There are many things in this world that inspire me. My children move me daily with their fearless drive to do the things their hearts desire. They do not stop to wonder if they are playing the way they are supposed to be playing. They simple do what feels right. They enjoy themselves without worries. As a birthday present to myself, I took an online photography class. If you love beautiful photos filled with raw emotion, please do yourself a favor and check out The Blissful Maven. Candice Zugich, the photographer/owner of The Blissful Maven, is offering a Breakout Session over at CMUniversity. It’s still available until February 16th. Seriously, I can’t say enough good things about The Emotional Artist Breakout. “Inspired” hardly does it justice.
I have an unfortunate tendency to try to create with technical perfection. I know “perfection” is subjective, especially in the creative world, but being a perfectionist is in my blood. Things around me must have order, and tasks are carried out with structure or a formula to reach the desired outcome. It drives me crazy that certain things drive me crazy. I just want to just let go and let live. My office (well, my desk anyway – half of the office is the boys’ “office”) is almost always in perfect order. Papers are stacked perfectly, and the entire space looks like I’ve set in up for a photograph. Pictures on the wall must be straight. I’ve straightened them in other people’s houses – it’s that bad. When I put mascara on, I separate my eye lashes with a needle because I can’t stand clumps – there, I’ve publicly admitted I’m a crazy person. And, in true OCD fashion, I zoom in to 300% while editing client’s photographs and perfect things that no one else – at least not without the proper software – would ever know existed.
I love photographs that capture movement, but these are the photographs that scare me to create. I pick them apart too much. It’s actually surprisingly difficult to create a blurry photo the way you envision it. I was initally drawn to The Blissful Maven because her images are full of emotion, movement, and rawness. Candice is truly an artist I admire. Her creative process is so unafraid. After absorbing the materials from her Breakout Session, I am inspired! It was exactly what I needed. I have it in me to create with my heart and not my head. I just need to be reminded of it from time to time. Going back to my office analogy, the top of my desk may scream perfectionist, but if you open any of the drawers, you would think, “this woman is an unorganized horder.” (My mind and personality are a mess of contradictions.) The point is, we all have it in us and could benefit from letting go of how we are supposed to do things, and just live by embracing what feels right. I want to push the shutter when I’m moved to, not just when the frame is technically accurate.
As a birthday gift, I persuaded my boys to do a bed room photo shoot. I didn’t put any techincal expectation on the images – I just let myself love them.
I read about it all the time in photography forums and articles – GET YOURSELF IN THE FRAME. Candice also writes about the art of self portraiture in her Breakout Session. As parents, we are often the ones behind the camera capturing our children’s moments. Someday, our grown children might actually want to see what we looked like back then, and you might actually enjoy seeing a younger you. I try to take self portraits occasionally for that reason. Also, it’s a great way try new things in front of the camera – lighting, poses – call it research if you will. However, in a society over saturated with selfies, the self portrait gets a bad rap. People have all kinds of strong opinions about selfies. You either embrace them, or you roll your eyes every time you scroll past them on social media. I think many people have forgotten the fact that selfies have been around a lot longer than the term has been popular slang. Selfies are essentially a casual self portrait. A way of expressing yourself at a certain moment in time. The first “selfie” was supposedly taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839. His selfie is also thought it be “one of the first photographs of a person” (thanks Wikipedia). Looking at mediums other than just photography, the self portrait goes back centuries. Frida Kahlo, Rembrandt, and Vincent van Gogh are just a few to paint highly revered self portraits.
I myself smile when I scroll past selfies on Facebook and appreciate my friends and family for the unique creatives that they are. Although, it is easier to smile when your selfies are taken in good lighting. So, in the spirit of the upcoming holiday, go out there and love your selfie and find inspiration in the things you create. Be unafraid, honest, and free.
