Ways to uncover your voice

Authenticity means erasing the gap between what you firmly believe inside and what you reveal to the outside world. – Adam Grant

As I discussed the importance of finding our authentic voice when it comes to photography, or any art form, now it comes to the part when I explain the ways I have found that have helped me uncover mine.

First and foremost, before I trip the shutter, I like to ask myself what draws me in to take the image, which aspect of the scene interests me. I feel this is the most important question because if I have no real interest to the subject, then what do I would have nothing to say about it, and by extension, if I am not interested, the how am I going to convince anyone else? When you really pay attention to what light, subjects interest you when you take photos, it will help reveal your vision.

I also think it helps to reflect on what you have done. When you go back and look at your archives, really dig deep and find those images that you feel very strongly about, for me, this is an easy task because those will be the images I want to print. I find most of them play pivotal roles in finding where my interests lie. I have found memory of this one image I took of a weed on a local trail last year. After I edited the photo, it revealed my yearning for my Asian heritage and aesthetics, a side of me that I was not aware of in existence. It has paved the way for how I proceed with my photos taken in nature ever since. So do take time to do an occasional review of your work, curate them and check if there are some underlying themes that are of interest to you.

It certainly helps to establish a regular creative practice. I find when I establish a set schedule to shoot regularly and doing my best to stick to it, I sharpen my intuition with repeated practice. By shooting regularly, when I walk anywhere, when I am struck by certain scenes, or things, I notice I intuitively respond by wanting to photograph it, and I automatically process what strikes me as the key feature and the way I will compose the photo. I find when I let my intuition guides my photography, it all becomes a very fluid process. The technical and artistic sides come together without too much intellectual thinking on my part.

I reiterate last week’s key point of “listen to your heart” when it comes to pursue any artistic endeavors. It is easy to fall into the trap of intellectualizing everything, overthinking the technical aspects, putting too much emphasis on everything must be perfect. With the popularity of social media, there is also the burden of thinking if our work are what others may want to see. We may get into a creative rut when you pigeonhole your work when you start producing work that is what people come to expect of you. In the long run, we stifle our creativity and risk losing interest in something that should bring us joy. It is important to stay true to who you are and photograph what speaks to you. I create with no audience in mind, if people happen to like my work, that’s great. I have faith in myself that people will show interest to my work when they find certain aspects that speak to them. I cannot win every heart; it will always be a target audience. I make peace with that.

Besides photography, I am also interested in a variety of other art forms. I find it highly beneficial when I look at paintings, listen to music, watch movies. It is important to keep feeding myself various materials to keep enriching my artistic brain. I frequently get ideas from watching movies, be it the color palette, the composition of frames, or the visual rhythm as the story moves along. My interests in other art forms also inform me as to where my artistic inclination lies.

I keep a creative journey where I like to write down my thoughts about different subjects that interest me. Sometimes they are quotes that inspire me, ideas from seeing other artists’ work that pigque my interest, random ideas that worth further exploring. I will review my notes from time to time and check if I can incorporate some of them into my practice. It also helps to process my thoughts as I continue to work on various projects, or portfolios.

Finally, I have been a strong advocate of exercising and meditation. In a world full of complexity and excitement, it is of great importance that I find some quiet time for myself and do some dopamine detox. When I exercise, be it running or walking, I observe what is around me with curiosity. I don’t listen to music. I just pay attention to what is happening in the environment. The quiet time helps train me to be more perceptive, both with my internal world and the external environment. I find too much senses overload can obscure my perception.

For a long while, I struggled with the concept of uncovering my own vision. I didn’t think I had one. I thought I was good at taking beautiful photographs, but they felt impersonal as they didn’t seem to say anything about me. I was not sure I was able to communicate my ideas to my viewers succinctly. Now I feel I do have my unique voice. It has taken me a long time and a lot of effort to uncover it, but it has been a rewarding journey.