One of the most valuable lessons I learned last year was the importance of continual creation. As a photographer, I would think that the conditions were not correct & therefore, I’d abandon the project. I was so obsessed with making exactly what I envisioned that I often wouldn’t even attempt because OMG I AM A PERFECTIONIST INFJ PROBLEMS.  I soon came to realize, creating something exactly that I picture in my head is foolish and impossible.  For one, my head has no budget, For two, it’s in my head so there is no limits to the reality around us. What I try to do instead was enter into each creative session with instead an IMAGE I wanted to capture, a FEELING I wanted to create, express, etc.

That’s not to say, I didn’t try to get that image I envisioned, but I didn’t let the inability to capture exactly what I wanted to stop me from creating.

At the end of the day, you’ll fail a lot, but sometimes, you’ll leave a session getting something completely unexpected and totally awesome.

That to me now, has been more important than ever and has allowed me to let go of the limiting emotions behind perfectionism.  When you really think about perfectionism, it is a fear of failure.  If you let go of that, you’re down to create whatever.  Sure it’s scary, everything around is fucking terrifying, but what’s great is you’ll learn what you like to shoot, when you like to shoot and how you like to shoot as an artist that way.  Some of my favorite images are technical failures. But they capture an emotion or express a feeling I am unable to do in words & for me that’s more important than technical perfection.

My creative outlook for 2017 will be this: shoot a creative/stylized shoot once a month.  One that isn’t about money or publication. One that is about me, my creative voice and aesthetically, what gets my socks off. Create things I like and be comfortable in what I like. For instance, it was suggested to me that I shoot men. I have no interest in shooting men as my main focus. I prefer photographing women. We are much more visually interesting in my opinion, and I love overt femininity. It’s okay to listen to people’s suggestions, but do your own thing. Have courage in your truth.

Finding your “creative voice’ is a continual process, and for me, I am constantly working on figuring out what that means.  I challenge you to create on a regular basis.