Putting Inspiration to Flesh
This is my very first post here so I hope I am doing this right :-)Have you ever taken a moment to really sit down and think through your creative process? Over the past week this is what I have been doing, and frankly it is really eye opening. I have realized that I dont so much have a "process" as much as a "Squirrel" moment. If you saw UP, that should get at least a giggle.
I find myself wandering through antique and thrift stores snapping pictures of things that I find interesting or inspirational. I have good intentions of getting home, looking at those pictures and creating something new and fresh for my clients. But what has been happening lately is ...well life. I get busy and forget about the picture.
When I do get to them I loose that spark of creativity that I was so excited about to begin with. Is this just a sign of my ADD or am I missing something in the creative process here??
Taking this thought a little further. Those times that I am able to hold on to the "spark" and I get all my ideas out onto paper. What then? I find myself getting so lost and stuck in the details and the composition of the shot that I loose the client's needs. This is not good and certainly NOT good for business. Is there a magic process or formula for this?
What is YOUR process for creating that fresh new set/location/color theme for a client?
Mary Ellen
http://lighthouselifeinpictures.com
This is a great question.
I made a post about this subject a couple months ago. Did you happen to read it?
http://lbobi.com/2010/09/the-creative-odd-duck.html
I didnt before since I just got started here but I just went through it! Thanks :-)
When I'm creating something, whether it be a wedding album or a Christmas card, I try to remember to step back from what I'm working on a few times.
Save it, close it, work on something else for a few minutes, and then revisit your project. You'll catch something new each time.
Also, try to work within some sort of self-imposed time limit. Once you "zone in" it can be too easy to over-obsess about the details, and you'll end up wasting time or disliking the results. Take little breaks if you can.
Mary Ellen! Welcome to lbobi!!!!
YES this is the hard part about being creative - the actual process that has to happen to pull something tangilbe out of your brain :)
We all have "squirrel" moments - I truly feel ADD is just a part of being a creative person... In fact "squirrel" is a running joke with some of our very close photog friends - I even said it a few times on the stage during our platform talk...
Do NOT let having "squirrel" moments stop you from SHIPPING as Seth Godin says.
Take all of those photos, notes, pieces of paper, fabric, sketches whatever and sit down with them. Sometimes it really helps me to physically make something before I put it on the computer. Especially when i'm designing a new product - I usually sketch it out and build a comp. Nothing fancy just something tangible so I can see what works and what doesn't when it comes to sizing etc.
So take a tiny idea that you've had and go sit down with it for a little bit - sketch, write, cut, paste - just make something. Don't be afraid it wont work - it might not and when you see that it doesn't the mess-up might make you envision a better idea all together
go create!
Allison :)