The next issue of the Kanna Inspire™ is in progress! The theme has been chosen and designs and product experiments are in progress. In the meantime, I'll share some of the photos that ended up on the cutting room floor.
Show your outtakes
Lately, I’ve been reading Austin Kleon’s, Show Your Work. This is a pithy book full of nuggets of wisdom about sharing your art with the world. Essentially it’s about marketing your art - but in a way that doesn’t feel like marketing. One lesson that motivated this particular post: share your outtakes.
Why this resonates with me: you might have work you like. Work that is pretty good. But, you know it’s not your best. For one reason or another, it still leaves you feeling “meh.” But, it’s valuable to do it because a daily regimen of creating work eventually produces your best work. It’s valuable to share it for the feedback you get from your audience.
Sharing your outtakes is not for everyone
I don’t have a problem with sharing my outtakes. In fact, I don’t even mind sharing my early, ugly work. I have also found my blog to be a useful documentary of my artistic journey.
This series of photos were my “outtakes” for two reasons:
- My black and white photography still needs work
- I couldn’t find a cohesive theme in the photos
Black and white photography and the value of editing
My earlier photos in black and white (using film) were huge disappointments. They were just experiments, but one of the key lessons that stood out is that the simpler the scene, the better the photo. I tend to be a seduced by color. Shooting in black and white teaches you to simplify and edit. And as I travel along the road in my art journey, I’m learning editing is an essential skill.
Theme wasn’t cohesive
Another reason this set of photos were “outtakes” from the session were that I didn’t see a common theme emerging. Although these were my favorite photos from the downtown, the lack of simplicity in the photos affected how I perceived a theme. I think a black and white issue will happen in the future, but not yet.
Your turn: do you have any outtakes you feel brave enough to share? Or do you prefer to keep your mediocre work squirreled away?
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