This is amazing and cool and endlessly fascinating to me - the more I find out about how other people create the more I want to try new things in my own work.
To mix things up, I thought I’d see whether the process of someone from a completely different medium (photography) could possibly shed any light on my own as writer.
So, I talked to the amazing photographer Lou Noble1 to find out.
I wasn’t expecting much overlap or anything too earth shattering, to be honest, as far as revelations about my own process went. I mean, he’s taking pictures. This is a very different beast than writing. But I was wrong.
Reading through his answers to my questions I was struck by something: his process was less ‘generating’ (how I tend to think of writing - you ‘generate’ an idea and then you write it) and more reacting. Well, of course, duh, he’s a photographer. A photographer’s talent is how they capture things.
But wait… isn’t that what a writer in ‘flow’ does as well? In flow, they are capturing their thoughts, feelings, ideas as they naturally come to them and just writing them down - they aren’t thinking too much about it and letting their brain get in the way. And, wait a minute, don’t most of my best ideas tend to come in reaction to some external stimuli - an event, a person, the way something looks…? Reacting. Capturing.
Holy shit. Have I been doing this all wrong? Is my first mistake as a writer, what gets me into that thinking mind trap over and over again, is the fact that I’m coming at it with the attitude that I’m supposed to be generating something (which will ultimately come from my brain) instead of reacting and capturing something (which will come from my heart)?
While I ponder this, read about Lou’s creative process below.
Photo by Lou Noble
How do you decide when to take pictures? Like, how often is it spontaneous (real life moments) vs planned in advance (photo shoots)?
These days planned photo sessions are few and far between. I’m at the point in my life where I’m trying less to photograph models, more just…people. So it’s photo-meet ups, meals with friends.
But generally, I’m trying to at least take a picture with my phone every day. I’m always open to taking a picture. Of the cyber truck I saw at the beach, of the weird tunnel we walked through to get to a local restaurant, of a sunset, it’s really how I look at the world.
When/if spontaneous, what spurs the impulse? When/if planned, what generates the motivation behind scheduling something?
For general photos, something aesthetically pleasing or intriguing.
For photo sessions, it’s always been the impulse of “this person intrigues me.”
Do you have criteria for choosing a specific day/time to shoot besides the availability of people/places? Is whether or not you think you’ll be feeling inspired at that time ever taken into consideration?
Scheduled sessions are always about availability and convenience. I draw inspiration from my subjects, primarily, rather than a time or place.
I’ve had days where I’m not at all inspired to take pictures…but I’m meeting up with a subject, so during a session I’ll have no choice but to keep taking pictures, keep digging until I hit the note.
Are there particular environments/settings that get you excited to shoot / get the wheels turning?
I’m drawn most to places I don’t see in other images. Freeway overpasses, isolated parks, out of the way spots. One of my guiding notions is to try to take pictures of people that haven’t already been taken. Less utilized spots help with that.
How do you choose your real life subjects as well as your models?
A combination of that thought, “this person intrigues me” and “I can take a picture of this person that hasn’t been taken of them yet”.
How much prep is involved for a shoot - or do you prep at all? Do you go in with an idea of what you want or do you stay open?
Once I’ve got a location and a subject, I’m done planning. The session itself is fueled by my subject, what I see in the moment.
Do you have any personal rituals connected to shooting? Listen to music? Drink coffee? Don’t eat breakfast…
If possible, I’ll try to surf that day, get a taste of being in a flow state, helps get me there during a session. Beyond that, no.
What kinds of things do you respond to in the moment of shooting that leads you into a groove/vibe/flow? (quality of light? facial expression? angle?)
Most helpful is getting on the same wavelength with my subject. There will be a moment during a session where the conversation is flowing, there’s an ease, the light is right, that’s when we usually start hitting the note, getting into that flow.
Respond to…it usually requires my subject to be enjoying themselves, they’re digging the images we’re making, I reflect that joy back, it becomes a feedback loop.
How long do you like to shoot? When do you stop?
I usually keep taking pictures until the images start to repeat. Once that happens, it’s over.
Walk me through the steps of creating one of your favorite photos. (When did you get the idea, what were the circumstances at the time, how many tries did it take, did you have something specific in mind or did you just go with the flow?)
Photo by Lou Noble
Here’s a recent favorite. I’d been photographing people jumping on a trampoline on and off for awhile, was trying to capture a sense of motion, but also spontaneity, unguarded feeling. This day, it only occurred to me as we were trying a completely different set-up, that the background was consistently distracting, so I first tried photographing from below Jada…wasn’t quite doing it, so I realized I needed her to be jumping Over me. The tree above us was perfect, I had no choice. It was Clear To Me. It took us a solid ten minutes to get it just right, the blur, her expression, her pose.
How do you edit your photos after a shoot? How do you decide which of the photos are the ones you want to showcase? Do you get a feeling as your shooting, “This is the one.”? And if so, how often do you find you are right or wrong when you review your work after?
I foolishly have ignored photoshop for my entire time as a photographer, and so have trapped myself. I use Apple Photos to edit. I’ll have a bunch of images from the session that I liked, but I try to stay open to surprises. I very much have a good idea of The Good Ones while I’m taking pictures.
Right…wrong…it’s more that as time goes on, I find that my relationship to certain images changes, as I get away from what I wanted/expected.
How has your creative process changed over time? Or has it?
I’m much faster, now. The more time goes by, the more I refine, in my mind, what I want. I know which images work, and which don’t. I can cull down the day’s photos much more quickly.
Is there anything you like to do to shake yourself out of a creative rut?
Best way, for me, is always to go take pictures. Second best is to consume as much good art as possible.
LOU NOBLE WAS BORN, LIVES, AND WILL ONE DAY DIE IN LOS ANGELES.
I find the hardest part of longform comedy writing, screenplays, novel, etc., is to keep up with that initial rush of humor/excitement. I've written about 15 chapters up on my 'stack. It's easier breaking up the story that way sometimes, as in each story becomes its own self-contained novel, but even then, a lot of self-doubt creeps into those spaces: "Why am I doing this? Is this funny? Is anyone out there?" Poetry: idea, execution, final edits, only a few hours. No time for self-doubt... perhaps...
I find the hardest part of longform comedy writing, screenplays, novel, etc., is to keep up with that initial rush of humor/excitement. I've written about 15 chapters up on my 'stack. It's easier breaking up the story that way sometimes, as in each story becomes its own self-contained novel, but even then, a lot of self-doubt creeps into those spaces: "Why am I doing this? Is this funny? Is anyone out there?" Poetry: idea, execution, final edits, only a few hours. No time for self-doubt... perhaps...