Finding (and Learning From) the Helpers

Photo by Tranmautritam/Pexels

Following a tragedy, it’s become common to see a quote from late children’s television host, Fred Rogers:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

Rogers’ mother was right and there are people out there helping, especially when it comes to professional development, and they’re not that hard to find. A number of professionals are producing great content in a number of areas that we can all learn a lot from. Let me know in the comments who you consider a helper for professional development.

Content Strategy
If you’ve seen music videos by the Zac Brown Band, Blink-182, Buckcherry, Shinedown or Jason Mraz, then you’re familiar with the work of Darren Doane. While Doane made his name as a video director, he now focuses on content creation as the founder of the Doane Creative Agency based in Moscow, Idaho and shares his knowledge in a great podcast called (fittingly) The Doane Cast. Doane believes in creating great content and getting it out to an audience with zero excuses, as explained in his first episode that should be required listening for creatives, “Don’t Let Your Content Be Precious.”

LinkedIn
Terry Sullivan – https://buzzpro.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrysullivanmba/
It’s safe to say that Terry Sullivan, founder of the digital marketing firm BuzzPro, has forgotten more about the LinkedIn platform than many of us will ever know. On top of that, he presents this information in a very easy to understand format, as displayed in this video where he discusses three key tips for using LinkedIn. Sullivan regularly speaks to companies and organizations about LinkedIn and in non-pandemic times, has offered seminars aimed at professionals in the job search.

Marketing
Wes Kao – https://www.weskao.com/
A post in my LinkedIn feed about spiky points of view was my introduction to Wes Kao. What followed was going down a rabbit hole of great content on her website. Kao, who has worked with brands such as Poo~Pourri, Mailchimp and Ghirardelli, covers topics such as strategic leadership, end-to-end marketing and building new products.

Photography
The first eleven years of my career were spent in professional photography. While I’ve moved on to focus on a wider range of communications skills, I still maintain a presence in the field and follow a number of pros in order to learn new techniques.

John Gress – https://linktr.ee/johngressmedia
Chicago fashion and editorial photographer John Gress produces beautifully lit images that immediately grab your attention and hold it to the point that you study the image. On his Instagram account, Gress also posts behind the scene shots and graphic layouts that show his lighting setup. If you’re a young photographer or someone wanting to gain new insight into lighting, this information is invaluable. For a fee, Gress also offers online mentoring.

Jeff Carpenter – https://linktr.ee/readylightmedia
Another great educational resource is Franklin, Tennessee based photographer Jeff Carpenter of Ready Light Media. Not only does Carpenter share great shots of his lighting setups and 3D video illustrations, but he also posts technical data such as camera settings. He also has YouTube tutorials and offers virtual workshops.

Art Streiber – https://www.instagram.com/aspictures/
If you read entertainment news, you’ve most likely seen Art Streiber’s work. Shooting for publications such as People Magazine, Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly, Streiber often produces large-scale sets using a number of assistants and stylists. For a recent shot reuniting the cast of the television show “The West Wing,” he and his crew built an entire school gym set. Streiber regularly posts photos showing how his sets were built and lighting setups, along with the finished product. Photographers of his caliber don’t often share this type of information, so it really is a great learning opportunity.