I’m going to start by debunking a widespread myth: people think that creativity is exclusive to artists, but we are all creative in one way or another.
For example: anyone who comes home starving and opens the fridge will realize that they may not have all the ingredients to make the dish they would like to eat at that moment, so they start looking for ways to use what they have on hand to make dinner. In the end, after a lengthy struggle with their imagination, they come up with a solution that satisfies their appetite.
That, in my opinion, is exactly what creativity is: the ability to find the best solution to a given problem using the elements that are most readily available in each case.
In the artistic realm, photography in our case, the process of finding solutions is very personal, just as the very act of seeing “problems” that need to be solved is personal. There are people who, when faced with a photograph or a situation, are unable to see that something is “wrong” and needs to be fixed. Just as there are people who, when faced with a refrigerator, are unable to improvise a dinner.
In my case, the need to be creative manifests itself mainly when taking photos. Here are some personal quirks and procedures I use to find unexpected (or valid) solutions to artistic problems.
Firstly, to be creative, I need a certain amount of disorder around me. Nothing is less stimulating from an artistic point of view than a tidy desk. Objects out of place provide the initial impetus for the process of selecting specific elements and grouping them in unusual combinations.
Secondly, and somewhat contradictorily, in order to be creative I need to put myself in a state that favors creativity. That means I need rituals. The process can be compared to falling asleep. Before going to bed, we all have actions that we repeat almost every day. Starting with bedtime and continuing with brushing our teeth, taking our medicine (for those of us who need it), and reading for half an hour. We do all these things to tell our bodies “It’s time to stop,” so that we gradually drift off to sleep.
In my case, my ritual is to set up flashes and arrange everything I need to create a central space where the person I am going to photograph will stand. This is the signal I give my brain to let it know that, from the moment I take the first test shot, it needs to be alert to find the right solutions. In photography, these problems can be of many different kinds: for example, finding a flattering combination of lights, deciding what clothes suit the model best, or trying to make the most of the elements at hand (chairs, props, weather conditions) to improve the photos.
Thirdly, and very importantly, being creative necessarily involves narrowing down the problems. And not only because any form of art is born out of limitations, but for a much more basic reason: finding a solution fundamentally consists of knowing the terms of a problem well. When the problem is defined in overly vague terms or too many elements come into play, there is a risk of getting lost along the way or being overwhelmed by a field of work that is too broad.
Using the example of dinner: try not to aim to prepare the best dish in the world but rather settle for a more modest and achievable goal: to satisfy your hunger.
Fourth and finally, my advice for being creative is to relax and have fun. Being creative is, above all, about playing, finding the playful side of any subject. In English, we often say, “When you don’t give a shit, that’s when you have a hit.” Creativity is often exercised under pressure, it’s true (in my case, under time pressure), but when you are relaxed and confident, you tend to find better solutions than when you are nervous and tense. Fear of making mistakes and stress always function as self-fulfilling prophecies.
That’s why it’s also very important, before you start photographing someone, to get them to relax and feel comfortable. But we’ll talk about that another time.
