Stuck Between Snow and ... ?!??

It is ridiculous and so unfortunate how creatively impaired I can become in the months between fall and winter and it's happening again as we start to slowly transition into spring. Almost always after senior portraits end and the snow starts to fall, something about the dead trees and the brown mountains get me... In the fall I'm always slammed busy with a new school year starting, senior portraits being due the month after we start, cross country running everyday after school, and all the hype about the leaves changing color and the school year starting. 

During the winter I have usually thought that I am not capable of being creative or shooting anything good because of the snow and dead and thought I would need a studio to create something amazing. So not true! This winter I have been focusing on photographing editorial portraits and playing around with new people and places. I have been having great success! This is part due to the incredible amount of snow we have received (shout out to El Niño!) but also due to the mindset of wanting to stay creative. 90% of anything is mental. 

Being on the other side of winter (almost!) I find myself wanting warmth and color more than ever. Seasonal depression is starting to kick in and I just want the snow to hurry up and melt! The past couple weeks it has been hard for me to find some creative spirit or therefore any inspiration to draw from to photograph.

Lately, I have been watercoloring very often, I think it is restorative! I will share photos and a blog post soon about that.

With the slow time I had until we got some snow, I went through my huge stack of magazines that were sitting in a pile on my bedroom floor. I rip out anything that inspires me and anything I think is just down right rad. If you are ever in a creative rut, this is my favorite thing to do because I always feel more creative after! If you don't have a ton of magazines at your disposal and you are feeling a bit more environmentally friendly, Pinterest and/or Tumblr are great, inspiring social medias. I really like Pinterest (links to mine attached below) because I can separate everything into different boards and it's easier to go back and find something you have pinned. Tumblr (also linked below) is very visually appealing when you customize it to make it all pretty but whenever I go on I reblog so much at once, I never scroll all the way to my very first posts. I love what you can find on Tumblr anyway... And then I usually pin them on one of my Pinterest boards ;)

I would love to hear how you get creative in these awkward, dead, times of year! Comment or message me your thoughts :)


Links:
pinterest.com/halliekathrynm
The Pinterest where I find inspiration for everything. From photography, food, places to go, clothes to wear, etc.

pinterest.com/halliekphoto
I created a separate Pinterest for HKP and one that I send the link to clients. Ben Sasso once said that if you notice that you like a photo, you need to dig deep into the photo and pick out what it is you love about that image. I started really thinking about this so boards on this Pinterest account have specific names for why I like the photo or what shoot it would be specifically shot at. Also, I have a wardrobe board that allows clients see what I like my subjects to wear or anything that attracts my eye. Another really useful board on here is my "cheat sheet." I have found quotes or articles pertaining to how to be "more photogenic" or more relaxed and natural at a shoot. It is all about the client's mood!

camerasrainphotos.tumblr.com

My Tumblr for inspiration and where I reblog things I love.

halliekathrynphotography.tumblr.com
A Tumblr for HKP that I post my own photos! (I need to get better at posting and being consistent... I think last time I posted was last May! Maybe I should go post right now ;)

xo, Hallie