About a month ago, Susannah kindly asked if I wanted to contribute a guest post on her blog on the topic of creativity and why it is important to me. I didn't hesitate to agree, but little did I realise how difficult this seemingly innocuous task would be. It seems mad, but seriously, up until that moment I had never actually asked myself the question: why is creativity important to me?
You just need to ask Cam, but many restless evenings ensued. There was frustration; and there was fear. I felt challenged, but not in a good way; after all how could I possibly write about a topic which clearly has me literally lost for words. Doubt crept in, then it flooded me.
But eventually the words surfaced, and you can see the result here.
However, in all honesty, despite the weeks of turmoil thinking about the post, no sooner had I sent it off to Sus, I started forgetting it. Real life took over, and what with my mother's sudden stroke, there was little time to think of anything so seemingly self indulgent. So reading my post again tonight was a timely reminder.
With wedding season upon us (5 pre-wedding shoots in the last fortnight, and the first in a run of weddings is on Sunday) I needed to stop and remember. I needed to remember that photography is my form of creative expression, and it’s an integral part of me which I also happen to do for a living. This sometimes gets lost, for when my hobby became something I now rely on for a living, the urge to please sneaks in; not least because I really like the people we photograph, and I want them to like what we do for them!
Tonight however I was reminded how creativity underpins what I do, and I don't just want people to like what we do for them, I want them to love what we capture for them. For that to happen, I need to remember my creative work and paid work doesn’t need to be, in fact shouldn’t be, mutually exclusive.
ps. I gave Sus the wrong blog link. My current blog is here. Please do drop by and say hello :)