WENDY HURST PORTRAIT

#STUDIOANYWHERE, UTAH, USA | There's no audience here. No crowds or ticket sales. These performers perform because performance itself is the goal. The act of creating, even if nobody is watching, is the prize. Maybe nobody will see these photographs. Maybe the whole project will simply live anonymous and forgotten on the internet until the end of time without a single "like" to its name. Whether it does or it doesn't, the creative process has taken on new meaning for me. I've accepted that sometimes it's enough to simply...exist. I encourage you to use that existence to make yourself, and others, better.  Welcome to the circus. The circus has so much to see, yet leaves so much unseen. Talented performers spend years practicing and perfecting their crafts. What we observe in an hour took commitment, time and unseen repeated failure to achieve. If there were nobody to perform for, would they still do that thing? If photography was my performance, I would. ...

"Balance" (a series) Model: Kelsey Edwards I'm behind on weekly images but I'll get there. :) It's so easy to get stuck in a whirlpool of guilt. Especially creative guilt. A tug-of-war tends to exist between doing things you have to do and doing things you want to do--like being creative. And in that kind of battle, only guilt wins.  Here's what helped me find balance and more time to do the things I love. Step One: Stop the Madness Seriously. Sit down for five minutes and think about literally nothing. It can be really hard, and maybe feel like a waste of time, but since running around like a crazy person isn't productive either, what do you have to lose? Step Two: What was trying to steal the nothingness?  Housework? Social media? Child care? Work? Group them into two groups, obligations and personal.  Step three: Go all the way When fulfilling obligations, go all the way. Be in the moment. Focus entirely on what you're ...

"You're a conceptual portrait photographer? You must be good at building nests and using Photoshop." It's half true; I am good at Photoshop, but I've never built a nest in my life. Also, and more importantly, neither is required to tell a good story. Almost  anyone can put together an environment with a pose, but a story is what will set one apart.  A quick tip to finding a good story  is to start with something--anything!--and ask yourself, "what comes next?" For example, I tend to be in my kitchen when I have a moment to think of ideas so silverware is often my starting point. A spoon is like a shovel. One can shovel or scoop food, dirt, rocks, etc. What if it were a huge shovel that digs up bigger things like boulders and fences? What if instead of digging things up it buries things like garbage and buildings and people? What if those people don't want to be buried? What does that feel like? What's an environment and/or pose that...

"The Lonely Flower" | Model/Makeup: Kolene Snow | Published Dec 2014 Now two months into my 52-week photo challenge I'm starting to feel myself changing. Last year I did an informal 52-week challenge where I published enough images throughout the year to count for at least one image per week. Making a formal commitment on a regular schedule, however, has changed how I plan out my images. I get excited when I check my schedule to find out what's coming next. Collections! Gravity! Acrobatics! Nursery Rhymes! Keeping a trove of ideas and sketches I'm excited about keeps my eyes open and my heart honest. This week I suggest to you what I suggest in all my mentoring sessions with other photographers: write down your thoughts . Write down your ideas. Even if they never lead to an actual work of art, getting an idea out of your head and into a place where your mind doesn't have to remember it clears the way for new ideas to enter in. Give it a try and exper...

"The Spill" Self Portrait Have you ever felt like you're forgetting something but it just won't come back to you? Or had the sudden sensation you were falling as you're trying to sleep? Our brains can be mean sometimes; why not go with it once in awhile? Indulge your strange thinking. Forget what others will say. Let your creativity spill out, even if you think it's crazy. Who knows what you could learn about yourself! Behind the Scenes For some this may go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: this is a composite. In total, this final image is made up of six different images.  The first image I staged was the one in the painting. Easy.  Next I tilted my bridal portrait against the wall, also easy. I could have worn my wedding dress and kept the actual image in the frame, but I couldn't do this for two reasons: one, my pre-pregnancy pants still don't fit yet so I figured my wedding gown wouldn't either; and two, I don't ow...

Most people aren't used to creating an image based on a theme they learned on the spot, so I started there. Three photographers with different experience, ideas and creative perceptions came together and out of their comfort zones to demonstrate one simple truth: there is more than one "right" answer to a creative question.  For some that answer isn't as simple as it seems. Anyone who has ever had writer's block or the artistic equivalent knows what I mean. As one studies the works of others it can be easy to fall into the "right way" trap. An inability to exactly reproduce an image like someone else, or the concern that an idea has "already been done" can feel crippling. And to that I emphatically repeat: there is more than one "right answer" to a creative question.  Here's how the exercise worked: The Challenge: Create at least one image interpreting a single theme with only one hour to prepare and one hour t...

What is a casting call? A casting call is a posting with the intent to recruit participants in a mutual cause, like an audition or photo shoot. Components of an Effective Casting Call An effective casting call answers the WH-questions in as few words as possible. It's a delicate balance between giving too much information right away and providing too little to generate interest. Typical WH-Questions to Answer Whom are you seeking? What talent do you need? Models? Makeup artists? Hair stylists? Photographers? How many of each? What is expected of participants? What criteria do they need to meet? For example, do they need to be 18 years or older? Where will the shoot take place? When will it happen? How long will it last? Why should they participate? After identifying the types of talent you need, I consider the "Why" to be most important. The more someone can catch your vision, the more likely you are to find people willing to work with you. Give th...

Model, Makeup & Styling: Rachelle Rydman Photos: Wendy Hurst Portrait When I took my first drawing class in college the professor taught us to draw what our eyes see. Not what we think we are seeing ("a car", "an apple", "a plant"), but to draw what our eyes perceived. Triangles, shapes, negative space, light and darkness, relative size and distances. Our minds have learned to combine these elements as objects with words. Learning to draw adequately, which I am not a master at doing, requires teaching the mind to recognize what makes up what we see and how we interpret the world. He also taught us to learn from the masters by emulating them. Experiment with their styles, practice their techniques they use to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and learn how to apply it to one's own personal style. Style is a hard nut to crack. Gregory Heisler, one of the greatest and well-known photographers of all time, describes style as something s...

What's the most memorable image you can think of right now? Science confirms that memories can be generated through an emotional response to a situation. If you thought of an image when I asked the question, that means you had an emotional response. Whether it was a good one or a bad one doesn't matter. You remember it because it made you feel something. I live in Utah, which is pioneer country. Near downtown Salt Lake City there are spacious granite buildings, old factory buildings and easy access to several canyons of the Rocky Mountains. If one spent enough time browsing the works of most photographers in Utah, he or she might notice a few locations frequented more than others. Places like Memory Grove Park, Exchange Place and the Utah State Capitol are quite popular and, with practice, recognizable. Like listening to the same song on the radio over and over again (I'm a nineties girl), seeing the same locations used in similar ways over and over again can make their...

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 le...