We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenny Siegwart. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenny below.
Hi Jenny, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
I think everyone, not just creatives, run into Creativity Blocks. It’s not just reserved for those who ‘create’ for a living. I remember growing up my mom would always say how she’s out of meal ideas for dinner. Now as an adult myself, I run into that same issue once a week! Regardless of what you do for a living, I think there are a few ways you can overcome Creativity Blocks. Personally, I find that walking away and mixing things up really help.
When I say walking away, I mean walking away or taking a break from a project or task for a while. I find this to be most helpful in pre and post production. If I’ve hit a wall on how to approach something while I’m retouching, chances are if I walk away from it and work on something else, let is sit for a day, go for a workout, etc., it helps me realign my approach and thoughts. I find that overthinking something is where the block really makes me stall out, so I just need to let it be for a bit and reproach it at a later time with a clear head. You’d be shocked how quickly you can come up with a solution. Same goes for preproduction type of work. If I’m putting together a heavy contract or estimate, I always walk away from it, let it sit to make sure I’m not missing anything, and go through it one last time before sending.
Mixing things up is a great way to stay creative in general. You troubleshoot new problems, get excited about new outcomes, and find new and inspiring outlets. When I feel like I’m hitting a wall in my work, I’m getting bored with what I’m creating, or I’m lacking different approaches to handle my shoots, I have a few tricks that I’ll break out to try and get myself out of a rut. As a photographer, creating personal projects that are not associated at all with what I normally photograph is a great way to relight the creativity flame. You have no client agenda, no parameters, and full creative freedom to try something new, switch up your subject matter, explore new locations, and try new approaches. If the personal project sounds more like a chore, maybe switch up the type of art you’re doing. Play with film and a point and shoot, try printmaking or woodworking, check out some alternative processing you can do at home. If you’re at a loss, check out your local art store, and walk out with something new to try. If anything, it’s a great therapeutic outlet to create something entirely different from your usual work. Lastly, searching for inspiration, but in a targeted way. Scrolling insta isn’t going to help, you need to be more targeted and without distraction. Best case scenario, you have a local periodical store that carries a great selection of different magazines and editorials that you can flip through. If you aren’t lucky enough to have that in your area, try the library, or even places like Barnes and Noble or a local bookstore.. If their magazine selection leave little to be desired, hit the art book section at a book store or library. I love being able to tangibly see images in print and not on a screen. I find I have a way bigger appreciation for the work Im looking at. I study it longer, I read the captions to give it context, I try to figure out how something was lit, etc. Best part about this is if you find something that really speaks to you, chances are you can purchase it and take it home to add to your inspo library!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m Jenny, a San Diego based photographer that dreams of photographing chateaus in Italy full of old world charm and an insane art collection, and the little old man who’s lived there for 80 years. I love the feeling a space gives you the second you walk through a door, and the satisfaction of getting my “I never smile in photos” subject to laugh at one of my bad jokes as I hit the shutter. My clients and I create images together with a recipe of open communication and teamwork, loads of creativity and fun, and level 10 positive vibes.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Communication, Learning to deal with a variety of people and situations, and staying calm under pressure.
Everyone knows how important communication is in any relationship, and a client relationship is no different. You can control expectations by communicating to your client exactly what they should expect from the project. Offer to explain to them your workflow, how you like to operate, and be realistic about turn around times. Be as transparent as possible, and your clients will appreciate you. The bonus to this, is when you open up lines of communication like that, they feel more comfortable working with you as a team, and the project often turns out even better than expected. This creates trust, and clients will want to come back to work with you again.
Learning to deal with a variety of people and situations kind of falls hand in hand with communication. Clients are not all made the same; their expectations are totally different, how they communicate varies greatly, and how they react to change is all very different. Learning to read people, mitigate hiccups or setbacks, and troubleshoot in a calm manner are just a few examples. For me personally, I’m not as ‘go with the flow’ as I’d like to think I am. I can get controlling and panicky at times. But I do know this about myself, and that self awareness helps me control my reaction to certain situations, and (hopefully) deal with things in a cool and calm way, and channel that go with the flow attitude. The more people you work with and encounter, the more you learn about how to work with the gamut of personalities that are out there.
Staying calm under pressure kind of ties into dealing with a variety of people and situations. The easiest way to stay calm under pressure for me is feeling prepared. If I go into a shoot with confidence that I know what I’m doing, my gear is charged and ready, and I have everything I need, I execute my shoots in a more sharp and efficient manner. I feel like I can troubleshoot better, I think more clearly, and the energy I give out to the subject is positive. If it’s a high stakes job and I’m a little freaked out with imposter syndrome, I just tell myself “they wouldn’t have chosen you If they thought for one minute you couldn’t do the job”. That usually brings my anxiety down and I can focus and concentrate.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I mean how much time do we have, really? I can’t speak more highly of my parents, and all they’ve provided for me. And not just in the material sense, but in the emotional support sense. They’re amazing, and I am incredibly privileged to be able to say that. In line with impactful things they did for me as far as my career goes, they not only footed my college education at Photography school, they also helped me pay for my life once I graduated while I got it together. I graduated from college in 2008, in the middle of a massive recession, and photography is a luxury item. It was so hard to find any type of work, especially in my field. They were able to help me fill in the gaps financially until I was able to stand on my own, and I don’t know if I would have been able to build my career without that. I probably would have had to find a job in a completely unrelated field, or go back to school for something else, if it wasn’t for their support. Aside from the financial support, they really have been my biggest cheerleaders and a massive source of emotional support, not just with my career, but life in general. Thanks Mom and Dad, you’re the best!!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jennysiegwart.com
- Instagram: @Jenny_siegwart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennysiegwart/
Image Credits
Portrait by Becca Batista
