Promoting Passion Week 40: Q&A Part 2
A little while ago I did a Q&A video and wanted to follow up with that with a part 2 – the more technical/business questions that I saved from last time! If you have any questions lingering after this video, please feel free to post them in the comments here and I’ll do my best to respond today!
Missed the first Q&A? Here it is!
The picture here was snapped on a disposable camera while hosting a retreat in the UK this past August. It was such a perfect representation of how I feel most of the time – quiet and reflective and happy, so I thought it would be good to share during a post that’s just me being me!
I have questions for you also, and I think a lot of people can benefit from hearing the answers.
Here are some questions that I’d love for you to answer below (any or all):
1. How do you come up with your best creative ideas?
2. What is one piece of advice you have been given that you cherish most?
3. What is one thing that you do everyday that makes you happier/healthier?
Still have a question?
Ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to respond!
My next creativeLIVE class to learn more about image compositing!
15 thoughts on “Promoting Passion Week 40: Q&A Part 2”
1. I get my best inspiration when I’m not looking for it. Typically comes from regular life experience.
2. Best piece of advice I think was to not get into a fight you can’t win. Come back when you’re ready. I apply this to my career in art as I am still holding back a ton of work. I know this sounds counterproductive but to me it makes sense. I will succeed…..when the time is right.
3. I try to take your advice and include adventure in my life as much as possible.
Now a question for you. I have a few ways that I try to achieve that artsy, painterly look. My methods don’t always work for every image though. So what is your sure fire way to achieve this?
1. The best inspiration comes to me in meditation. I can be so still and silent and so focused. I always scare my cat when I jump up and scramble for paper and pen to record my new idea when it comes. Often seemingly out of silence in my brain it just emerges. I love it.
2. Best piece of advice… If your heart is in it and you pursue it with love all of the doors will open and the people and things you need will appear. I am banking on that : P
3. YOGA . Another way to calm my mind and treat my body. I actually am about to start teaching in three weeks!! My best meditation comes after a long Yoga session. Of course then comes inspiration then comes art. It is all one big lump of awesomeness.
Woot Woot a new creative live coming? Awesome sauce!!
1. I find inspiration in finding the hidden and untold stories of locations. Whenever I go to a new location I imagine what has or could happen there and use that as a blank canvas. I often put pressure on myself to plan more but I am coming to understand that the way I find inspiration doesn’t have to be the same as other artists.
2. You have only yourself to answer to at the end of each day. I keep this as a reminder to always be true to myself (something I continue to struggle with) and to know that the one person you can’t lie to is yourself.
3. I write and practice meditation in the morning, which I find helps to set the tone for my day. The days I don’t have time to do this are usually more frantic and anxiety-ridden.
Question- what are your thoughts on overcoming the gap between where you are and where you want to be? As a fairly new artists (did a little career-shift) I often get overwhelmed and paralyzed thinking about where I want to be.
Thank you so much for your work and inspiration.
Kelsey
1. My “Brain.” I’m not being silly here, but that’s what I call my photography notebook. There was a time where I had all my ideas bulleted in a notebook, but I could never organize or expand on the idea because there just simply wasn’t enough room anymore. So, I bought a new notebook and dedicate at least one full page to its own idea. I always keep an open mind. Inspiration strikes at times when you least expect it. It helps to always have something to jot down at least a sentence or two right on the spot, when the creative juices are still so fresh. A lot of the time, before my ideas make it to my notebook, because I don’t always have it on me, I;ll write a note down in my phone or copy something down on a post-it.
2. Ah, there are so many things I could say here, but I think I’ll have to say, push. Push yourself to go out and do something new. What might seem like anxiety, actually might just be pure excitement. Life is all about trying new experiences and once you start feeling really comfortable, you’ve gotta shake something up. This doesn’t mean it’ll always work out, but you put yourself out there.
3. Something I try to do each day is find at least an hour to dedicate to myself, to eater clear my head or brainstorm ideas. I feel like I work my best when it comes to thinking of new concepts to shoot, when I writing for shorter amounts of time. I tend to start over thinking ideas and then second guessing my self on what new things to create. Shorter timeframes help you stay with your gut. 🙂
Can you please talk in more detail about the techniques you use to soften your images and get that painterly look? It’s amazing and I just don’t get it.
Thanks, you’re awesome!
You are so kind to share all this with us! . Thank you for talking about contracts…this is the part that I don’t like. I’m sure I’m not the only one. But it’s so important!
1- My best creative ideas come by staying open and flexible to whatever shows up at the moment I’m taking the pictures and also post processing. My finish product is always so different from what I intended to do!
2- “It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just need to be good enought” it is so easy to get stuck in perfectionism. And also, nothing is really “perfect” but that doesn’t mean that they are not amazing or beautiful.
3- I have actually 4 things that need to do every day to stay balanced: meditate, eat healthy, move! and have some quality time with my loved ones 🙂 .
And my question to you is: how do you manage to be so consistent with your creation of images and posts even while you are travelling and doing all this other things? how do you manage your time to balance life and work?
Thank you so much for being so kind, loving and INSPIRING! I wish I could give you a big hug <3
I would say my inspiration is spontaneous. I cannot create anything, if I force my inspiration. So my inspiration comes when I least expect it. It may be a comment from a friend, or an abandoned house, or a poem I’m are reading, or a movie … So, I always carry my little notebook. I have already received plenty of good advice and were very grateful. But given the phase that I’m living today, of great fluidity in creativity and happiness, my advice will be the same that was given to me by someone and that has to do with the constant thinking that “I’m not good enough “. We all are special, unique and beautiful, no matter what others think. While we think we are not good enough, we will not achieve our dreams and passions and we will never be what we want to be. Be what you want to be, and do not mind with others. Promote your passion. I not always do the same thing every day that makes me well. Things that make me feel good, happy and health are, living and socializing with my friends and see them smile, running, cycling, meditate and helping any way I can. Have a great retreat Brooke. <3
Prints are so different from a computer screen I unload images to Walgreens and pick up the prints about an hour later. > 4×6 for about 30 cents. Sometimes I process the same image in a different way and print both versions. I then tape prints to my wall and look at them for a few days. This gives me ideas and lets me evaluate what I have done.
Let’s see…
1. I get my most creative ideas when I least expect it….in other words, I will be doing the most mundane, uncreative tasks and this great idea will just pop into my head. Or i will wAke up in the middle of the night with this great idea that will usually keep me up for a while after. As frustrating as it might be, the greatest ideas usually occur when I have no way of recording it…
2. The best advice I ever got was from a photographer, whose name escapes me. She told me to give myself permission…permission to call myself a photographer, to call myself a creative and an artist.
3. One thing I like to do to keep myself happy and healthy is to take a few moments and just be…even if it is just sitting in the car for a few minutes longer or take a few breaths when I first lay in bed for the night. My mind is always racing so I try to have a few minutes of quiet in my head.
Hey, Brooke! Hello from Texas! Ok, my question is simple. What’s the image you’ve done in the begging of your career that you totally feel like doing it all over again? If so, which ones? Love and thanks for your videos!
1. Sometimes during a shoot under pressure / limited time. Sometimes when I see or hear something beautiful. It depends on the situation.
2. Do what you love. It sounds cliché, but I think it’s much more than just an advice everyone has heard a thousand times. Like Michelle Walls states in her post, if you’re really following your passion you can give yourself permission that what you do is right. It’s always returning to doing what you love whenever you may have left your path. And to always make or take time for your passion even or especially when it’s not your (main) profession.
3. Taiji, Meditation, Yoga, Awareness exercices. I do it a lot less than I would like. But sometimes it just takes some breathes to feel yourself again.
I love this blog and the idea of the community. I also wanted to post a few weeks ago, when you posed some questions but I just didn’t manage it (for whatever reason). So here’s to participating more 🙂
Halo dear Brooke!
How awesome is that portrait of you?! 😀
Ok, my answers:
1. I am mostly inspired by my environment, the natural landscape and the lessons nature teach us. And also often by my inner landscape, my emotions and thoughts, struggles and victories.
2. The most important piece of advice? Just keep going. Don’t look at what people say or how they respond (though sometimes there’s some valuable lessons there as well…) but keep your goal in mind and keep at it, persistence is needed for success, and that success should be defined by yourself and not by the world.
3. Walk on the beach! Or in the forest. Or climb a mountain. Anything that takes me outside… I am incredibly lucky to be able to live in one of the most beautiful places, and I don’t take it for granted.
Thanx for making room for this creative community! 😀
Understanding of yourself and what you’re attempting to do is crucial! Here are my answers to your questions:
1. I’ve followed your advice for a while now and try to find inspiration everywhere. From there, I try to let the idea form naturally and write down ideas as it evolves. Some ideas don’t get very far, others become all-consuming obsessions. I try to follow through on any ideas that I feel are complete.
2. The best advice that I have ever received is “Do what you love, the money will follow”. This is repeatedly proven to be true in every endeavor that I have taken on. If you aren’t doing what makes you happy – then what’s the point?
3. One thing that I do every day that makes me happy is to explore my creative ideas. Sometimes its for a few minutes, other times its for hours! In the end it helps me to understand my concepts and motivations – which in the end allows me to create with purpose.
Ah, making us think again!
1. I have a lot of quiet time at work. One of the locations I work is in a loft that overlooks a lot of trees. Often, I just stare and let my mind wander. Lately, I have been inspired by sayings or events and most recently a video I saw.
2. Best piece of advice from my husband: “Why would you do portraits or baby sessions if you don’t love them? What’s the point of doing photography if it doesn’t make you completely happy?”
3. The one thing I do every day to make me happy is to hug my children. Also treating random strangers well (simple things like holding open a door) makes me happy because it makes them smile.
1. Spend time by myself, take away all the people and the noise and in your own company you will find inspiration in your thoughts
2. Everything ends, whether good or bad everything will end. This teaches us to make the most of the good things in life and persevere through the bad
3. What is one thing that you do everyday that makes you happier/healthier? Listen to music, walk and take time to reflect. Usually these are all combined