why the creative process is a vital part of your family and branding photography
N OW P L AY I N G: ‘Vertigo’ by Griff // This song has really locked in for me as the one where I was handing in my MFA dissertation. I had it on repeat walking backwards and forwards to uni whilst being completely taken by how I’d made it to this point. I had only just started and then it was finishing. I’ve talked about all the reasons why I decided to go back to study for my masters in photography at the end of my thirties here and here but I’m a good few months out now and have had some time to process the impact of the experience.
One of my biggest takeaways was coming to really understand and accept that the creative process is trial and error for everyone who engages in it. It doesn’t sound like rocket science when you see it written down, but in real life practice, as we get older we’re used to gaining control over things. As we become more experienced in what we do and we deliver it time and time again, we become secure in the muscle memory of knowing we can make it happen.
During the MFA I was completely stripped of all of that. The journey took me right back to being absolutely nowhere and the first time it happened it was so frustrating. There were certainly times when I just wanted the answer (understatement), but over time and repeatedly engaging in new concepts, I learnt that the answer does come.
If you get stuck into the process.
Now I’m committed to making sure I regularly put myself through things that stretch my thinking, that expand my knowledge and that teach me new perspectives. It’s important to be open - to keep in touch with what it means to be learning and growing. Ultimately, staying vulnerable reminds me what it’s like to be in front of the camera and that’s such a vital part of working with you on your branding or family photography.
One of my absolute favourite things about photography is the way it triggers nostalgia. For people, for experiences, for the tiny bits of life that made us who we are today. Driven by that, my latest personal project is learning film photography. I bought a Canon AE-1 and it’s a beauty but I’ve found myself right back at the beginning of building a skillset again. I was really careful with my first film, thought about it, didn’t ‘waste’ the shots, it took me three months to shoot 24 pictures. Waiting for the scans to come back from the lab felt pretty torturous, it took seven days until the email popped up in my inbox and the excitement was too much. Only to find it really hadn’t worked out.
I mean, we know I love movement and blur, but that was all there was.
Opening the folder of scans and finding these was a reminder that I’m at the beginning of the process - I don’t yet have the muscle memory to fall back on, and I want to build that. So I went right back in. This time I watched the whole YouTube videos and didn’t skip the parts I thought could figure out. I worked it though and shot my next 35mm in film in ten mins, and had it at the post office that afternoon. Credit to my kids who stuck with me through it, getting only mildly pissed off at my stalking them round the kitchen trying to work the camera.
There is still, and there always will be a long way to go. Yet there are already improvements. The process is working.
Being active in the creative process is as important to you when it comes to your family or branding photography, as it is to me as the person behind the camera. It’s openness about the things you love, the connections you value and how they translate into your imagery. Sometimes we are scared to enter into it because we’ve not loved it in the past. But it’s important to remember that even if it hasn’t worked for you before, it doesn't mean it won’t work next time. Other times we’re curious but we’re not sure what we need or want the outcome to be, so we don’t get into it at all. We never really know what we’re missing out on.
When it comes to photography, don’t be afraid to open the discussion. There’s no knowing where the process will take you.
