How Guido Palau Inspired Me To Take Better Photos

I was in NYC again last week for a string of planning sessions for the 2011 Redken Symposium that I work on as an assoc. producer every time it rolls around-- the meetings are an opportunity for the artists to present their wish lists and visions to a panel of the production team, everyone from wardrobe and makeup, to model wranglers, choreographer, stage and lighting, the whole team. It's awesome fun, and always fulfilling to take part in shepherding dreams and vision into a living breathing show that thousands of hair stylists travel to Vegas to sit down and watch to get inspired.

This year as a special treat before the planning sessions started, without any real warning at all, we had the pleasure of watching a casual sit down interview with the world- renowned, runway and editorial hair guru Guido Palau. He just walked right into the room out of the blue. It was great. If you are not familiar with his work, his runway creations fuel the fires of influence all over the world, you have seen his work gracing the covers of Vogue, W, Allure, and Harper's Bazaar. He is often top choice to craft the hair for designers Marc Jacobs, Prada, Calvin Klein, Versace, Jil Sander and the late Alexander McQueen. So with that said, the absolute most inspiring thing about Guido is not his intensely prestigious resume bursting at the seams, it is absolutely how grounded in reality this man is. A genuine humbleness rises to the top of each question he answers, and ultimately I saw a grand understanding of how love of work, and love of life, are their own separate entities. Being super awesome at what he does is not the key to fulfillment, his passion for living life is not dictated by the success and failures that come out of the styling chair. It was inspiring for me to watch this man squirm with intense nervousness and discomfort when pressed to discuss his creative process.

*and on that note- I have never heard a really great explantation on creative process by anyone who I have found to be truly creative before. Its one of those horrible questions to ask a person. It's a monster in their mind that they have mastered control over, and for all of the battles they have fought with it, I am not sure it can be explained into one motivational minute. It's the guys and gals jawing on and on for hours about how they created their work that I find to be the most dull and unoriginal. cough, cough, SPIELBERG! I'm just kidding, I loved Jaws.

Anyway...

It was great for me to listen to Guido's success story, it was entirely centered around bucking convention, and how he cut his own path to where he wanted to be. It wasn't so much an ambition story of a person who wanted to be hugely famous and successful, instead it was very much, "I just want to be left alone to do my own thing, my own way." One of my favorite things he spoke about was how when he creates a look for a show, for a designer, he is placing his own opinion on top of the models head for all to see and judge. It's him saying: this is what I think is lovely and bold, and putting it right on top of their head to be marched down a runway for the eyes of the fashion world. This is where the conversation grabbed me and all of the sudden I was taking a hard look at my own work, and seeing where I was at on my path to doing what I wanted, my own way. I applied this idea of placing an opinion on the head of my own work, and it got me thinking more critically and harsh about what opinions I am giving when I shoot a piece. Am I just delivering what I think is expected and safe, or am I making a statement about what I think is beautiful? Lately it seems like all I have been doing is what is safe. This thought process really helped me figure out why my maternity work I have displayed here has had such a positive response, they are the only bodies of work that I have done that are truly opinionated. They say something beyond the story of a growing belly, and it is strange that I never made the connection to why the rest of my work always just falls flat.

The maternity thing was a total accident, I never intended to create work like it, but Cole asked me to document the growth of her belly, and I hated maternity photography, so I was forced to find a new way to shoot the story, and in doing so, I put my opinion out there-- that this is what I think is beautiful about pregnancy. So this has been huge for me, when I approach jobs from now on, I need to start asking myself: "am I telling the same old story? Or am I showing you something new, another side? It's an easy formula to apply to all things creative. The other big question this leads to is, if I truly don't have an opinion about what I'm shooting, than why am I shooting it?

So now, armed with this clarity, I started looking at work that I admire around the web, and this is exactly why I think THIS lady takes such gorgeous portraits, it is so very apparent that she has placed her personal opinion on the top of her work, saying loudly: "This is what 'beautiful' is to me", and so it is truly beautiful to see life through her eyes. I never made the connection before, I just knew I loved her portraits. She manages to put a little of herself into each piece, and that is what makes it so unique and original. Think about that, she has found a way to make a headshot unique and standout, just by being opinionated. Incredible.

I thought I should share my experience here, and in doing so maybe it would get someone else excited and thinking about their creative work. I am always focused on getting better at what I do, every single day, and all of this is triple amplified today as I finish preparations on my final presentation for Blogher next week. I am discussing photo editing on a panel for a Geek Lab in one of the ROYO's. Is anyone going? If you want to know more, and get this event marked in your daily itinerary click HERE to see who else is speaking, and when :) Thanks for looking.


All the Love in the Universe ~ Me

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