Seeing Old Things in New Ways: Trash to Treasure | salt lake city utah conceptual portrait photographer

I'm kind of a hoarder. When I got married I brought boxes and boxes of irrational keepsakes that almost filled up a spare room. Each time I visited the space I got rid of a box, suddenly recognizing the junk it really was. Mostly trash, really. Old gum wrappers, faded movie tickets for movies I didn't even really like, broken toys from childhood, half-used bottles of lotion crusted and discolored with age. They were valuable to me when I put them into storage, but garbage is garbage. I started with that.

Secondhand or repurposing old things, though, is very different than keeping trash. It's turning something old into something new. I like to think that's one of the reasons I'm drawn to storytelling conceptual portrait photography: the ability to see things as more than they were intended.

Be warned: while seeing old things in new ways will certainly help inspire you, it can also take over your physical space (I'm not kidding).

Here are three things I learned from experience about turning trash into treasure:

1. Choose secondhand items with purpose. Start slowly. Look for items you know you'll actually use. Not "someday" use, but actually use. Sure that sheet looks great folded up, but do you really have time to make that fabric into the dress you're dreaming of? Is it worth the space it will take to store it, or is there something else you could save for? Is it really a treasure or just something to fill the empty space you have reserved for such purchases? Learn from my hoarding experience, guys. Buy with purpose and give away what you don't need.
2. Let others do the collecting for you. I love keys. One time I saw a Facebook post from a friend who was looking for extra keys people had around the house for an art project. I looked at my stash of five extras and thought, "Hey, I could use those too!" So I asked around and pooled the resources around me. Could I have planned and searched and used my own keys over time? Sure I could. But why? Let others do the collecting for you. (See the photo shoot it inspired here.)
3. Throw that trash away. This is the one I have the hardest time with. What if I can repair it? What if I can use it for another photo shoot? What if I need this small scrap of fabric for another project? It's always a battle with me. After collecting three full grocery bags of useless fabric scraps I had to identify a boundary. I couldn't just collect scraps of threads and fraying fabrics forever. I decided that if a piece of fabric was smaller than my palm, it was trash. Period. Unless I had a specific purpose in mind. I never found one. Creating my own definition of "garbage" helped make the decision easier in the moment.

An Example: "Windswept"

I found a large, dark gray bed sheet at a thrift shop one day. I bought it for a buck, washed it and draped it on Maggie, my dress form. (She has a name...) Adjustments here, twisting there, and I had a basic bustle and skirt pinned to her waist. It was going to be beautiful!

Then I heard the wind outside. An empty grocery bag tumbled around my backyard. I unpinned every tuck and posted a casting call on Facebook for a female model to shoot that windy weekend. That series, "Windswept", has the largest audience response out of all the images I've ever designed and photographed. All because of a secondhand sheet and a little wind on a beautiful model in a beautiful place. (Click any image below to see the full series.)

You don't need a large budget to get high production value. Practice seeing things in old ways and your world will start to change.

What will your mind see today?