Creativity: More than just originality
‘You have to be creative to become good’ is something that we’ve all heard when starting as a creative.
The only problem with that statement is that it’s so vague! Like what does it mean to be creative? How do I know if my work is creative?
It causes beginners and amateurs to overthink about their work. Rather than focusing on practicing, they worry about having a ‘unique style’.
I’m here to tell you that this gets them nowhere.
We know that creativity is incredibly vital in our work, but let’s dive deep into where it comes from, and how creatives are able to create outstanding things.
Creativity is basically ‘theft’
In Austin Kleon’s book ‘Steal like an Artist’, he mentions that ‘nothing is original’ and ‘all creative work is a build-up on what came before’.
Essentially, creativity is about selecting influences and combining them in a way that the world views as unique. This totally blew my mind.
How do you get creative?
1. ‘Copy’ your favorite artists
“The failure in attempting to copy someone is where the uniqueness comes from.” Austin Kleon
I remember that when I was starting, I worked hard to imitate the editing styles of my favorite photographers. During the process of trying hard to achieve those results, I learned so much more about editing because I had a final intention.
Imitating my favorite photographers helped me develop the ability to master editing; to which I eventually added my own style which the world considers ‘unique’.
Remember, creativity does not mean that the entire idea is original.
Creativity can also come by transforming existing work.
Now, It is important to realize that there is a difference between ‘good theft’ and ‘bad theft’.
Good theft:
Honor your source
Give credit
Transform the work
Steal from many
Bad theft:
Degrade your source
Plagiarize
Imitate fully
Steal from one
2. Surround yourself with inspiration
Now that we know how others’ creative work fully inspires your work, it’s important to curate what you consume in order to feed your creative brain well.
Save posts that you love on Instagram, and go back to look at them.
Organize your feed. You can select your favorite artists on Instagram and make it a custom feed for you!
Always have a book/phone at arm’s length. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and it’s important to note it down whenever it appears.
3. Try new things
If you start experiencing a creative block (when you find it hard to create anything), you need to open yourself to a new experience.
Try a new hobby, leave home, go for a walk. You never know, an idea may pop up as soon as you do something new.
Your brain starts to work differently when you step out from the mundane, and this allows it to magically inspire you with new ideas.
4. Set limits
Austin Kleon says that ‘Creativity is subtraction’, meaning that limitations lead to creativity.
As a species, it is instinctive for us to make the most out of our limited resources.
However, sometimes our resources overwhelm us. We have too much to even begin with.
Limiting yourself in some way might end up helping you create unique ideas.
Try editing a photo in 5 minutes. Try painting with only one shade of color. Capture photos with your phone only. Only take black and white photos for a day.
The possibilities are endless, and it’s your job how to figure out what to limit. By doing this, you will realize that it is indeed your mind that creates, not the fancy equipment/resources.
Try this out, you might end up surprising yourself.
5. Open your mind. Be curious.
I cannot stress this point enough. You need to develop a mindset of open-mindedness and curiosity to fill yourself with inspiration.
Unfortunately, if one doesn’t have the humility to recognize the fact that there’s so much out there to learn, then they’re stuck.
Have you ever looked at a picture and become speechless? Well, you should dig deeper and find out what makes you speechless. Is it the subject, composition, quality, color, …., or lighting?
In the attempt to find out, you always learn something invaluable to apply in your own work.
If I was never curious enough to ask how my favorite photographers had such great and unique styles, I’d never have the ability to create my own style today.
In conclusion…
Here are the key takeaway points:
Creativity is essentially the act of combining and transforming previous works into a new, innovative creation.
If you’re starting out, it’s okay to not stand out fully. Take inspiration from your favorite creatives.
There’s a difference between good theft and bad theft in creative work. (Steal from many vs steal from one)
Always be conscious of the inspiration that you consume.
Open up your brain by trying new things.
Set limits. Limitations lead to creativity.
Be curious and open-minded about everything.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you feel inspired. (I’d really love to know, DM me!)
PS:
In case you are interested, I conduct wildlife photography tours in Kenya and also have prints for sale.
DM me in case of any queries!
Thanks,
Dhir
