My friend had watched me struggle for several years hurt by my moms alcohol addiction and she gave me some long lasting lip color called LipSense and said, “Here put this on, you’ll feel better” AND it actually worked. So I decide to become a social seller and represent this company that has an incredible mission statement for helping women create their own businesses and also a foundation to help women and children in need. Fast forward 4 years into growing my business, Read more>>

Jeremy Evans

Honestly, I learned majority of my podcast and interview-skills from speech class. Had I known I would have been a podcaster in my college days, I would have taken a telecommunications course as well. The most essential skill is active listening, engagement involves two roles, listening and responding. The key is learning where and when to interject. The only obstacle I’ve encountered has been my self-doubt. Read more>>

Tenisha Hendon

My love for crafting started at a young age when my baby sitter introduced me to crocheting. I was reunited with crafting when I bought my first Cricut and I made t-shirts for my son’s first birthday party. I was so excited about having this new found therapy I wished I would have taken the time to narrow down my niche instead of trying everything. The skills most essential when using heat transfer vinyl HTV is getting your time and press temperature down. Some obstacles that stood in my way were balancing my full time, with motherhood and being a wife. Read more>>

Brittany Higgins

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember! Ever since I was a child I just felt like my thoughts were more cohesive on paper. But, it wasn’t until much later that I started to take my craft more seriously. Soon I would learn that to be a great writer you must first be a good reader. Now, I understand that both of those skills require continuous practice and patience. Read more>>

Von Excellence

When I turned 12 years old, I started getting into beat production on a website called audio-tool. That website was a start-up to everything I know today, and everything and every personality on that website got me to where I needed to be today, so I appreciate my love for music as if it were destined. When I caught on to making music work I started posting my beats to YouTube, which in return the videos would rack up 1 to 2 thousand views, and sometimes 3 on a good day. Read more>>

Aaron “Quick” Nelson

First and foremost, I fell in love with what I do immediately before I started to learn about the craft of acting. I started as a very curious and imaginative kid who wondered where to go and who to talk to to get started. Once I had the chance to start my journey as an actor, I began learning through studying different acting methods such as Stanislovky, Meisner, Strasburg, Uta Hagen, Practical Aesthetics, and more including many hours in drama and improv classes learning from several acting coaches that prepared me to perform in theater. Read more>>

Brenda Y Tillman

Writing is something that I have always done. I have been writing since I was a little girl. I didn’t invest into learning the techniques and different styles to write in until I was an adult, when I finally took creative writing classes. The process could have gone a lot quicker if I had gone to college after high school. The skill that I think was most essential for my type of writing was to understand that my voice is my voice. Trying to write they way people thought I should write was an obstacle for me. Read more>>

Billie Summers

So I taught myself the basics of painting, colors, content, mediums, etc. But i’ll always be learning something new that can side my art. I took a few classes in high school and university which definitely encouraged me to paint and experiment on my own time. I think the most essential skill I have is being open to learn king new things. Time and opportunity I would say have been the biggest obstacles in terms of having time and space to create. I would love my own studio one day just to have a conducive creating environment. Read more>>

10Kforapair

I had been listening to music since I was a kid & and been listening to underground since a early teen so I took inspiration from the artist I was listening to. From there I just tried to put my twist on everything I did. I feel like the fastest way to learn is really just trial & error, u have to make mistakes to get better. I feel like I what’s gonna separate me from others is learning from my mistakes faster. Read more>>

Sara Rudin

Like many baton twirlers, dancers, and gymnasts, we learned young. And I mean too young to remember HOW we learned. From a young age, I was always fascinated with baton twirling. Luckily, I am a kinesthetic learner, and my teacher was a great coach who explained the physics of baton twirling. Read more>>

Cheyenne Raine Theresa Rose

While we both have degrees, the bulk of our skills were learned and honed actively on various jobs or self-taught using online or in-person resources. Maintaining and evolving our education and skills are values that we love to invest in, be it through workshops, courses, seminars, books, Youtube, or however else the knowledge can be obtained. We think comparison and imposter syndrome are two of the biggest obstacles to learning and growing in business. Read more>>

Nia Montalvo

Like everything it takes time, perseverance, consistency and lots of money. My very first investment was in the Rum Aroma Training Kit. A 24 aroma kit that is helps train your nose to detect those in the rum. I’m actively training my nose to try to be as precise as possible in detecting these aromas. Then I invested $2000 in video and audio equipment to my videos could be at a minimum standard of my choosing. Read more>>

Weso

I learned about what I did through just attempting it, a friend if mine who was already indulging in the craft told me to try it. I didn’t think anything of what I made but I noticed his and others reactions. So naturally Ive dabbled in it ever since. Knowing what I know now, especially with working with other artist was networking and showcasing the talent. I was always reserved in my goals of becoming an artist and I always knew I had the talent but only a hand few of people knew. It wasn’t until at least 2-3 years ago that people seen me as an artist because of putting myself on front line, pushing my art and collating and networking with other artist. That would’ve expedited sh-t quicker fasho. Read more>>

Miranda Malone

I started out with the natural eye to capture great photos. However, I took some continuing education courses in photography to enhance my skill. I actually wish I had picked up on my gift sooner in life. I think I would’ve been so much far along in my business. The most essential skills were learning the total functions of the camera. Currently I work a full time job in the medical field. I do most of my photography on the weekends. Unfortunately this limits my time to presume further skills and marketing. I look forward to growing and enhancing my photography business in the near future. Read more>>

Timmy F

I took a leap of faith and decided to purchase a few of the things I wanted to try an learn. Once I got those things I was pretty lost. So I went to YouTube to find “how to” tutorials. That’s when things started to pick up. The first thing I learned was how to work The Cricut design space software for my vinyl cutter machine. Down the line there were things within the software that I found easy to do on my own with no tutorial. Read more>>

Ron2Riches

In life, I recognize the most happiest people in world have a vision of what they want to do with most of time no know how. But somehow, they achieve their dreams and desires without knowledge in the beginning. One of my big bro’s in Atlanta, Cory, owner of RX Elites always had this one saying that stool with me. He said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”. That saying will always be relevant because I started in this media industry with no guides or playbooks to follow. Read more>>

The Khost

We learned to do what we do with plenty of trial and error over the years. We like to study our influences, identify what we like about them, and dissect the process into our very own version of it. We also study things we don’t like and dive into why we don’t like them. Following this method in general really helps us discover who we are and brings us to our fullest creative potential when we work on our music. Read more>>

Neftali Hernandez

Practice, practice, and more practice! To function in any profession at a high level, you must put in years of work and consistency with your craft. There’s just no way around it. I started off taking classes and learning the craft. That evolved into short films, which then evolved into bigger productions on Television. If I had the chance to speed up my learning process, I would have taken more classes and I would have been more intentional about connecting with other actors who were further along in their careers than I was in mine and learning from them. Read more>>

Jermaine Whitaker

I consider myself a real student of the podcast world. To me this goes deeper than the subject matter in podcasts, for me its about having meaningful conversations and making sure that everyone’s voice can get heard. In the beginning, I wish I would’ve brought in the visual aspect in sooner. I only did audio podcasts on purpose to make the podcast different, but there’s so much more that can be gained from the visuals that just hearing it wouldn’t do the conversations any justice. Read more>>

Gerardo Venegas

I began as a self taught artist, learning to trace and sketch things from my imagination as a kid, by helping my mother create bulletin board decorations for the day care she was working at. Then I learned while in school on and off how to elaborate my ideas and skills into something more useful and eye catching. I continued learning on and off throughout my schooling, until I started pursuing freelance work among other creative work and projects with other creatives and business partners. Read more>>

Lady Kimberly Jackson

I learned how to sing at a very young age when I was 3 years old growing up in the church. As I grew older I began to train vocally by participating in elementary, middle, high school and college choirs where they taught me the techniques that should be used when singing such as; breath control, pronunciation and etc. I believe that I could have not allowed negativity to effect me being more confident in myself. Read more>>

Julianne Vickery

I first learned how to play with fire in 2008 during a jewelry making class at a community college. I really enjoyed learning how to create various patinas on metal, cut sheet metal and create sculptural objects with mixed metals. I learned the most basic metal smithing skills during this class but did not expand my knowledge until much later because I didn’t see metal smithing as a viable career option. Read more>>

BEN BROOKES BELCHER

As an Artist,it became very clear as the years passed to find a way to be independent and to have control of my creative process, as i got older. There is an age bias in this entertainment business and if you dont carve a niche for yourself you will be shut out. If you are looking for a major label that is still operating today , and hope to have support from them you will be disappointed. I made a living touring around the country in various outfits , Read more>>

Jenda Zych

When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter a friend and I took a 4 hour photography class one Saturday. This was my first taste of learning over exposure, under exposure, Lightroom, tones, etc. It made me think about photography and who all those play into the end result. It wasn’t until I took Photography 101 at a our local junior college that I really got to know how to use these functionalities to tell a story with my photos. Read more>>

Chynna Cliette

I have been learning my craft since I was a little girl but I never thought I would be using my craft to become a motivational influencer and I’m so grateful for it, if you would have asked me 10 years ago would I be doing what I’m doing now I would have been in doubt. I think the skills that are most essential is just truly being yourself that is the skill!. Some obstacles that stood in the way or at least I thought was me having alopecia I thought it would make me loose my confidence and not want to pursue my dreams fully( but that actually helped me get to where I am today Read more>>

Paulina Casati

I’ve been creative my entire life, it’s what stokes my inner fire. Self taught, I didn’t truly step into the role of an artist until I was 25. At that point I began playfully exploring the realm of visionary art by being vulnerably adventurous with paint. I’m a believer that every path is the right path, though, looking back I certainly could have accelerated my learning process by devoting more time and focus through observation and practice. Read more>>

Natalia Rodriguez

I started painting when I was a kid and I did it just for fun like I believe most kids do. Painting has always been an intuitive process to me. I naturally improved as I kept doing it but I was not aware of it. I have stopped painting during long periods of time throughout my life and I’ve found that I keep falling in love with panting over and over again. Painting and I have this weird unstable but endless relationship. Read more>>

Teri Watson

I’ve learned to do what I do by paying attention and watching others. I realized early that being observant is one of the greatest learning tools. I also made sure to critique the environment in which I learned to ensure it continued to align with me personally as I grew along the way. I took my time with my process to learn how to think critically and diligently. I don’t think I would have done anything to speed that up. Timing is everything and I’m still on the path of learning. Always will be. Read more>>

Elle Townley

I’m only 13, so I’m still learning what I do, and I don’t know that I could have sped up the process very much. I’ve been singing since I could talk, but I started vocal lessons when I was 6 and began performing publicly at 8. At age 9 I was inspired by a group of musicians during a trip to Nashville, and when I returned home to Texas, I began songwriting and learning guitar. Read more>>

Tony Peroni

Like most people i learned through trial and error. I had limited but meaningful education in Photography and Video Production, but through pursuit of passion and as an outlet for expression, Ive worked on my craft every day to be better. I think everyone progresses at their own pace and through their own desire, so looking back, i wouldn’t change anything about the way I learned. In my opinion, editing/retouching is the most essential skill i possess. A photo is my canvas and photoshop is my brush. Read more>>

Libbt Osborne

My love for art started very young. I was very lucky to have parents who encouraged creativity and a mother who spent a lot of time teaching me how to draw and paint. From there I have been mostly self taught until I got my apprenticeship in 2015. I feel really lucky to have been taken on by at that point by Om Ink Gallery, a shop full of incredible and diverse artists. I do my best to pick up skills and techniques anywhere I can, from picking the brains of other artists to observing the natural world, anything and everything is my teacher. Read more>>

Matthew Gosling

I learned how to make and record music freshman year of high school. I had multiple computer classes and band so i learned about garageband really fast. knowing what i know not i could’ve actually went to school to gain more knowledge on the recording and mixing and mastering records. The most essential skill i feel that is needed is work ethic and drive. The only obstacle i say stood in my way was time. I have my hands in so many different pots its crazy but we do make time for things we feel are important. Read more>>

Pitt Sheely

I’ve been in love with music since I could talk so ill say all my life. What I could have done to speed up the process? Hmm, I probably could of stayed out of trouble so much I believe if I wasn’t incarcerated so much I would have been way further in my music career than what I am now but that only makes me go harder. The skills I think were most essential were my writing skills I’m blessed to not need a ghost writer I have a lot of different and versatile skills and I’m not sure there’s anyone who can think like me ..well I know there isn’t lol. obstacles that stood in the way? my job I still have to work oh on top of that I am a mother so I have to jungle a lot at times Read more>>

Jacob Warye

Learning the craft of photography definitely is a practice makes perfect kind of scenario, except you won’t ever be perfect! It isn’t necessarily about mastering the craft of photography, but finding your own sense of style, enjoyment, and creativity throughout the process. It took many attempts to just understand the fundamentals of photography, shooting with a DSLR and Mirrorless camera, knowing the settings, equipment needed, and ultimately the time it takes to truly find that “it” factor you are trying to achieve with your own style! Read more>>

Jurena Cantrell

I learned the craft of marketing/PR and broadcasting by working in various capacities of the industry and on-going independent study. My first job was with the Olympic games as a production assistant/runner and from there I networked within industry to find my next one, which was music marketing. Networking led me to people who could help me get a strong grasp on the mindset, tactics and tools marketers use to achieve the desired results. Read more>>