We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josh Pruitt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Josh, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
My creativity is very much rooted in who I feel I am as a person. I find unencumbered joy in making things out of nothing. Because of that, it can feel as though being in a state of creativity is actually essential for me to process, disconnect, and recharge.
Challenges can arise when creativity becomes your profession and your creative mind / eye / approach becomes a commodity. The best way to protect and rejuvenate your creative well is to:
1) Remind yourself that your creativity is not the sum of who you are
2) Practice the discipline of collaboration. It’ll deflate your ego and teach you how to serve a collective vision
3) Create space to create for yourself and no one else
4) Draw inspiration from mediums outside of your craft
Putting these steps into motion has been really helpful in maintaining a joy in my craft, thus helping keep my creativity fresh and alive.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a photographer and filmmaker and have been doing this full time for about seven years now. I grew up moving all around the world and I believe that facet of my life has taught me to be intrigued, curious, and observational. It has also played a role in my love for people and their stories. These components have formed the bedrock to my photography and filmmaking career and I feel extremely fortunate that telling stories about people and their passion is a core part of my job.
When I started Ivywild Visuals, I wanted to depart from the notion that photographers had to find a type of subject to photograph and stick to it. Feeling too confined by that notion, I felt it was more valuable to work on my aesthetic – my voice – and display that through distinct color, texture, and compositional choices as opposed to adhering to any specific category. This has not only helped me work with clients that hire me for my aesthetic, but it has also helped me delve into creative direction and brand development.
Because of this process, I have developed a passion for helping other photographers find their own unique voices and helping them leverage that into a viable business. I provide one-on-one workshops for this and it has become an unexpected joy to be able to connect with other creatives and help in any way I can.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1) Commit to your craft. Just like learning a new language, there are so many things to learn before you can become fluent enough to express yourself. Be patient in the process, but don’t be lazy. Every day that you don’t spend contributing to your craft is a day you won’t be able to get back.
2) Position yourself to gain experience. Shoot every day. Reach out to clients. In the meantime, prioritize building a body of work that reflects the type of work you eventually want to be getting paid for. If a client can’t see what they want, why would they hire you?
3) Be kind to yourself. You are not your work. Frequently remind yourself why you love what you do and return to it with a child-like curiosity. It’s hard to produce meaningful art if you’re beating yourself up all the time.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m always looking to collaborate with anyone that has a story and wants to share it. Anyone who has their own craft. Anyone who loves to express themselves through the arts – whatever that may be.
I admire anyone who has built something from the ground up – there is always wisdom and insight accumulated during those journeys.
I’m particularly fond of any collaboration that involves working on a concept together. There’s a special bond that is formed when you walk through the process from conception to execution alongside someone. What’s produced is always something that could never be accomplished alone.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ivywildvisuals.com
- Instagram: @ivywildvisuals
Image Credits
All images taken by Ivywild Visuals (Josh Pruitt) / @ivywildvisuals
