Personal Work Revitalized My Creativity!

Last week, I finally dedicated a few hours to a personal, spiritual photography series I’ve been developing on and off for over a year. The day of personal work revitalized my creativity! It’s a project close to my heart, involving continuous online research, collecting ideas for lighting, evocative imagery, and intriguing locations. I’m always on the lookout for interesting people and unique props around town, which is how I met Meagan Nordmann Rhodes on Facebook some time ago.

As a freelance creative, it’s incredibly challenging to carve out time for personal work when the constant demands of self-marketing loom large. It often feels like I’m playing hooky. I sometimes feel trapped between the desire to create something truly inventive and the guilt that comes from neglecting other essential business owner tasks.

The reality for many artists, myself included, is that while I absolutely love what I do for a living, much of the commercial work isn’t as creatively fulfilling as I’d like. When you stop pushing yourself from an inner, artistic place and begin to prioritize only what you know will satisfy clients, meet deadlines, and stay within a “safe zone,” your imagery can become generic.

As a photographer, this can lead to a stagnant inner vision, losing the unique style you worked so hard to develop. There comes a time in every creative person’s life when you feel burned out, overwhelmed, and worry you’ve lost your creative edge. You can’t just wait for a creative day to happen, you have to make it happen! Once you grant yourself that dedicated time and space, you’ll be amazed at how quickly it revitalizes your imagination, no matter how exhausted you feel.

Meagan, my friend Susie Aboulhosn, and I embarked on a creative adventure last Friday. We packed as lightly as possible for a photoshoot in the woods, dodging snakes, bugs, and poison ivy on a hot, 90-degree summer day. My only goal that morning was to have fun, with no pressure or particular outcome in mind, just to make some pictures that felt good. In the end, I believe we came home with some truly beautiful images.

I let Meagan come up with the wardrobe and headpieces based on some pictures I had collected and her interest in Fairies and Mermaids. Our theme was centered around words like spirit, mystical, and magical. She did an awesome job of creating several distinctive looks for us to try out as we shot in and out of the creek. I used minimal lighting, a reflector, a Quantum pack, and Q-flash, synced with a pocket wizard, packed in plastic bags attached to the stand…just in case a stand went over into the water. I forgot my water shoes and spent the weekend with bruised feet from walking on the rocks barefoot, but it was well worth the pain!

Meagan is a beautiful young woman blessed with angelic porcelain skin, which made my job as a photographer. We had a great morning working off each other’s ideas, never forcing anything, and just going through the motions that made us all feel good. The camera and all my gear stayed dry, and I found myself excited about the idea of going home to play with my images in Photoshop over the weekend. I needed that creative day to remind me how much I love what I do, and I can’t wait for my next hooky day!

I would love to hear your thoughts on these images, and be sure to check out Meagan’s ArtFlash News Station and Susie’s Flickr page , they are two wonderfully creative and innovative ladies. Thank you both for making my creative Friday so wonderful!!!!

*If you would like to leave a review of my work, please do so here, here, or here!

*NOTE all Sheri Oneal blog posts are ©2013 by Sheri Oneal. Any use of photos or content (other than sharing the link) must be agreed upon in writing.

Please feel free to share this page!