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Concepts

20 November 2008 in concept, inspiration, photography

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How do you ever come up with this stuff?

The question is concepts. What is a concept? How do you come up with good ideas?

I had to talk to myself about that one, because I never think about it. I just come up with it and chase down the elements – casting, assemble a crew and shoot. I had to analyze the process a bit.

Finding good concepts is a continuous process of pursuit. You first need to put yourself in a creatively receptive place. Then the secret is knowing your own style. Movies you like, pictures in magazines, clothing designs that excite you, music, dance, all the things that appeal to you make the recipe for the stew of your own style. You collect bits of style and morph them together into that identity that becomes your own creative Rorschach test.

Musicians listen to the same influences but produce very different interpretations based on their own style. Even among people of similar styles, the guitars of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Paige, and Jeff Beck all played with the Yardbirds, all had the same influences, and each has a distinctly different voice by their phrasing, coloration, timing, tone and temperament. Photographic styles are equally as distinct. Our visions are as individual as we are from each other. We all see color, shape, size and tone exactly the same. PMS 100 is the same to you as it is to me and everyone else. But our visions and interpretation of events is as unique as our own fingerprint.

One of the most apparent revelations of seeing was when I taught the Mentor Series workshop in NY in June. It was striking seeing how 60 photographers confronted the same subject matter under the same conditions at the same time, and how distinctly different and personal each individual style developed.

Go shopping for some single cool element and build a set around it. Drive down the street and see a cool AIRSTREAM trailer and go knock on the door. It comes from having a receptive state of mind. Be open to inspiration. Learn to identify the things that excite you and answer the call. “Hey — That’s cool”.

One photographer I know refers to it as “Stopping the car”. You have to be prepared to stop the car — go back and study it and take a picture of it.” Crawl around it. Change lenses. Change the options in your menu. Experiment.

Then with the style in one hand, take a hold of the assignment in the other hand. Take the parameters of the job, sell this dress, show the features of this cell phone, or show the pleasure of meeting your friends at this vacations spot. Those are the jobs. Take your style in one hand, the assignment in the other hand, take a few deep breaths and merge the two together. That’s how you forge a concept.

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