The Art of Direction: The Power of Personal Work
Crazy to be here, but it’s now been a year since I launched this blog. A full year later, I thought it was important to speak to something this blog was created for and something I feel is important to share. So if you’ve read any of my posts up until now, thank you. I really appreciate it as I do my best to wrangle the 1,000 creative thoughts bouncing around in my brain daily.
In this next installment of my Art of Direction series, I wanted to spotlight something every creative runs into at some point: the power of personal work. But I wanted to speak about it from a different angle.
A few weeks ago, my fiancée and I took a trip upstate for a winter weekend getaway to celebrate our anniversary. Apart from what the trip meant for us personally, trips like these also help me to reconnect and reset creatively. I had just picked up the Fujifilm X100VI after what felt like a never ending journey. Not going to lie, it was insane trying to get my hands on one, but I finally did and was hype about it. As some of you know, I’ve been doing photography and video for both personal and client work for years. I’ve been on a Canon kit for the longest, but this felt like the perfect time in my creative journey to try something new. And honestly, I’ve always loved Fuji’s look, color science, and the feel of the images it produces, so I was excited for this new pick up (so with that, all the photos in this post were taken by me.)
Outside of fashion, I’ve always had a huge love for interior and architecture photography—the kind you’d see in Kinfolk Home, Cereal Magazine and Architectural Digest. The beauty of capturing the hospitality space with a certain essence is what I’ve always enjoyed. I knew the balance of the compact size and beautiful colors of the Fuji series would be perfect for the stuff I really love to shoot.
So we went upstate (and yes, it started snowing while we were there), and it couldn’t have been a better setting to break the camera in. A rustic yet modern winter cabin in the woods with a new camera? Couldn’t have gotten better than that.
That weekend reminded me how personal work isn’t always just for fun or to fill up your camera roll. It’s essential. It helps sharpen your style. That’s the part people skip over. When I was reviewing the shots I took, something clicked. I started noticing how similar my interior photos felt to the campaign work I’ve done. I realized I’ve always focused on the atmosphere even in my fashion direction. I’ve leaned toward full-body shots, environments that feel like characters themselves. Looking back, I realized that even in fashion, I gravitated toward placing the subject in a lived-in space and their using their interaction to within to create interest. That environment, that setting, has always been just as important to me as the clothes. What I didn’t see until now is that my love for interiors and architecture has actually helped shape my entire creative lens. The connection I had always wondered about between what I love and my “actual work” became that much clearer.
And that’s why personal work matters. Creative work isn’t just some wild, magical whimsical thing that just appears out of nowhere. It’s not much different than being an athlete. Yeah, maybe you’ve got talent or a natural eye, but if you’re not “in the gym” creatively, you’ll never hit that next level. You’ve got to practice. You’ve got to go do the thing, not just talk about doing the thing.
Some might say, “Well I’m constantly creating for this brand or that client. Why do I need to do personal work too?” Because it’s not the same. When you’re working for someone else, your vision is diluted and blended into what the client wants. It’s a mix of what you want and what they need, and nine times out of ten, their priorities come first. That’s just the job honestly.
But when it’s yours, it’s yours. You decide how it looks, how it feels, and what it means. And that’s where you refine your vision. That’s when you find clarity. You’re not worried if the client thinks your edit is too moody or your lighting too soft. It’s all you, you have the final approval.
This was a perfect example of how something I’ve always loved was influencing my everyday fashion direction work the entire time. I just didn’t know it. And it didn’t come from scrolling Instagram or overthinking it. It came from getting out, shooting, and seeing the work unfold. You’ve got to think it, then do it. That’s when it reveals itself. Especially in a time where you're hit with content overload the second you open your phone, carving out space for your own creativity matters more than ever.
That little spark you get from creating something for yourself? That’s what keeps you going. And I hope it pushes you too. I'm excited for what’s ahead this year and all I plan to make. In fashion of course, but also the interior and architecture space, I’m looking forward to more intentionally intertwine that within my other work and just the space in general. That will be a main push from me that you guys will see amongst other posts, new items I’ll be releasing and more campaign work. So from one creative to another, keep creating. Especially the stuff you can’t fully explain yet but know something is there that keeps making you come back.
Talk soon.
