“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the 'creative bug' is just a wee voice telling you, 'I'd like my crayons back, please.” ― Hugh MacLeod
As photographers, we are meant to be creative-its part of the job. But sometimes staying creative is hard. Sometimes it freely flows out of you and sometimes its left you and gone far, far away- and that's o.k. It happens to everyone.
To say that the shots that are my best or my favorite were the ones that took me forever to conceptualize, light, pose and then photograph, would be a lie. Don't get me wrong, some of them are, but not all of were so easy. Sometimes the most extraordinary shots happen out of no-where, and the serendipity of it is incredible. But you can't solely rely on luck. This is were your creativity comes into play.
Here's what I have learned about creativity.
***insert cheesy movie line*** If you build it, it will come. Creativity is like a muscle, when you work it, it grows. The more you use creativity, the stronger, and more abundant it is. But you have to use it. It's a daily thing- an exercise.
But here's the thing about Creativity. To be a creative thinker, you don't have to think creatively. In fact, the more you focus on trying to be "creative" the less creative you will be. Creativity cannot be forced. Forcing it out of you will only frustrate you. To be a creative thinker you just have to keep your thinking open and wide.
Most often, the thing that cripples us from being creative is small thinking. Small thinking will only hurt you. Small thinking forces you into a box, it gives you limitations and constrictions.
So be careful, because cramming yourself in a box is easy, and staying open is hard- it takes work. But always remember, out of limitations comes creativity.
No comments:
Post a Comment