Creative Exercise: Home and Family

With us all 'staying at home' a little more than we planned this summer, I have a wonderful creative exercise suggestion for you.

If you are struggling for inspiration, finding it hard to 'think of' new things to photograph in your home or need a reason to pick up your camera more regularly, this might be just what you need to kick start your thought process.

As a result of completing this short exercise my intention is to help you look inward, into your own mind for your own inspiration; rather than seeking inspiration from others. Sometimes our minds can get overwhelmed by the options and choices of 'what we could photograph' if we look too outwardly and we can become overly critical about our own work and our own stage of development. Remember this is a long journey of creativeness for all of us and we all develop and change in different ways and through different experiences.

Your starting point

I need you to grab five minutes of time for yourself. This is a journalling exercise so definitely requires a little bit of time for you to brainstorm quietly.

First...

I am inviting you to work your way through these thought prompts and write some notes, key words and ideas that come into your mind in response to each one....

1) what makes you happy right now?

2) what do I love about spending time with my family / children / partner?

3) what quirks does my child / children / partner have that make them who they are?

4) how do we spend our time at home - what hobbies do we have as a family and as individuals?

5) what do I love about the space I live in?

Then....

Looking back through your list, grab two coloured pens and start to categorize what you have brainstormed in front of you.

Colour 1: circle the feelings / emotions that you have identified

Colour 2: circle the things / objects that you have identified

Finally....

Pull out the feelings and things that you have circled and write them up into a little list that you can keep handy somewhere - on your fridge door / on your phone etc.

Short and sweet but hopefully something to refer to on the days when you are feeling creatively stuck to prompt you. And even better, these are connections that you have made yourself rather than looking outwardly for inspiration.

Natalie x