I’ve been pretty quiet on the video front even though it’s my favorite way of connecting. Travel, working through my art, you know, the usual! But I’m back and creating with you and I can’t wait for you to see this one!

The spirit of White Wall Wednesday is being creative in the space that you have. There are three main ways of doing this:

1. Move your subject to a new background by learning compositing.
2. Transform your wall into a different space rather than cutting your subject. Maybe use set design or composite elements in to make it more interesting.
3. Use an interesting prop or costume so that the blank white wall feels appropriately minimalist.

I went with approach #3 today, and I hope you like the result. But it’s not finished! This is part one of a two part WWW series. I’ve gone ahead and printed this image, and next week I’ll share some experimenting (really, really experimenting because I’ve never done anything like this before!) of how we could further transform the image without any digital techniques. We’re diving into alternative processes!

Share links with me here, or tag them on social media with #WhiteWallWednesday.

For a while there (and I mean the past year and a half), I found it really difficult to create. My ideas seem half-formed, and every time I thought I should be shooting, I just didn’t want to. It was a tough period of time. Last week, after I got home from Promoting Passion, something changed. I took a few days for myself, but then my desire and drive came back. I did an impromptu photo shoot for my new series and I loved it. I shot this yarn image and loved it. I ran outside chasing the fog and had such an amazing time. I edited a couple of photos I had left sitting.

Suddenly I had the energy and excitement for the things I’ve always loved but had put aside. And I realized that my problem was not actually energy or excitement, it was fear.

Isn’t it always?

I’m hesitant to use the word fear because of how flamboyantly it gets tossed around. I didn’t have a direct fear of failure or fear of wasting my time. It was more of a subtle, very-difficult-to-notice fear; a culmination of shoots gone wrong, money wasted, time not spent wisely, laziness with my techniques…and that all built up into an anxiety over creating.

I mentioned in my PPC post that something in me broke. And it was a really, really good kind of breaking. A necessary snap to put me back where I was, but better and more self-aware.

Shooting feels fun again. I want to create. I want to fail. I want to wake up before the sun and run barefoot in a field. I want to shoot on my white wall and take back the power that comes from that.

The power that comes from a white wall. That’s why I do these videos. There is a certain power that comes from shooting with what you have and making it work. Even more power from making it amazing. And even more power from doing it no matter how it turns out. White Wall Wednesday is a taking back of creativity and telling roadblocks to move out of the way, politely, because we’re here to create.

So friends, I hope you embrace your white wall this week. Get some yarn and create whatever it is you want to create. There are no expectations here, except to make something. The very act of creating is where inspiration comes from. The finished product is such a small percentage of the process that we can’t put so much stock in it. What if we only aimed to have a great experience making something? Think of how your art would change.

Happy White Wall Wednesday.

I don’t have a new video for you, BUT – we are a month in to White Wall Wednesday which means you have a bunch of videos to look back on. And if you haven’t joined in yet, use the hashtag #WhiteWallWednesday so that I can find your creations!

That brings me to why I’m not releasing a video today, and I’m glad for the opportunity to talk about it. We have a chronic problem of idolizing people who seem successful and swiping bad emotions under the rug. Let’s stop that nonsense.

A few things piled up this past week, physically and emotionally.

“The best way out is always through.”
― Robert Frost

I threw my back out over the weekend and I’m trying to stay horizontal as much as possible to recover. I’m doing much better (thank you for the love!) and getting out each day, but want to take it easy. That means I couldn’t swing doing a photo shoot and a video by myself.

I am also prepping for my annual convention, Promoting Passion. It’s in ONE WEEK! I’ve put this event together almost entirely alone, from finding speakers, sponsors, assistants and models to booking a venue, figuring out A/V, transportation, budgets, hotel accommodations for 165 people, and more. It has been a WHIRLWIND. One day, I’d really like to share my experience doing this. First, because it is a learning experience like none other. And second, because I’m really proud of pulling it together and would love for you to have those same skills, if you don’t already.

Third, I had some pretty life-changing emotional stuff to deal with this week. I can’t/won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say I’m a little emotionally drained right now and didn’t feel like I had enough to give you in a video. (Plus, I have to save it up for Promoting Passion!)

My life for the past month has been like a television show…I’m just not sure if it’s a drama or a comedy. My dining room table, which was covered in a full body cast of my own body, is now strewn with paperwork and goodie bags and all sorts of convention items. My computer is a mass of spreadsheets, my emails are never-ending. But you know what I’m most proud of right now in my life?

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

The joy that I’m finding in the in-between moments, even when I feel overwhelmed or when I have anxiety attacks, even when I don’t think I can handle one more responsibility. The joy is always there. The silver lining. That is my greatest super power.

Please don’t mistake my listing of tasks as unhappiness. I am wildly happy – in myself, in my life – but sometimes we get reminders to slow down. This week has been a reminder in the biggest way possible. Life gave me a massive shift in perspective, and I’m listening.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,
or rejoice because thorns have roses.”
― Alphonse Karr

I’m currently on my sofa reading a great book, letting my emails pile up (just a little bit), contemplating some avocado toast. I don’t get my kicks from working myself to death; I revel in the moments of quiet that I afford. This White Wall Wednesday is a day of rest and inspiration for me.

After all, I have a convention to run next week. And I’ll be darned if I’m going to let an injured back and a touch of anxiety get in the way of me running the most passionate event on the planet.

Let’s do this, world.

With inspiration,
Brooke

P.S. Can I just give thanks for a few things:

…a soft bed and a comfy sofa, Netflix, good books, ripe avocados, cats, a husband who literally will not let me move myself, and the best community of individuals I could ever hope for to cheer me on through difficult times.

I’ll see many of you at Promoting Passion next week. And those I won’t, I’m keeping you in a warm embrace until we meet!

A couple of years ago I started a video series called White Wall Wednesday.

The mission: Prove that you can create beautiful imagery with no budget.

The motivation: I started with no budget and no resources. I wanted to go back to basics.

The result: Lots of messages from people saying that they were inspired to create with what little they had.

What is accessible creativity, and why promote it?

Artists kind of have a bad rep. And, I sort of get it. Artists are known for being mysterious and keeping a tight lock on their secrets. Why would we want creativity to be accessible if that’s how we make our money?

If that’s your opinion, you are entirely entitled to it. And I am entitled to disagree, respectfully.

I believe that, while it can be intimidating to give tools to create art for fear of copying or putting yourself out of business, I don’t think that is usually what ends up happening.

When we give more tools to more people to be more creative, we build a more interesting, inclusive, and ingenious world. What if the building blocks of our interactions and experiences was creativity, and what if more people felt they could express themselves emotionally through art? I personally think it would make for a much richer experience.

But that’s just me. And well, this blog is me. So, queue White Wall Wednesday.

If I can create a video series that promotes accessible creativity, I’m all for that.

White Wall Wednesday gives ideas and concrete tips about how to create with less, plus a big splash of joy in every episode. Because I love what I do, and I love it so much that I want to infect you with my happiness.

In a nice way, of course.

I also offer up White Wall Wednesday as a challenge. Follow along, and create your own White Wall Wednesday. If you want to show this community what you’re making, you can do so in a couple ways.

First, share a link in the comments of my blog or in the comments on YouTube.

Second, use the hashtag #WhiteWallWednesday and I’ll be sure to give that search a go once a week to check out the creations.

And finally, I’d really appreciate you sharing this video and this series. As time goes on I’ll share more and more about my process, how creating simply can be impactful, and give you weekly doses of encouragement to keep going in your craft, no matter what seems to be stacked against you.

This video is more of an introduction. The following weeks will get juicier.

Slurp.

I love getting to share some of my editing process. This week was super fun because I was working in a way that has a lot of wiggle room for creativity. I love changing colors especially in my images until I find just the perfect combination. I always have an idea of a color palette before I start, but there is magic in finding control in the editing room so that you can create a palette that speaks to your soul. That is how I felt during this edit.

Some of what you will see includes: changing the color of the dress (and overall), moving the subject to a different background, blending the subject, and some finishing techniques.

I think that there might be nothing more inspiring to me than using a simple space in a creative way. From the first time I picked up my camera I began standing in front of white walls (which was all I had, hence the decision) to make my images. It forced me to think of idea upon idea to try and fill the space and make it more interesting than the last. I found myself very frequently using my body and simple props or costumes to fill the space, paying attention to body form and texture as a means of communicating an emotion.

This lead me to finding the simplest Photoshop tools to be able to make my subject pop. My methods were, as many people would tell me along the way, sometimes inefficient or outdated, but it was mine and it was fun. I loved creating in the way that I did, and still do. It might not be the number-one-best-way-as-trademarked-by-“professionals” but I love creating, so I consider it a success.

This is the point of White Wall Wednesday. It doesn’t matter what you have to create with, or what your methods are. Yes, there are things to be learned by everyone at all levels. Yes, my Photoshop skills have evolved as I have grown as an artist. Yes, I will continue to find new ways of creating. But for now, in this moment, it is important that we embrace who we are and where we are in our craft. Never let anyone make you feel inferior because you haven’t been creating as long as they have, or if your methods are different. Are you having fun? Yes? Good. Stick with it and shine.

Leave me a comment if you found something helpful, interesting,
or if you created your own White Wall Wednesday art!

A blank space provides the perfect canvas to showcase emotion – to let the figure, form, and character come alive through minimalist imagery. I have always loved photographing skin, or natural fabrics, on a white wall. It is uncluttered and lets the story shine through. In this week’s episode of White Wall Wednesday I’m focusing on emotion and simplicity, using the blank space as it is and transforming it slightly in Photoshop to enhance how neutral it feels.

Is there anything more validating than being able to use whatever you have at your disposal to create? That has been the single most rewarding thing about my passion/career so far. I wanted to take pictures and so I did, despite not having a studio, lights, expensive equipment, etc. I started out with a tripod (pieced together with different brands) from a thrift store, a lens that was gifted to me and thus completely inappropriate for my tiny little space I was shooting in, and I had absolutely no concept of what it meant to be a photographer. I only knew that I had passion, and so I created in any way that I could.

That is what White Wall Wednesdays are all about. It means that we stop making excuses about why we can’t create and we find ways to make it happen. It might not always turn out like the image of your dreams, but if I’ve learned anything it is that there is just about always a way. Things get done because we have the inspiration and motivation to try.

When I see a blank wall, I see an opportunity.

This week we are focusing on the editing process that has gone in to the image we shot last week. I hope that you pick up some tips that help in your own process and that you enjoy the video!

Please share any images you’ve created in your blank space, and/or a before/after if you want to show people where it came from!

I recorded a video a week for two years straight. It started as a New Year’s resolution to see if I could actually stick with that kind of commitment on a weekly basis and then turned into an obsession…and 100 Promoting Passion videos. I will continue to create videos for that series here and there, but for now, I want to introduce this new mini series of videos!

White Wall Wednesday is all about using what we have to create the work of our dreams. It is about taking that blank and boring wall and making it work for us. It is about compositing, posing, lighting, and more. When I started photography it was all I had. Just me and my tiny white wall. I was too afraid to go outside, too afraid to ask others to model for me. Fear fear fear. So I used my white wall. And to be honest, it was the best thing I ever did. It taught me to see boring things in amazing ways. It taught me how to composite. It taught me how to use my imagination. And so I wanted to go back to those basics and challenge myself with a white wall series.

Leave some love in the comments – show me YOUR white wall shots.
It can be images you’ve already created, or create something new with me.
Next week is an editing video, so you’ve got 2 weeks to create and edit with me.

Thank you for taking this wild journey with me, I have so much respect for everyone here. And thank you preemptively for inspiring me with your white wall creations. This is going to be fun!