Let me reveal something real quick…By nature I am not a creative person. Problem solver, planner, organizer? Yes, a loud resounding yes! Artistic, spontaneous, and embracing of creative side…not so much. All this to say that when a moment of creative, zen-like inspiration finds its way to you, you open your mind and embrace it.
That’s what happened last week. B&H Photography featured on week long education course on their channel all about Food Photography. Since that is how I make a living these days I felt it would be in my best interest to continue with these additional educational resources. There were many helpful tips and reminders from many of the presenters, but one in particular really had impact. The presenter was Alan Shapiro and I was blown away by the things he shared. To begin his images are amazing, but the way he creates and comes up with shots is next level. It was really simple, he started shooting for himself, no rules, limits or project goals. One hour each day, just enjoying the process of creating!
I don’t do that anymore. I did when I first started, it’s one of the things they tell you to do when you get a camera. Start practicing, take a picture of anything just to practice and learn your camera settings, how to manipulate light, how to compose a shot, how to edit. I did all those things. And then life happens. Slowly the time spent on fun reduced, and work, obligations and achieving life goals takes over (at least for this Type A personality). The same thing started happening in my photography. I only picked up the camera when I had a photoshoot for a brand or creator or I was developing something for Chomping at the Pic (yes, Chomping at the Pic is a full-time job). The pictures weren’t bad, they just weren’t creative, they didn’t spark joy for me, they were simply a task on the to do list.
All that changed when I heard this presentation. I started to think about why I picked up a camera to begin with. It wasn’t for any of the reasons I use it today. I started because I was inspired by images I saw from Nick Brandt. I mean I literally ordered a camera and booked a trip to South Africa based on his photos! Now my photos were not even remotely close to the images he has captured, but I took thousands of pictures on that trip and thoroughly enjoyed every step of the process of creating my own images. I wanted to be able to capture beautiful scenes that told compelling stories and were full of emotion. So where did all that go?
Wherever it went, it is time to get it back! So I begin today reviewing images from some of Nick’s books and thinking about how I can incorporate those same ideas into food photography that is just for me, for fun, for the love of it. Some images you may see, some you most definitely will not. But what I think you will start to see is how the photography from these exercises brings new depth and storytelling to my work. Now don’t worry, you’ll still get vegan recipes and photos of the food here. That isn’t changing, but I think this shift in mindset may just be the best thing yet! How about for you? Let me know how you hit the reset button and find your Why. I’d love to hear from you!