It’s the second week of the month which means I’m talking about creativity! The number one thing people say to me they hear that I am a photographer is “Oh I wish I could do that, I’m not creative”. I used to believe that about myself too. I thought there were either people that were creative and then there were people who weren’t. Artists aren’t good at their craft because they are naturally talented. They are good at their craft because they put in the hours. Just as a computer engineer isn’t just naturally good at code, artists put in time. They have taken risks and they have not allowed the fear of being imperfect stop them. They continue working through the discomfort of frustration and feelings of not being good enough. They continue to show up, work on their craft, even when it’s hard.
The practice of creativity is one of discipline rather than inspiration. Here are a few ways that I practice.
First, it’s important to move through limiting beliefs and blocks you have around creativity. Journaling is always my go to recommendation for exploring the beliefs we have about ourselves. I bought a book called The Artist’s Way several years ago and it talks about journaling to uncover our hidden insecurities and fears. Though I have never actually finished the book, each time I make an attempt, I learn something new about myself.
I realized recently that much of the blocks I have in my creative process are a fear of doing things wrong. It’s at attachment to this idea that each time I pull out my camera, it has to be good enough to share or it wasn’t worth my time. I would get paralyzed and never take action on ideas because I wasn’t sure how to create the image I wanted. I was stuck in my head and I decided that I was going to focus this year on taking action. Even if I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to create, I would just begin and see where it takes me.
The result is that I have made some crappy pictures and I have made some pretty good pictures. I have learned a lot about how to create and what I need to move forward in the midst of indecision. I imagine that as I continue to push myself to take action, I will get better at actually forming the idea. Or maybe I won’t, but at least I am trying.
Copying others. I didn’t realize this was a thing. I thought that creative people just made stuff out of thin air. Like they just decide one day, “Oh I am going to take this self portrait with my head on fire and put it with a poem”. I now realize that using work as inspiration is a very big part of the creative process for many people.
In photography, using other’s work as inspiration is much easier than other art forms, especially as a beginner. Even if you use the same lighting, background, and settings, it will look different because you are you. The ethical rule is that if you use other’s work as inspiration and it resembles it enough to notice, you credit that photographer. There are times when I try to recreate an image exactly as it is so that I can learn a specific technique. If I share that picture, I use show the photo I used for inspiration and then credit him/her.
Using images as inspiration is different, though. You can use some elements of the image that you like, but change the background and/or posing. I have some examples below.
I have learned through drawing that some artists even use mood boards to bring a piece together. They may be inspired by clothing, color schemes, settings, etc. Putting all of that together in one place is a great way to bring an idea to fruition.
I have a Pinterest board for self portraits and for fine art portraits. In the beginning, I used to just try and emulate the exact picture as best I could with the tools I had. It never actually looks the same because I am me and they are them. And along the way, there are happy mistakes that truly bring some beautiful images. In the self portrait below, I was trying to recreate this image from Pinterest.
I found this image on Pinterest. It was on a clothing site and is no longer available so I can’t actually credit the photographer.
They look nothing alike. I had the hard light and I had brought flowers into the shower with me. I put the shower door in between the camera and I thought that would give it a little bit of a filmy look but as you can see above, it did not. Either way, it is one of my favorite self portraits I have taken this year. Although it was a fail in terms of recreating it, it was a beautiful image that I cherish. I tried to recreate the image again with a plastic baggy and came up with this:
I learned something new about how to technically recreate an image as well as the importance of play.
Get lost in the arts, all of them.
Listen to classical music.
Watch movies.
Read classic literature.
Read poetry.
Allow yourself to get lost in the art of storytelling.
My kids are homeschooled and we use a curriculum that includes a lot of folktales, folklore, and classic literature. I was inspired to start reading some classics again and in doing so, I have come up with so many ideas for self portraits. I have been inspired by the music of Beethoven, the book Wuthering Heights, the show Downton Abbey, and even Ted Lasso. I used to think I needed to be listening to podcasts and reading nonfiction but the reality is that I get so much growth as a person through exploring and enjoying art.
Make lists of ideas.
Journal about them and uncover why the piece inspires you.
Mindmap imagery.
Study artists.
These are all things I do to help me become inspired. And to help me understand how to bring an idea to life.
Be consistent.
This is the thing I struggle with the most.
I have attempted a 365 project every year for the past few years and I am never successful in terms of actually doing a 365, but I do experience the feelings of what it’s supposed to do. Having a creative practice in anything is difficult because life gets in the way. And when life gets in the way, the first thing to go is our practice because it isn’t yielding instant results. The beauty of my 365 is that when I fall off of the wagon, I feel guilty enough for being away from my camera and it always brings me back. I need that because otherwise, I will almost always find a way to not practice. Inevitably, I have to neglect something in order to sit down and be creative. I think that the idea of only acting when one gets inspired is probably something for a few but not great for many. There are times when I feel so creative, I can’t keep up with my head. And there are times when I sit down to write, draw, paint, take pictures and I can’t come up with anything. The practice of creativity is one that must include the abundance of ideas and the struggle of none. It is through that process that we learn to push through and grow.
Even with this blog post now, I am struggling to find the words and I feel like this is poorly written. But it is important for me to establish a weekly posting so I am putting it out as imperfect as it is. I wish I could wait until the words come in an eloquent way, and there are times when they do, but if I only wait on those times, I will never post. The practice for me is to show up, even when it’s not that good.
Take other art forms.
I started drawing on procreate and I have enjoyed it so much. It’s fun because I have no expectations for what I create. I am not that great and so, I don’t expect myself to be great. I don’t compare my work to others because I am a beginner. And that makes it fun.
Also, it forces me to create from scratch. There is no documentary drawing 🤣. No matter what I do when I sit down to draw, I have to come up with something. Maybe it is drawing something in front of me. Maybe it’s finding prompts on the internet. In fact, I have even begun to try to copy some of my favorite illustrators. I won’t share that work because drawing something is much easier to replicate exactly than photography is, but it helps me learn to draw in a style I like.
There are times when I sit down to draw and have no idea. I get just as frustrated then as I do when I can’t think of a self portrait. There are times when I sit down to draw and I don’t feel like it.
What I have realized by painting, drawing, illustration, writing, and exploring other art forms is that the struggle to create is the same, no matter the genre. And that is okay. it is okay to make shitty art work. It is okay to not know what to do. it is okay to be angry and frustrated because you want to make something good and just can’t seem to do it. Every person, including Picasso, had those moments. That is the creative process. Nothing is easy. I think that is the mistake we have made in holding people up to a high standard. Because it looks easy for Monet, then we must not be able to attain it. But we didn’t get to see Monet’s shitty work.
Lastly, when I let go of the idea that I have to create _______, and instead, think of the act of creating as the thing to do, all pressure is off. The act of creating is actually what I am after. The act of creating is what I was so excited about when I first picked up my camera. The act of creating is the thing that lights me up. The act of creating is the fun in all of it and it’s what I love about being creative. The end result is just the fun thing to share.
Some resources that have helped me learn about a creative practice:
Angela Ramsey’s Creativity Class – in this class, Angela does a wonderful job in showing how she develops her ideas. It’s probably one of the best courses I have taken for creative development
The Artist’s Way – I mentioned and linked it above
David DuChemin’s podcast and newsletter
