I was having a conversation with Catherine Just about being original. She asked me about my goals in photography and I told her that I wanted to be “original”. “Being original is difficult”, she said. “Almost everything has been done before.”
I want to make special things. Not something that looks like work made by others, but something that’s completely me.
Catherine’s right. Almost everything has been done before. Almost all things remind us of something we’ve seen before. Originality is a difficult, and perhaps impossible goal to achieve.
A quest for creativity is a quest for authenticity. What do you want to tell? How do you want to tell it? What’s your tone of voice? Who are you? When do you feel most vulnerable?
Find your own way. Find your own voice.
EVERYTHING THAT’S BEEN DONE BEFORE + YOUR OWN VOICE = AUTHENTICITY
If you add your own way of expressing yourself to what’s been done before, than the result instantly is completely you. The result is authenticity. Attempts to be original can feel forced and uneasy, but if you see something authentic you can feel in your gut that you’re looking at something special.
There’s so much more to creativity than the technical aspects. The technical aspects are about how well you can draw a horse, understanding the perfect camera settings or how well you can knit without dropping stitches. The other, much more important aspects are about the courage to show up, the obstacles you have to overcome, your insights and convictions and eventually how comfortable you are spending time with yourself.
I want to make special things. Not something that looks like work made by others, but something that’s completely me. Because everything has been done before. But not by me.
Do you want to wake up yourself and your creativity? ‘Create Creativity’ starts this Monday, November 14. You can enroll now and enjoy a last minute discount of 10 Euros if you bring a friend with you. You can sign up here.