Creativity doesn’t always arrive on schedule

Why I’m trying to separate the moment an idea appears from the moment I actually make the photograph

One odd thing about photography is that having time to take photographs doesn't always mean having an idea. And having an idea does not necessarily mean having the time to do anything with it.

I’ve become increasingly aware of that mismatch.

Sometimes an idea comes to me at completely the wrong moment. I might be doing something around the house, sitting watching television, looking at somebody else’s photograph, or simply thinking about something entirely unrelated.

Sitting and watching a movie, a scene gives me an idea for a photo shoot....

Then, when I finally have a free afternoon and could actually do some photography, the idea has either disappeared, or I cannot think of anything that feels worth doing.

That seems a bit ridiculous.

So I’ve started trying to separate the two things.

• The idea can arrive whenever it wants.

• The photograph can happen later.

Capturing the idea before it disappears

Right now, most of my photographic ideas end up in Apple Notes on my phone.

There is nothing sophisticated about it. - That is probably why it works.

• My phone is nearly always with me.

• Notes opens quickly.

• If I cannot be bothered typing, I can simply dictate the idea and sort it out properly later.

That matters.

The biggest enemy of a passing idea is friction. If I need to open a computer, create a new document, decide where to save it and organise it into the right folder, there is a good chance the moment has already gone.

A rough sentence in Notes is enough. Sometimes even less than that. - Just enough to remind 'future me' what 'present me' was thinking.

Saving the spark as well as the idea

Often the idea has been triggered by something visual. It might be another photograph, a piece of artwork, an advert, a film still, a lighting effect or something I have seen online.

In those cases, I like to keep the spark with the idea. That might mean attaching an image to the note or adding a web link so I can go back and see what prompted the thought in the first place. (I am not necessarily trying to recreate what I saw.)

Quite often the useful bit is much smaller than that.

• It might be the quality of the light.

• A colour combination.

• A pose.

• The way somebody used negative space.

• A prop.

• A background.

• A particular expression.

If I save that alongside the note, I have a much better chance of understanding later why the idea appealed to me.

The note can grow with the project

At the beginning, the note might be no more than a sentence and an image.

Later, if I decide that the idea is worth pursuing, it can become something more substantial.

That is probably where I want this system to develop next: A project note could eventually include things such as:

• lighting ideas

• props I might need

• possible locations

• clothing or styling

• model names

• a particular face or look I have in mind

• technical notes

• anything I need to make or source beforehand

At that stage, it stops being just an idea and starts becoming a shoot plan.

I like that distinction.

Not every idea deserves to become a project. But the ones that do can gradually gather enough information to become achievable.

The useful category is probably time

My first instinct was to organise ideas by genre.

• Portraits.

• Still life.

• Landscape.

• Creative composites.

That could still be useful, but I do not think it is the most important classification for me. The thing I really need to know is:

How much time will the actual shoot take once I decide to do it?

That sounds slightly mundane for something supposedly creative, but it is probably the most practical question.

Some photographs might take days or even weeks to prepare. You may need to find props, arrange a model, scout a location, organise clothing, test lighting, or wait for a particular time of day.

But once all that is ready, the actual photography might take an hour.

Another idea might need almost no preparation but require half a day to shoot properly. Those are very different things when I am looking at the week ahead and trying to decide what photography will realistically fit.

Quick, half-day and planned

I am increasingly thinking that my ideas need a simple time category attached to them.

Something like:

Quick shoot

An idea I can set up and photograph in an hour or two.

Half-day shoot

Something that needs a little more space and concentration, but is still achievable without turning the whole day over to it.

Planned shoot

Anything needing more coordination, preparation, people, props or location work.

That would let me look at the time and energy I actually have available, then choose an appropriate project.

That feels much more useful than sitting there with a free afternoon thinking:

Right then. What shall I photograph?

Maximize your photography session by matching your available time and energy with the perfect shoot plan: quick, half-day, or fully planned for expansive creativity.

I have done versions of this before

This is not completely new territory for me.

Some successful photographs in the past have come from ideas I had stored away and returned to later.

Quite a few of those have been landscapes, where the idea might depend on returning to a location in the right conditions. I have also done smaller creative projects such as water-drop photography and miniature scenes where the concept existed before the final photograph.

But I want to take that planning further now. Particularly with portraiture and still life.

Those are areas where having an idea in advance can make a real difference because the photograph may depend on having the right person, the right props, the right location or the right lighting.

Waiting until I walk into the studio before deciding what to do is probably asking too much of inspiration!

A studio does not automatically create creativity

Having a home studio should make photography easier. And in many ways it does.

I do not have to book a space or travel anywhere.

If I have a couple of hours available, the room is there.

But a studio doesn't automatically produce an idea.

Sometimes it does the opposite.

There are so many possible things I could do that choosing one becomes the difficult bit.

I think the ideas bank can help me remove that barrier.

Instead of expecting creativity to appear because I happen to have a free afternoon, I can choose from ideas that arrived when I actually felt creative.

That seems a much better arrangement.

The story behind the photograph

Once a project is complete, that can also become an interesting blog post.

Rather than simply publishing the final photograph, I could show how it came together.

• Where the original idea came from.

• What I saved in the note.

• How the concept changed.

• What props or location I needed.

• Any lighting tests.

• Behind-the-scenes photographs.

• What went wrong.

• What changed during the shoot.

• And finally, the finished image.

That feels much more useful than simply showing the idea beforehand.

It turns the blog into a record of the creative process rather than a noticeboard of things I might one day do.

And it gives me another reason to keep better notes during the planning.

Inspiration and execution do not need to happen together

I think that is probably the biggest thing I am taking from this.

For a long time, I have treated photography as though inspiration and opportunity ought to arrive at the same moment. Sometimes they do. Quite often they do not.

The idea might arrive on Tuesday evening.

The planning might happen on Thursday.

The props might take another week to find.

The actual shoot might not happen until the following month.

That does not make the idea less creative.

If anything, giving it time may improve it.

The important thing is capturing it when it appears, then making it easy to find again when I have the right amount of time, energy and opportunity to do something with it.

Creativity does not always arrive on schedule.

Perhaps the trick is not trying to force it to. It is making sure I am ready when it does.

From 'light bulb' moment to 'flash bulb' moment: the idea is only the beginning.

So keep an eye on this photography blog. In future posts, I plan to take you from the original “light bulb” moment through the planning, organising, setup, and shoot, right to the “flash bulb” moment when the final image is captured. I’ll take you along for the whole journey, including the bits that change, the bits that go wrong and, hopefully, the photographs that make it all worthwhile.