IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND CREATIVITY YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED

To become a better creator, I like to be prepared. Continuing on with the thought of internally creating before externally creating, I’ll lend a word about preparation. As the Latin proverb goes, “Fortune favors the bold.” I’m not sure how bold it is to go into something totally prepared, but I do find that the fortuitous moments happen far more often. At least I capture them more often when I’m ready and have my homework finished.

TAKE TIME TO CREATE

How creative can I be if I’m unprepared? I liken it to the writing assignments I would get back in grade school. If I only allowed myself the time needed to put pencil to paper and push out a finalized first draft, I left no room for the magic to happen, no room for change or spontaneity. If, on the off chance, I created an outline, then had written a first draft with a few days to spare, I was not only able to refine the words into something good and finalized, but I had time to be creative and improve my work. You have to spend time being structured and uncreative to be able to save time for creation.

HAPPY ACCIDENTS

I’m not saying don’t be spontaneous or that some of the best photographs were unplanned. However, with photography, I make my worst photographs when I just show up. I have to be prepared in order to have the serendipitous moments. If I have a story or concept I am working towards, and I’m nailing the items I’ve planned for, I have left time, space, and mental effort for experimentation and happy accidents. If I have to come up with the story or the concept the day of the shoot, I find I’m beholden to a schedule or a deadline and leave no room for free thinking.

PREPARATION

Finally, a brief thought on preparation. I’m sure the pre-game routine is different for everyone. I review my Muse folder (collection of inspiring work that gets my wheels turning and the juices flowing). I use packing lists that I have refined over the years so I know I have all of the equipment I may need. I research location, and client, and talent so I know how to coach and direct others into my vision. I create shot lists and map out the story I’m trying to tell. Finally, I ask lots and lots of questions. What elements will help me better tell this story? What are the tastes, sounds, smells, and sights of the story?

How about you? What does your pre-shoot preparation look like?

THOUGHTS ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND CREATIVITY

Dr. Stephen R. Covey

“Vision is what you stand for and principle is how you go about it.” -Dr. Stephen R. Covey

The vision Dr. Covey is talking about in the quote above refers more to the future. Where do you see yourself going? What do you want to accomplish? What is your overall mission or goal? However, being a photographer I read “vision” as meaning my style or the way I see and convey the world I observe. In this regard, there have been volumes written and terabytes of video made around improving photographic vision.

From shutter speeds and apertures to the rule of thirds and post-processing techniques, many people have shared ideas around how to “improve” your photographic creativity. But are these the principles? Is this what Dr. Covey means?

The key to improvement is to align our values, goals, and behaviors with principles. Principles are natural laws. You can’t fake them. Principles govern. They are actual reality, the way things are (Covey). So, I would say that how you go about being creative has nothing to do with technique and everything to do with process.

THE CREATOR PRINCIPLE

Creativity is easy, it’s creation that’s tough! For me, the easy part is brainstorming. I get an overload of thoughts and ideas on a subject, but the real difficulty starts when the distillation process and organization begins...brass tacks. It’s tough to deliver. My Evernote account is full of brainstorming that only has a 10% chance of rain. So, how do we become less creative and more creator?

In my own work, I have found the creator principle to be this: before I can create something physically, I have to create it spiritually. What I mean to say is that before I can create something externally I must first create it internally. It’s about forethought and preparation. Now this might sound basic, principles often are, but I have found this vein of thinking governs all of my greatest photographic accomplishments.

It starts with research and conceptualizing, then moves into story boarding and shot lists, then onto packing lists and preparation. All in an attempt to turn my vision into something tangible. What I've found in the process is that when I follow this recipe of preparation I move farther away from creative regurgitation into creating something new and unique to me.