Personal Projects

It has been hard being temporarily closed. Mostly as this is typically my busy season and the time I am really itching to get out and shoot. I really have no excuses. I have two (mostly) willing models at my fingertips and of course my studio lives on my property. I’ll be honest, I am taking plenty of photos but not really feeling super creative or pushing myself creatively. Instead I have been in a rut. You may be reading that and saying…she is CRAZY, I am seeing all kids of creative fun photos/posts. That is true-ish. We have been working on our #familyselfe photo challenge that you may have seen. (RED, GREEN, BW so far). But those are really a creative project for the whole family and we are shooting selfie style. So while WE are being creative, I am not necessarily being creative. I have also been ignoring my camera. So most of what you have seen recently have been taken with my phone. This is not a bad thing…but it doesn’t feel as creative to me.

Things are starting to look up. A fellow photographer and I started a little mini photo war. One where we grab our cameras and take a photo of something close to home. It’s been mostly floral so far and only started about a week ago but it made me pick up my camera and start shooting. No expectations. Just a fun little challenge that was enough to spark some creativity and get me going.

Now, I am on a roll and found that spark I have been missing. You never know what will spark your creativity. I always believe that it is experiencing life. Getting out and being in the world. Seeing new things. Well, under #quarantine that gets tricky and I don’t want my creativity to be “Social Distancing” or “Covid” related as frankly I’m just tired of it all. It does not inspire me but instead puts a pit in my stomach. It is important to keep your eyes and ears open for anything that may inspire you. I found mine in one comment on social media. I had posted a family selfie for the week and a friend said Lily reminded her of Wednesday Adams, just the wrong color (Lily was in yellow).

That small comment did it for me. She was right. She did kinda look like Wednesday. She was actually wearing my apron from Sur La Table over a yellow shirt she had. I think what did it, was the color on the apron, Lily’s expression and her braids. Here is the photo…

Now to the fun part of this post. That comment inspired me to create an old fashioned looking black and white photo, with a nod to Wednesday Adams. I know that working in the studio and with kids, you just have to go in with an idea and let it play out. The results were even BETTER than I had expected and now have lit a fire for me to shoot a BUNCH more.

I had Lily get all dressed up again, grabbed a few props from our Halloween bin and set up one simple light with a black background in the studio. I will also tell you I took these in about 15 minutes. The real magic was in her expression, the lighting and of course the post processing where I really pushed this to another level. Now instead of a Wednesday Adams, I think I crossed into something even more.

Gives all kids of creepy vibes doesn’t it? Once I had a handful from Lily that I fell in love with I moved on to capture a couple of Lennox. Grabbed a couple more random props I had around the house.

So what do you do with these images? YOU PRINT THEM. No project is complete without the final product for me. I am still thinking pondering this a bit on what type of products would be best, but for starters I am planning on printing one 16x20 of each of my kids on metal for my office. I just have to pick my favorite shot from each kid. What do you think?

I have more of these up my sleeve and will share soon. I know these are a bit outside the box and maybe you are not a fan. BUT for those that are…Mini Sessions are on the horizon. It might be time to dig out those Halloween props and let’s create some magic together.

If you are a photographer reading this and want more information about the post processing or behind the scenes set up, leave a comment or message me. I may be convinced to create a video!

Life Out Loud~
Whitney

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