My creativity got way too giddy upon receiving an inquiry that read, “We want you to take photos of us in the sand dunes…oh and I want to wear a gold glittery dress.” I knew this was going to be good.
I have always been so drawn to dust swirling in dusk, it genuinely captivates me, this location was simply a sea of sand made for my soul.
We made our way out to the barren center of the dunes. Just as the sun began to steep into the sand, I knew it was time to stir up some magic. I had no exact ‘plan’ for this shoot, I just knew to allow the space for creativity to speak to me. To not confining my art to any decided structure or expectation.
This approach is what leads me to my most alive self, a ‘me’ that creates freely and fully. And simple ‘dust catching in the light’ moment being brought to life is a reflection of that passion in which I am grateful to have within me, and bring into my ‘work’.
That raw and uncalculated experience with inspiration is what all of us creatives are addicted to. If you are reading this right now, I am willing to bet that you know exactly what I am talking about. So here is a photo of two people in the sunshine casually engulfed in the dirt. It is rather plain when you think about it, and yet this is the stuff that I live for.
As any portrait photographer would, I have all kinds of traditional poses in my directional vocabulary. It would be undeniably very easy to do the same thing over again and again with my photos. Though the real magic is always stored in that sweet spot of switching it up, in being different, and not forsaking my artists’ intuition. Not for the sake of being ‘unique’, but for the sake of authentically interacting with what creativity my soul may be sparked by. There could be poses upon poses, though what keeps my creativity fresh for me is being intentional in listening to what ignites my passion at any given moment during a session. This ‘pose’ is theoretically unrevolutionary, it is two people + light + sand, but I know that I was following the thrill of it all, and that is what really means something to me. The thought of the sand catching in the light in this grand way excited me, and that approach to my craft is something that I always consider myself ‘successful’ for listening to, if not even just grateful for my awareness of, regardless of any final outcome.