Creativity Part 2 - Going to The Gym

“The creative adult is the child who survived.” – Ursula Le Guin

In the first part of this adventure into creativity we mentioned the fact that our imagination can sometimes die as we get older.  We cease to be so curious, and just more accepting of things.  I love the idea of the child surviving in the quote above.

Morning in The CityMorning in The City

Early Morning in The City - My digital art has become an important part of how we at Barnett Photo Studio visualise and storyboard ideas for clients before shoots - but often it is just a satisfying way of exercising my creativity and learning in the process

Some people go to the gym to keep themselves in shape physically.  They groan and come out aching and think of it as a necessary evil.  We can also have exercises for our creative photography - but without the pain!  Sounds too good to be true!  We call it The Photographer's Gym™ - the place for the Smart Photographer.  Bergit and I will be launching this community forum through a group on Facebook and also an area on our own website.  It's a great place to flex your creative ideas and exchange ideas and information.

Creating creativity is a fascinating endeavour, and while it might seem abstract, there are practical strategies you can employ to enhance your creative abilities.  Following on from our article in the last issue we look at strategies you can explore and approaches to stimulate creativity.

For a start, please don't think you don't have time.  All it needs is eight minutes a day.  Why eight minutes?  If we said fifteen minutes then you might be able to justify that you don't have time.  If we said five minutes, it wouldn’t really be worth it.  Eight minutes is ideal, and achievable by everyone.

Start Today!  Can you do at least one of these things by the end of the week?

Cultivate Curiosity.  Embrace learning.  Curiosity is the foundation of creativity.  Cultivate a mindset of continuous learning and exploration.  Take time out to read a good book, and think how you might recreate and photograph certain scenes.  You don't actually have to go about physically creating something elaborate - just think about how you would go about planning a scene.  What lights would you use - if expense was not an option?  What lenses would give you the dimension you wanted?  Let your imagination run!

How would you approach photographing Excitement, Sadness, Fear, Laughter?  How would you go about creating these emotions in your images?  Remember, this applies across many different genres.  You might want to inject more warm romance into your wedding photography, or photograph babies or animals in different ways to reflect their personalities.  You don't want to be a "tog".  You don't want to be churning out "mugshots" and calling them "headshots".  Think about professional business portraits that engage in a creative way.  How can you be more creative in what you offer for your clients?

Diversify Your Interests.  Engage in a variety of activities, hobbies, and subjects.  Cross-pollination of ideas often sparks creativity.  If you are not a reader, then watch a film.  Look at it with new eyes and think how it has been shot to create moods and how to move a story.  Observe the lighting and composition with critical eyes.  Think about the choice of lenses that the cinematographer may have used.  Now put that into practice with your own lenses.  This is why Bergit and myself like using primes almost exclusively in our work.  Each one has a different character.  If you only have zooms, then lock them off at one focal length and photograph a static subject at a variety of different apertures and see what impact it has on the finished image.  You will learn a lot about your lenses, and this knowledge will become second nature when it comes to being creative in your photography.  The best chefs use different knives for different jobs, so why shouldn't you use different lenses?  There is no one lens that is best for everything.  Know your lenses and use the best tools for the job.

Too Bad She Won't Live"Too Bad She Won't Live"

"Too Bad She Won't Live" - I've always loved this quote from the end of the film Blade Runner.  I took the idea of the quote and transferred it into a scene of a girl wandering through a forest.  It's partly the daughter of a friend of ours who has a woodland that we use for shoots.  I juggle ideas and around and create something new.  This is a painting created on a graphics tablet -  but I saw a similar scene in real life

Challenge assumptions and inquire about the world around you.  Curiosity thrives on questions.  Start being the child again.  Look at films, photographs by iconic photographers that you admire and ask what pleases you about an image.  Try and identify the elements that make an image special.  Then try to put that into practice.  Don't copy - just use that knowledge to enhance the next thing you photograph.  It's like music where a particular chord change gives you an emotional rush.  Good musicians ask why certain chord combinations work so well.  It's the same with photography and the paintings by the great masters.  Let your curiosity run wild and ask why certain things work especially well, and if you can utilise them in your work.

I was working on a panel of images for a project and was sending them to be viewed by a well-known and respected photographer in Texas.  He told me one of my images, and the way it was lit, reminded him of a Caravaggio.  I was so chuffed!  It seemed like my work in studying some of the great masters and their use of lighting and colours had paid off.

If you can do those few simple steps it's a great start and you have already begun to exercise your brain and train it into thinking critically instead of simply snapping away.  Slow down.  Use a prime lens.  Use a tripod.  Think before you shoot!  You will really will benefit from this approach, we promise you!

Create a Stimulating Environment

Surround Yourself with Inspiration.  This is a simple one and really easy to do.  Fill your surroundings with things that inspire you, whether it's artwork, books, or nature.  Minimize Distractions.  Create a space conducive to focus and deep thought.  Minimizing distractions can help foster creativity.  We are lucky enough to have some amazing places in Cornwall we can go to, but even in busy places like London there are some hidden areas that we love to escape to when we are working there.  Experiment with Different Spaces.  Sometimes a change of scenery can invigorate creativity.  Try working in different environments, such as coffee shops, parks, or libraries.  We deliberately schedule several "away days" in our calendar at regular intervals and we take ourselves somewhere away from phones, social media etc.  Some of our best ideas have originated in pubs!

Foster a Growth Mindset

Everything you do and experience can add to your growth.  Embrace Failure - Understand that failure is an integral part of the creative process.  Learn from your mistakes and see them as opportunities for growth.  Again, ask questions.  What went wrong, and why?  What can be done to improve things the next time.  Failure is part of learning!

Practice Resilience - Develop resilience in the face of challenges.  Keep pushing forward even when things get tough.  "Stuff" happens.  Even to the best and the most experienced of us.  It just does.  You can't avoid it - but you can control how you react to it!  It's a simple change of mindset that can work wonders.  I call it "taking my chill pill"!

Celebrate Progress - Acknowledge and celebrate small victories along the way.  Progress, no matter how small, fuels motivation and creativity.  Don't go overboard but don't beat yourself up about how things could have gone better.  Every little victory is still a victory.

Engage in Creative Exercises

"The very process of sketching, writing, whatever, this process will help you explain your idea – to yourself." - Hegarty

Brainstorming - Set aside time for brainstorming sessions where you generate ideas without judgment.  Just ask yourself "what if?" - and then go out and try it!  Covid Lockdown meant that we had more time to explore ideas.  Fortunately, our studio is in the grounds where we live, so we got ourselves coffee and went into the studio to try out all sorts of different lighting ideas and setups where we could fail in private, and without having to work to a deadline.  We simply tried things out to see what worked and when things went really well we made notes and learned how we could use our knowledge in real-life shoots in the future.

Mind Mapping - Use mind maps to visually organize your thoughts and explore connections between ideas.  I always carry a notebook with me.  In fact, I have several for different purposes.  I write down ideas, lyrics, slogans, and generally link random things.  It was this technique we used to come up with this image for a charity.  They formed a choir from people with no singing experience to perform on stage to raise money for mental health support.  The lyrics from a famous REM song became the driving inspiration behind the finished image.  Because we had experimented with our different lights so much we quickly worked out a way we could create the image as it appeared in my sketch pad.  We then went down to our village park.  Although it doesn't look like it, the image was shot outdoors in daylight!  Our experiments and learning experiences had paid off.

Try New Techniques - Experiment with different creative techniques such as free writing, sketching, or role-playing.  Improvisation is a big part of drama and acting.  After school drama classes and competitive festivals have great classes for improvisation.  We learned to think on our feet and adapt to others.  I did festivals and exams in this subject and it's a great life skill.

Seek Inspiration from Others

Collaborate with others to gain new perspectives and insights.  Listening to other people rather than just talking about what great ideas you have is always useful.  Sometimes a throwaway idea from someone else can spark something great within you.  But don't forget to give them credit and involve them!

Consume Diverse Content - Read books, watch films, listen to music, and explore art from different cultures and genres.  Watch world cinema, for example.  Watch a film or read a book you otherwise would never consider.  Bergit and myself have a whole lost of films we want to watch for knowledge, inspiration and to enhance our lives.  And every now and then we come across a real gem that makes us look at life in a different way, and we are enhanced by this experience.

George R R Martin sits in his fantasy world of Westeros in Game of Thrones and House of The Dragon, yet he is quite openly inspired by history, the Houses of York and Lancaster, the inter-family relationships of The Wars of The Roses.  That's why his totally fantastical world seems so authentic and believable.  He has not copied, but he has drawn on inspiration and his imagination has conjured something new.  It's a talent we all have, but sometimes we need to exercise it and escape back to the world where we were children, and the world was full of wonders and imagination.

Connect with Creative Communities - Join online forums, attend workshops, or participate in local meet-ups to connect with other creatives.  This is what we did with this wartime shoot.  I was inspired by the BBC TV Drama "SS-GB" and it's unique style and lighting.  We gathered models with vintage outfits, make-up artists and hair stylists who all added their own contributions to the final result.  I've lost count of the number of times this shoot has been featured in places around the world.

NOW START IT!

1. Start Small - Break down your creative projects into smaller, manageable tasks.

2. Set Deadlines - Establish deadlines to stay accountable and prevent procrastination.

3. Iterate and Refine - Continuously iterate on your ideas and seek feedback to refine your creative work.

Maybe start with some macro photography.  Explore the miniature world by photographing small subjects up close.  This requires attention to detail and often reveals unseen beauty.  Have a look at some flowers and plants in nature.  Some moss or ferns, perhaps tree bark or sea shells?  Just some plants around the house?  Try the images in black & white so that you see shape and form without the distraction of colour.

Try long exposure photography to capture motion in a creative way, such as light trails at night or smooth water flows during the day.  Even set up a tripod in the window and shoot the movement of clouds or the swaying of tree.  Easy to do, and requires no expense.  The possibilities are endless and you are beginning to stretch your brain.  Instead of just doing the usual, try some photography that you wouldn't normally do.  Anything that requires some thinking.

Next, try Abstract Photography - Look for patterns, textures, and shapes in everyday objects or scenes. Abstract photography challenges you to see beyond the obvious.

A client and friend of ours runs an Airsoft Gaming site, and she leant us a load of weaponry that we could photograph at leisure in the studio where we could practice looking at shapes, forms, curves and how light falls and reflects from different surfaces.  It gave us opportunities to experiment with hard and soft light, the use of reflectors - and especially black flats.  Never underestimate how useful black flats are in taking away light from a subject!  I know it sounds counter-intuitive to remove light, but sometimes this technique can really make all the difference to an image.

Completely coincidentally we were approached by a marketing agency to take some photographs of various internal car parts that were produced for luxury cars.  The images would have to appeal to someone who appreciated great design, as well as look beautifully manufactured and perfectly finished to a high-standard.  These were under-the-bonnet items that would be seldom seen, but they were for luxury brands, so it was important to know that everything about these cars was pure class and made to the highest standards.  They had to appeal to designers as well as manufacturers all with the same images.  And they also had to look "sexy"!  That was our brief!

Purely because we had been experimenting with the airsoft guns and rifles a few months earlier, we took on the job with relish, and the customer was delighted.  We had already exercised our creative brains, and when a tough job came along we knew were in good shape and "match fit"!

Photographing Different Lighting Conditions - Experiment with photographing during golden hour, blue hour, night time, and challenging lighting situations to master exposure and white balance.  Forget auto white balance.  Set your colour temperature for something you feel suits the mood.  We often talk about colour balance in our workshops.  These two images were both taken with Elinchrom studio heads, which are set to Daylight 5600°K.  When we set the camera to a higher temperature (6500°K) the image would appear warmer.  Set the camera to less than the temperature of the light, in this case we set the camera to Tungsten (3200°K) and immediately the image looks cooler.  No one is better than the other - we like them both equally.  It is a great way of changing moods of an image without having to fiddle around in editing software.

Photographing Reflections - Explore reflections in water, mirrors, windows, or other surfaces. This adds depth and interest to your images.

Take something you love already, and seek ways to present it with your own style.  Don’t even consider copying.  Put your own twist on it and make it something that is creatively yours even if it nods to the previous creation.  Think about how many times Vampires have been featured in stories, and yet the Twilight series of novels and films refreshed and recreated the whole idea of vampires and made them fresh and relevant for today, and not hidden away in Gothic Castles.  That made it more scary, but also cool and fashionable.

Continuing with the fantasy idea where all stories are routed somewhere, how many times can we create witches?  Motherland: Fort Salem, The Mayfair Witches, Heirs of The Night and Domino Day are all vastly different from each other, but build on ideas already out there.  There is no shame in being inspired by ideas like this - as long as you don't copy!

Reflection - Set aside time to reflect on your creative process.  What worked well?  What could be improved?  Look at your images again.  Be critical - but also allow yourself praise for something that you are really pleased with.

Embrace Solitude

Alone Time - Schedule regular periods of solitude where you can recharge and reflect without distractions.  Daydreaming - Allow your mind to wander freely.  It is allowed and shouldn't be frowned upon.  Some of the best ideas emerge during moments of quiet contemplation.

Doodle and scribble.  It's no good having great ideas for creativity for your business or your personal development if you can't remember them.  It also gives you time to reflect.  I often come back to things I have made notes of, and, in hind-sight, they are not so great.  But I also come across ideas that I had forgotten about and they came to like burst of inspiration, and I feel really excited that they are my own ideas!

START TODAY!  Start small with manageable tasks.  Give yourself an achievable goal to shoot something you wouldn't normally shoot.  Something away from the day job of whatever genre you do for a living.  It will give you fresh enthusiasm if you are feeling jaded - and will benefit you in the long run.  Set deadlines to give you an incentive - but don't beat yourself up if you don't quite make your deadlines.  Just don't make a habit of it!  Go easy on yourself and enjoy it!

By following these steps and incorporating them into your daily routine, you can cultivate creativity and unleash your full creative potential.  Remember, creativity is not something you find; it's something you create through intentional practice and exploration.

Remember, the key to stretching your capabilities is to experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them.  Challenge yourself regularly with new techniques and subjects to keep growing as a photographer.

Although a great photograph excels in technical proficiency and aesthetic appeal, a creative photograph pushes the boundaries of traditional photography through innovation and originality.  Being creative is vitally important because it enriches the photographic process, fosters personal growth, delivers immeasurable satisfaction and enhances the ability to connect with and inspire others.

Please get in touch with and let us know how you exercise your creativity and what gives you inspiration.  Let's share ideas in The Photographer's Gym™ group on Facebook.

I started with a quote, so I will leave you with another . . .

"Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought." – Albert Einstein.