Saturday 17 August 2013

A lack of inspiration & why I've started a 52 week challenge (again!)

I'm certain that every creative goes through a phase where they feel completely & utterly un-inspired. I think it comes with the territory, you have these fantastic periods of being inspired which rides with the periods of just... nothing.

I've been trying to force it out - but inspiration isn't something you can force. You just have to let it come to you, the more you force it, the more it drives in the opposite way.
I think it feels almost like a brick wall... you can try various ways of getting over that wall, but it's a hell of a lot easier if you are just patient and wait for the door to open.

I've always been a 'Self Portrait' artist, I started my first 365 waaay back in 2008(ish) whilst I was uninspired in Uni, and kind of continued a photo challenge on and off until around a year ago, when things got too busy that it was some form of task, and not really something I enjoyed.

I flicked through my archives a few weeks back, trying to self motivate myself and see how far I've come in the few years I've been doing Photography... and I realise what I loved most about my Self Portraits was the personal journey I can see back in them. I know what I was doing, how I was feeling and my technical ability when I look back. Especially when I started taking them because I was took scared to approach models, it was my little way of trying to get into Fashion & Editorial work, one baby step at a time.

So, I've decided to take a mini 'hiatus' from Fashion/Editorial photography - not only because I am completely un-inspired but I also want to focus on my Wedding photography which is swiftly picking up. I am so inspired in this field, that it seems silly to try and drive a frustration - I really want to ride this inspiration I have for Weddings and see where it takes me.
As well as this I decided to re-start a 52 week challenge. I'm at a new phase of my life where I want to document it, and re-ignite my drive for creativity!

I always think it's this terribly bad thing to be un-inspired but in reality, I think it's the point in your career where you have to step back, in order to take a bigger leap.

Here are the last 6 weeks of Self Portraits;







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