In my years as a photographer I can remember a handful of times when I told myself I was going to be more proactive in building sets, costumes and props. And in all of those instances the enthusiasm went down the drain and I never really tried much of anything. I have never been naturally good at building things with my hands. My sister was always the one doing that – sculptures and pottery and painting and drawing. I was always the one making up stories and trying to direct films. In other words, I’m the bossy one and she is the artistic one. Usually.

But now, in hindsight, I realize the reason why I was never able to build something that I loved, or stick with it, was not because I didn’t have the talent or the skill set. It was because I didn’t have the wherewithal. I didn’t have the right motivation. And it wasn’t the right time in my life yet. Last summer I decided something had to change in the way I create. It wasn’t until I had a portfolio review that I was tipped over the edge and I came up with an idea for a new series. And it wasn’t until right after that, when I heard Jennifer Thoreson speak at my Promoting Passion Convention, that I decided I needed to just start. Because sometimes beginning a project is the very key you need to figure it out.

So I started building. I came up with a plan, a sketch, an idea and then five. I went to Home Depot more times than I can remember so that I could ask the people there how to build something very basic, yet challenging to me – a room, with no windows or doors, and a moveable wall. At first no one took me seriously. They laughed at me and asked how I’d be able to even pick up the piece of wood I was purchasing. And it was mean, and it was probably sexist, and probably justified in a way, too (I’m a very tiny person). But I won them all over, and we ended up laughing together, and each time I’d go in they would ask how the progress was going and I’d give them an update.

…and remember, if you are thinking about starting a new project, sometimes you just have to BEGIN.

Have you accomplished something this year that you didn’t think would actually happen?
Or do you have plans to make something happen that has been nagging at you lately?

Final images to be released in an exhibition opening January 2017 in NYC.

I was thrilled…until I saw how the light looked, and realized I didn’t have much time to experiment. So I had my friend hold up a sheet in front of the light to diffuse it. I played with distance of light to subject, tried a rim light, and kept playing. As I was shooting I knew I didn’t like the pictures, but I thought it worthy of continuing. I recognized, right then and there, that if I stopped, I would get nothing from the shoot. Yet if I kept going, I would teach myself valuable lessons.

My pictures are not images that I’m proud of because I like how they look. Quite the contrary, I very much dislike looking at these images. I would not put them in my portfolio. But they are among the top images I have ever learned from, and just how much I dislike them tells me how much more I have to learn. Humility is a great gift, and I welcome it with each failure I endure.

Share with us an image you feel was a failure, or share a tip that you learned from messing up an image!

Mistakes are successes that we learn best from, after all.

What has inspired you lately?

Share it so that more people can find inspiration!

1. Maleficent

I list this one first because I saw it first, about two weeks ago, and absolutely loved it. It was dark and beautiful, exactly the fairytale I imagine myself to be in when I daydream so often. The levitation scenes were divine, the purposeful camera movements were dreamy, and the colors were so well put together that you could feel your emotions being swayed by each color scheme.

I was inspired to create a picture from this movie, and went the more obvious but very fun route of giving myself wings. I’ll have to do something more subtle in the future, but for now, I am content with imagining myself as a character in the movie.

2. Clone/Womb

It is very difficult for me to put in to words the emotions I felt while watching this movie. I had a lump in my throat the whole time, wanting to cry for each character that I met in so many different ways. It is dark, disturbing, illuminating, and sympathetic. The acting was brilliant (I always love Matt Smith and Eva Green), and the cinematic, sweeping shots in this movie were beyond artistic quantification. The cinematography was out of this world, mixing the gray and overcast hues with purposeful and meaningful closeups and wide shots alike.

I would easily put this in with my top favorite films, some others being Never Let Me Go, Pan’s Labyrinth, Atonement, and Blade Runner.

3. Agnes Obel

The loveliest person emailed me to send me a link to the music of Agnes Obel, and said that if I were a musician, this is who I would be. I couldn’t have agreed any more (though I can only dream of a talent like this, and have so much respect for it). I am a very difficult person to pick out music for, and this is exactly what I love about the musical medium. Sad and full and haunting.

What INSPIRES you?

This retreat that I’m hosting in the UK is a unique creative experience. Focused on art photography, yet designed to allow all attendees to find, cultivate, and pursue their own creative voice, this retreat is 3+ days of hands on learning, sharing, giving, and adventure.

The UK retreat is the longest I’ve hosted, running from the evening of August 7th to the morning of August 11th. From shooting at ruins to photographing on a lake, in boats, in a forest, on rolling hills, and even inside our giant studio space, we will have the opportunity to shoot in many different inspiring situations.

The premise is simple: We all live under one roof for the days of the retreat. The price ($2,450) includes your lodging, all meals, and helps to cover model fees and location rental. Once you arrive at the house, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. That’s what we’ve been planning behind the scenes, and our hope is that you show up, relax, get creative and have fun.

We will discuss many different topics like…

Inspiration & Fear
Business & Goal Setting
Editing & Image Compositing
Creative Shooting & Set Design

We will focus on creating a small series while we are together. One afternoon is dedicated to practice shooting. The next day we edit and talk business. And the final full day is dedicated to 1-1 meetings as well as shooting at all of our inspiring locations. With 5-7 models available each person can grab their model of choice and run with it. The retreat is capped at 12 participants for an intimate gathering.

We’ll be eating healthy meals, staying at an amazing “green” facility that caters to retreats in a small town in Norfolk, UK, and enjoying activities outside of photography like a bonfire, t-shirt making, and movie-watching.

The great thing about a retreat is that while I’ve got our days jam-packed with activities, we can adjust as we go and work on the fly…so if you’re feeling inspired, you can run out and shoot with our resident model (the amazing Jen Brook, who will be living with us for your shooting pleasure…any whim or fancy, she’s your girl!).

I hope that you can join me on this retreat!

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These two U.S. workshops are the last traditional workshops I will be doing for some time: Bordentown, NJ & Phoenix, AZ.

When it came time to do the class, I nearly forgot that it was nighttime! I was envisioning everything being lit by a window. So instead of panicking with 20 minutes to spare before class, I once again nagged the Sweetlight team and asked if they could put one light with a softbox above the subject, pointing directly down. Everyone looked at me like I was nuts…which I might be, but in my mind, I wanted to simulate a moon. So I figured the best way to do that would be to put the light overhead and diffuse it.

Once the light was set the class gathered, and we began building. We started with a simple setup: dirt on the floor (thank you WHCC!), a black backdrop, and our model Marsha laying on top. I put a lantern in her hand and made it look like a forest scene with a girl who had fallen asleep under the night sky.

From there we began adding leaves, and then sticks, and then eventually a bed.

(I should definitely say thank you to the hotel for providing the bed, though I actually think they still have no idea that we covered it in dirt and sticks, so probably best to not mention it…).

My method was to build the scene up, starting with something simple and ending in a crescendo of a beautiful dream sequence – a girl dreaming in the forest at night, still sleeping in her bed. It was probably the most fun I’ve had teaching as far as the actual shooting goes…and to imagine, it was all in a ballroom at a hotel with one light and a black background. That is why I love photography. You can make it whatever you want, your dreams can become a reality, and you can do it with your own rules.

If you’d like to purchase this print to support the Saving Eliza charity, you can do so here!

If you had a blank space, how would you decorate it?