Last week we talked about how to avoid burnout as a wedding photographer and one of my tips was to find time for creativity. This week I want to dive deeper into that advice and talk about ways to fill up your creative cup! As wedding photographers, we are in a very creative business but really it comes down to the simple fact that it is still a business. Most photographers love the creative side of their business but end up spending most of their time on the day to day part of running a business like marketing, communication, taxes, etc. It can be easy to fall into the cycle of only focusing on the business aspect and neglecting what probably brought you to photography in the first place; creativity.
Whether you have time to work these tips into your weekly schedule or set aside time once a month, I highly recommend making time for them because filling up your creative cup is just as important to your business as keeping your bank accounts in order!
1. Seek inspiration
We live in a world full of amazing inspiration right at our fingertips. Set aside some actual time to purposefully scroll your phone or computer to seek out inspiration. You can head to Pinterest and pin things that you’d love to photograph and start getting inspiration for a styled shoot! Go to Instagram and search different hashtags like “hawaiielopement” or “europeanwedding” to start seeing images that spark your creativity. It also totally doesn’t have to be wedding photography related! Pin ANYTHING that inspires you. The goal here isn’t to really do anything actionable other than save things that you find fun or creative!
2. Take action
Now that you have some inspiration, it’s time to take action! This doesn’t mean you have to plan a full styled shoot. Instead I want you to plan out time to photograph something that sounds fun to you. It’s that simple. It can be a hugely elaborate styled shoot if that’s what fills YOUR creative cup. You can do new headshots or self portraits that you’ve always wanted to do. Photograph a couple’s session that you’ve been dying to do, like a lake session or pizza parlor date. It can truly be anything. This is where you can look back at the inspiration you gathered and see if anything sparks your creativity! Feel free to recreate something you found or try something totally new. You don’t even have to ever show off the photos if you don’t want to. This should just be for fun.
3. Invest in your creativity
You know that I believe in investing in your business through outsourcing and attending workshops, among other things, but this is a bit different. I want you to invest in something that is purely creative. Now again, it can be attending a workshop in a location that you’d love to go, or purchasing a ticket for an online workshop. It doesn’t have to be though! Purchase a new record to listen to while editing, buy a book that looks interesting, or even take a painting class! Like all of these tips, the point isn’t to be doing something business related. It’s to get your creative juices flowing!
Above all, I want to encourage you to carve out time to do something that feels creative to you. That’s different for everyone! As photographers though, it’s easy to go months or even a year without photographing anything just for fun. I think it’s important to still do that! Not only will it keep you from feeling burnt out, but it will allow you to pour your creativity back into your business and clients, which is the ultimate goal!
-Liz
