The number one thing I hear from new photographers feeling frustrated about their lack of progress is this:

"I'm not creative enough."

Creativity, like an elusive stroke of luck, seems to be just beyond reach for them.

They resign to the fact that they'll never truly be artistic enough to take great photos. They feel doomed to be a subpar photographer with no real spark.

Is this how you're feeling?

If not always, maybe sometimes?

I'm here to remind you that creativity is always within reach.

We are all born creative, it's just a matter of nurturing it, drawing it out, and having the courage to explore our abilities.

There are many exercises and practices you can do to develop your creative skills. I teach them all the time to my students because it's one of the most important steps to improving as a photographer.

But sometimes developing creativity is as simple as embracing accidental art.

Recently, a friend texted me a photo she had accidentally taken with her iPhone through an orange vest she was wearing.

It looked interesting to her so she sent it to me.

She found the orange and the shape of the sun through the clouds striking.

She made an interesting comment:

"My iPhone is a natural!"

Like if she had zero reason to take credit for this artsy photo.

But I disagree. And I think there's a lesson here.

Even though it may seem like accidental art... the fact that she noticed the photo, found it remarkable and showed it to me tells me that she is the artist.

Yes, the photo was not composed and captured by her. But she saw something in it and ascribed beauty to it.

She made it art by telling me it was art. She exercised creativity and created something.

So next time you're out and about, consider taking random shots with no intention or focus.

After, scroll through the random photos and see what stands out.

Pull out one or two interesting captures and bring them to Lightroom to edit them.

In doing so, you're exercising creativity by noticing a photo that already exists and declaring it as art. This takes the pressure off taking the most creative photo, and instead invites you to see art as it already exists.

This is the beauty of photography. Sometimes the camera creates the photo, but you are the creative author by ascribing it beauty.

So share it like my friend did. Show the world your creativity!

If you're looking to flourish in creativity with your phone camera, join my next photography workshop in January. You'll see examples of my iPhone photos, learn how to take similar ones and get a copy of my practice guide:

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Hi I'm Gabrielle. I run a full time photography business in Winnipeg, specializing in portrait and commercial photography. This newsletter started with my passion for helping everyday people realize their full photography potential. With a bit of technical and creative help, you too can take better photos with the phone camera you already have.

Find more of my resources here:

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Gabrielle Touchette Photography

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