Suzi Garlick

18 April 2020

5 Creative Ways To Stay In Contact

Suzi Garlick

18 April 2020

It can be a bit lonely sometimes can’t it being self employed? Or just being in this situation we find ourselves in. Having a good creative network around you certainly helps. Having those people to cheerlead you, to chat to about your latest ideas, to help you see the right path when you’re feeling confused, and sometimes a shoulder to cry on when times are a bit too much.

So in these strange times, that feeling of isolation can really hit you, I know it has done for us. It’s been hard to think straight some days, but I know that doing something creative each day does really help me, whether that’s picking my camera up and taking photos or making a mini film, making lunch, or planting some seeds in a window box.

If you follow our stuff, you know I love a project. That might be one over a day in collaboration with a friend, it might be over a few weeks with a couple of friends, or it may take shape over a year or more, building a portfolio of work around a theme. I was chatting to Suzi today about ideas for collaborations, and how you can keep in touch with your photography inclined friends to create photos together. Maybe you want to do it it a pair, but these would work in larger groups too. So after a cup of tea and biscuits, we’ve come up with a few ideas 5 Creative Ways to Stay In Contact.

THE CHAIN

Choose who will take the very first photo. This could be of anything, but we guess it’s either going to be around the house or on your daily walk at the moment! That person then sends the photo to the next one in the chain, who reacts to that photo to take the next one. Maybe it will have a similar theme, or the light will be the same. Maybe it’s a silhoutte, or the view from your window. Find a similarity, get creative with it, take the photo and pass it on. We’re thinking that this will be a chain letter that you actually do like opening!

THE CHAIN II

I love a good sequel. If you wanted to set some limitations around the chain, you could think about setting a theme to it. Maybe only taking the chain photos in one room of the house, or maybe concentrating on the colours of the rainbow, we’re surrounded by their vibrancy at the moment. If you’ve been meaning to put your camera into video mode, but haven’t quite plucked up the courage yet, this could be your moment! Film a clip of your everyday, maybe 5 seconds, and then send this clip over to your project buddy who will react to it, and film the next 5 seconds of your collaboration! If you each did 6 clips of about 5 seconds each, all of a sudden you have a minute film. I REALLY want to see these!!!

2. TEA FOR TWO

Pick a time of day to share a cup of tea together. Maybe it’s taking a flask of tea on your daily walk. Maybe it’s sitting at the kitchen table for five minutes with your favourite biscuits. Maybe it’s your first cup of tea of the day you’re sipping, propped up in bed. If there are 2 of you, or more, try and co-ordinate a similar time. Take photos of those steaming cups of tea, and the location you’re in, noticing the details, the light, the chaos or the calm. All these prompts will hopefully lead to a body of work you can show on your blogs or Instagram feeds. As the Phlock Live photography conference was cancelled a few weeks ago, and as I was going to be running filmmaking workshops, I wondered how we could still create something together. So I asked people to film their first cup of tea on a Saturday morning, and I put it together in this film below. Tea solves so many things.

3. SING IT OUT

I have to say having a good sing does help me relieve a lot of tension. But for this one, it’s more about the words, unless you really want to have a sing, and by all means set up a FaceTime duet! Choose a couple of song titles, more if you feel yourself really getting into it, and create an image around that tile or lyric. I’ve been listening to a bit of Joni Mitchell today, I love Blue, so I’m sharing this montage me and a couple of photography friends did a few years ago. We limited ourselves to just taking photos on our phones for 3 weeks with a daily theme.

4. SAME TIME, DIFFERENT DAY

Pick a time of day between you, one that is convenient. Remembering when the GOOD light is though as this will really enhance your photos. When you’ve chosen the time of day, take a photo each day for a week at that time. And then share them in a blog post or on Instagram. Look at the similarities or differences. It’s so good working together like this as you soon build up a good body of work.

5. SELF PORTRAIT

I know I know, this is supposed to be a collaboration. So this is a selfie with a difference. You know that Bob Dylan video where he holds up the lyrics on cards? So, how’s about you set up your camera to take a self portrait. And on a card, write a message to the person you’re collaborating with. A few words about the project you’re doing together, or how that person has inspired you in some way. Or just tell them how you’re feeling that day.

Maybe you’d like to work on the project ideas consecutively, or take your time with them, or come up with your own ideas, we’d love to hear about them.

And when you come to the end of the project, and if you have access to a printer, how’s about printing a photo out from your collaboration together and writing a note on it and popping it in the post?

Even thought we may be feeling isolated, we can still work on things together. Have fun, we’d love to hear how you get on. Please do tag us in to anything you do and we’ll share it #5CreativeWays

And just a quick note about our mentoring programmes. If you’re just on the edge of setting up your photography business, or would like to nurture the one you have, if you’d like guidance on how to take better photos for your creative business to connect with your ideal clients, we have been mentoring people for over 5 years. We are currently offering a free 30 minute Skype call to see if we’d be a good fit to work together, the perfect amount of time to have a cup of tea and chat about where you’d like to take your photography. Just email us here and we will set up a chat with you.

Happy Creating! Don’t forget to hashtag #5CreativeWays so we can share your collaborations!

Suzi Garlick

21 August 2019

Portrait, General

Our Retreat

Suzi Garlick

21 August 2019

Portrait, General

If you’ve been wondering what happens on our Capturing Childhood weekends, this blog post is for you! We are just planning our shoots for our next retreat in October, and we realised we haven’t shared the photos from the last one back in March. So here’s a little about our experience, what we chatted about with our group, and we’re sharing some of the amazing photos they took over the weekend too.

When you first start out with something fresh, like a new course, it feels like a very vulnerable place, wondering if anyone will want to come. Our retreat weekends have been steadily growing, and this is how we wanted it to be. We’ve had a mixture of attendees, from parents wanting to take better photos of their children, to portrait photographers just about to set up their business and feeling they need guidance, and help building their portfolio. There are places left on our next weekend, on the 5th and 6th of October. It will be the fourth of these weekends that we’ve run, and we’re looking forward to welcoming new weekenders to the barn on the hill, a perfect location to learn, shoot, and just be.

We thought we’d take you through some of the things we talk about and share. These weekends are ever evolving, and we like that too, that the course grows, shifts, and changes a little every time.

In March, we were joined by 6 participants, all at different stages in their creative journey. Everyone brought so much to the group, and we’re forever grateful for these conversations about our creativity and practice.

We always start our weekend off with pastries, tea, and introductory chats.

https://www.instagram.com/water_in_my_wellies/

And then everyone finds their spots on the comfy sofas. In the morning, we talk about techniques, breaking a shoot into chapters, and how to see and use light.

When we’ve chatted for a while in the morning, we like to stretch, and get out there for our first shoot of the weekend. Martha was our first model. We had just talked about how light can give shots a signature feel, so I wanted everyone to experiment with different light, and see which they like best. We also chatted about getting down on to the children’s level so we’re let into their world. What I love the very most about photography, is everyone’s different interpretations, that there are so many different ways of viewing character.

https://www.instagram.com/trains_and_paperplanes/

https://www.instagram.com/pocketfullofbuttercups/

https://www.instagram.com/lauries_littles/

https://www.instagram.com/izzyproudfoot/

Tam - https://www.instagram.com/calltimecompany/

After lunch, we really start getting into personal style, and feeling confident in our voice as photographers, that we always have something new to say in our photos. How bringing our thoughts back to us, back home, can help with the stories we’re trying to tell in our images. What does a shot make you feel when you press the shutter? And how when we’re taking shots in this way, the viewer feels part of that story too. Olive and Suzi stepped into the limelight for our next practical, and when I started getting excited about the light we had in the room, I crept into a few photos too.

On Day 2 we talk a lot more about personal style through our own experiences with this. What we do when we’re planning a shoot and how personal projects can feed into work. Day 2 leads us into a family shoot in the afternoon, where we put everything together that we’ve learnt over the weekend. The day before, I took everyone out to the location so they had a good idea of where it was going to take place, and maybe spot some areas they’d like to experiment with shooting. I lead the shoot so everyone can see what happens on our sessions. How I lightly direct if there’s need for this, and learning when to step back so those natural interactions happen.

I’ve never been great at saying goodbyes, as I always want an event, party, workshop to carry on! It felt very special these two days spent together in the barn on the hill. If you’d like to join us for our next Capturing Childhood weekend retreat, the dates are 5th & 6th October. The location is close to Hebden Bridge in Cragg Vale. Both Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge train stations are nearby. Payment plans are now available, just let us know if this is the option you’d like to go for by emailing us at info@sarahmasonphotography.co.uk.

Wherever you are on your portrait photography journey, we’d love to get you a step (or two or more) closer to shooting in the way you want to, the way that makes your heart sing. We hope to see you soon.

Suzi Garlick

19 July 2019

General, Homepage

Finding Your Voice

Suzi Garlick

19 July 2019

General, Homepage

Finding Your Voice, it’s a term that gets thrown around within creative disciplines a lot isn’t it. And photography is no exception, in fact we have a day workshop called just this. We ran another one this week, and it’s made me think about a few things, as a few recurring conversations happen every time we run them.

You’ve probably heard a lot about finding your why, a buzz term at the moment, but one we keep coming back to. We like a good Ted Talk like the next person, and you may have already seen the Simon Sinek’s Start With Why, if you want to watch it again, here’s the link. I got goosebumps when I first watched this with a marketing mentor a few years ago. And it’s something we share with our retreaters and workshoppers too. “People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” He repeats it, and I can often hear his voice saying it.

On our workshops, we’ve had so many conversations about Instagram, curating our feeds, and the mythical beast that is the algorithm. I know I’ve posted photos that I think fit the criteria, seen the little red hearts beating before my eyes, my dopamine fix sated, for now, until I crave that next hit. And then a feeling of hollowness. Because I didn’t really FEEL that photo in the first place. I’m trying to quiet that voice that says, in a bit of a high pitched Yorkshire accent, ‘Ooooo, that’ll look nice on the grid’.

Why are we taking the photos we are taking? Who are they for? Surely, ultimately they’re for us. Only when we feel something in our images, will our viewers feel it too.

If something catches your eye, don’t overthink it. Take it. Show it. If we’re drawn to a pile of toys lit by the sunlight in the corner of the room, or a peg on the washing line glistening with rain, take it, and try and stop that niggle that might start questioning if it’s ‘right’ or not. We felt something just before we pressed the shutter. If it makes you feel something - BINGO! Surely that’s all that matters, and not creating something we think people want to see. People want to see you.

Let’s ditch perfection.

We’ve had a few people messaging us this week saying that they feel in a creative slump. Sometimes it’s a push to pick up your camera, it’s as if all our muscles in our body are conspiring against us to create, due to fear of failure. But these times of resistance are the times I encourage you to pick it up the most, if you feel you can. The camera can sometimes become a conduit to what you want to say with your images, and a rope ladder to bring you out. When I feel most stuck, I look at an object, say a bowl of fruit, and think about how I can take 10 different photos of it. Setting the scene with a wide shot to show it in the environment, and then a close up of a detail, maybe the stalk on an apple. I’lll try different light and perspectives, maybe holding one in my hand, and if I’m feeling energetic enough, maybe set the camera up on a tripod, set it onto a long exposure, and put myself in the frame walking behind the bowl to create motion blur. When I set myself to do something like this, it nearly always shakes me out of a slump, and gets me thinking about all those things I want to do, and maybe spark a few more ideas too.

We wondered if you’d like to do a week long project, making a commitment to pick the camera up at the same time each day for the next 7 days, that hopefully is manageable? As our monthly Stories Of The Everyday theme is HOME, we thought we could base it around that. When you have a theme, or limit yourself in this way to a time or word, (or even a combination of the two), it can lead to stronger images. If you’d like to join in please hashtag your images on Instagram with #storiesoftheeveryday_home if you want to show them. And I guess we’re all trying to bring it back home, to find what is right there inside, the gems that make our work, and our viewpoints unique.

It feels quite pertinent that Instagram are trialling hiding likes on posts in some countries. We’d love to hear from you if you’re in one of those countries, has it influenced what you’re showing or want to show in the future? I think it’d be great to roll it out here too.

So, are you in? Will you join us for the next 7 days? Just pick a time of day when you think it’ll be most convenient to capture a photo that symbolises home (maybe set an alarm on your phone). We hope it’s a gentle way of just picking your camera up each day to create, and if you feel those niggles, we’re here to encourage you to push through it, and take those photos that make you feel something. Let’s get creating!

We’re going to be running another Finding Your Voice retreat day in October. If you’re interested in joining us, please send us an email to express your interest and you’ll be the first to hear about the next date - info@sarahmasonphotography.co.uk.

For now, we hope you have a lovely weekend, and have fun creating!

If you're in the mood for a bit more reading, I wrote a post last year about not being able to please everyone. If you’ve got a cup of tea on the go, and you want to put your feet up for a few more minutes, here’s the link.