Beyond the obvious

My last article on creativity went down so well that it's given me inspiration to write another. I thought it might be handy to take a look at some of the attitudes and psychology that underlie creativity. Some people are naturally creative while others have to work at it but we can all be more creative. To be creative you've got to let your imagination work. Don't judge things and apply reason and rationale to everything. Just think, what if we did...? The driver here is curiosity and the wish to challenge the norm, challenge assumptions and opinions. You shouldn't make it hard work either. Enjoy the freedom. Be optimistic in your outlook. Any problem becomes a challenge rather than something negative. Creativity can be stimulated by actively seeking out problems and then getting your creative juices to flow so you can solve them and remember there is often more than one solution. The true creative doesn't just stop at the first answer. Try a different angle and se...

Every photographer, for that matter every creative, I've ever met comes to a point when they're not happy with the work they're producing. The pendulum between creative highs and dry spells swings continuously. For some the cycle is long and the bouts are quite mild for others the feeling of doubt about their work can be a crushing experience which returns all to frequently. It's actually quite healthy to have these periods of doubt because it can often be the beginning of something new and interesting which takes you further than you thought possible. Creatives in the commercial world have to always perform and although they may agree looking back that they've had a few patches where their work was less good, they always seem to bounce back. A very few creative geniuses deliver such high quality work that their poorest attempts still surpass the rest of us. But I have never heard of anyone, from tortured soul of Van Gogh to the supreme showman and genius, Salvador ...