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Creating an Original Narrative

Lesson 15 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

Creating an Original Narrative

Lesson 15 from: Fine Art Photography: The Complete Guide

Brooke Shaden

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Lesson Info

15. Creating an Original Narrative

Next Lesson: Analyze an Image

Lessons

Class Trailer
1

Class Introduction

19:06
2

Storytelling & Ideas

27:34
3

Universal Symbols in Stories

03:19
4

Create Interactive Characters

02:16
5

The Story is in The Details

04:13
6

Giving Your Audience Feelings

05:49
7

Guided Daydream Exercise

04:20
8

Elements of Imagery

02:19
9

The Death Scenario

01:47
10

Associations with Objects

03:01
11

Three Writing Exercises

06:39
12

Connection Through Art

30:35
13

Break Through Imposter Syndrome

07:40
14

Layering Inspiration

23:13
15

Creating an Original Narrative

07:42
16

Analyze an Image

04:12
17

Translate Emotion into Images

04:31
18

Finding Parts in Images

06:02
19

Finding Your Target Audience

04:05
20

Where Do You Want Your Images to Live?

12:01
21

Create a Series That Targets Your Audience

32:43
22

Formatting Your Work

06:08
23

Additional Materials to Attract Clients

07:24
24

Which Social Media Platforms Will be Useful?

04:17
25

How to Make Money from Your Target Audience

11:27
26

Circle of Focus

07:55
27

The Pillars of Branding

06:18
28

Planning Your Photoshoot

09:05
29

Choose Every Element for The Series

07:38
30

Write a Descriptive Paragraph

09:37
31

Sketch Your Ideas

17:27
32

Choose Your Gear

02:50
33

How to Utilize Costumes, Props & Locations

26:18
34

What Tells a Story in a Series?

13:06
35

Set Design Overview

01:43
36

Color Theory

19:50
37

Lighting for the Scene

12:05
38

Props, Wardrobe & Time Period for Set Design

06:00
39

Locations

04:31
40

Subject Within the Scene

07:26
41

Set Design Arrangement

05:46
42

Fine Art Compositing

03:46
43

Plan The Composite Before Shooting

10:29
44

Checklist for Composite Shooting

18:52
45

Analyze Composite Mistakes

12:11
46

Shoot: Black Backdrop for White Clothing

10:42
47

Shoot: Black Backdrop for Color Clothing

08:36
48

Shoot: Black Backdrop for Accessories

08:17
49

Shoot: Miniature Scene

09:59
50

Editing Workflow Overview

01:57
51

Add Fabric to Make a Big Dress

08:35
52

Edit Details of Images

08:09
53

Add Smoke & Texture

10:47
54

Blend Multiple Images Into One Composite

24:58
55

Put Subject Into a Miniature Scenario

17:55
56

Location Scouting & Test Photoshoot

22:10
57

Self Portrait Test Shoots

22:30
58

Shoot for Edit

04:21
59

Shoot Extra Stock Images

10:01
60

Practice the Shoot

25:07
61

Introduction to Shooting Photo Series

03:33
62

Shoot: Vine Image

10:40
63

Shoot: Sand Image

09:50
64

Shoot: End Table Image

04:59
65

Shoot: Bed Image

06:18
66

Shoot: Wall Paper Image

05:54
67

Shoot: Chair Image

08:02
68

Shoot: Mirror Image

06:57
69

Shoot: Moss Image

05:48
70

Shoot: Tree Image

07:33
71

Shoot: Fish Tank Image

04:09
72

Shoot: Feather Image

09:00
73

View Photo Series for Cohesion & Advanced Compositing

07:35
74

Edit Multiple Images to Show Cohesion

36:55
75

Edit Images with Advanced Compositing

29:33
76

Decide How to Start the Composite

09:35
77

Organize Final Images

21:37
78

Choosing Images for Your Portfolio

08:19
79

Order the Images in Your Portfolio

16:28
80

Why do Some Images Sell More Than Others?

16:03
81

Analyze Student Portfolio Image Order

11:42
82

Framing, Sizing, Editioning & Pricing

02:19
83

Determine Sizes for Prints

16:44
84

How to Choose Paper

13:56
85

How to Choose Editions

07:18
86

Pricing Strategies

18:59
87

How to Present Your Images

13:26
88

Example Pricing Exercise

09:39
89

Print Examples

08:23
90

Licensing, Commissions & Contracts

04:44
91

How to Keep Licensing Organized

06:07
92

How to Prepare Files for Licensing

07:28
93

Pricing Your Licensed Images

12:33
94

Contract Terms for Licensing

12:07
95

Where to Sell Images

04:55
96

Commission Pricing Structure

08:23
97

Contract for Commissions

12:17
98

Questions for a Commission Shoot

08:45
99

Working with Galleries

08:58
100

Benefits of Galleries

07:39
101

Contracts for Galleries

10:32
102

How to Find Galleries

05:22
103

Choose Images to Show

08:53
104

Hanging the Images

03:38
105

Importance of Proofing Prints

08:04
106

Interview with Soren Christensen Gallery

21:59
107

Press Package Overview

04:35
108

Artist Statement for Your Series

18:20
109

Write Your 'About Me' Page

09:04
110

Importance of Your Headshot

03:55
111

Create a Leave Behind & Elevator Pitch

20:19
112

Writing For Fine Art

04:44
113

Define Your Writing Style

14:49
114

Find Your Genre

06:41
115

What Sets You Apart?

02:25
116

Write to Different Audiences

05:10
117

Write for Blogging

39:57
118

Speak About Your Work

14:21
119

Branding for Video

07:37
120

Clearly Define Video Talking Points

14:27
121

Types of Video Content

31:45
122

Interview Practice

13:22
123

Diversifying Social Media Content

22:32
124

Create an Intentional Social Media Persona

24:48
125

Monetize Your Social Media Presence

18:46
126

Social Media Posting Plan

04:01
127

Choose Networks to Use & Invest

02:57
128

Presentation of Final Images

19:13
129

Printing Your Series

09:16
130

How to Work With a Print Lab

13:39
131

Proofing Your Prints

10:11
132

Bad Vs. Good Prints

03:32
133

Find Confidence to Print

10:50
134

Why Critique?

06:55
135

Critiquing Your Own Portfolio

10:39
136

Critique of Brooke's Series

16:18
137

Critique of Student Series

40:07
138

Yours is a Story Worth Telling

02:09

Lesson Info

Creating an Original Narrative

So the series had cohesion. There was Proof of Concept. And what I mean by that is, have you ever wandered into a gallery and you see a piece of art where you're just so certain that there was no thought behind that? It's the moment where you're like, "I could've done that blue dot," you know? And of course there is because you can't get to the place where you hang your stuff on gallery walls if you didn't put any thought into your work. It's a very childish way of going in to view art, of course. But we probably all had that experience. We're like, "I coulda done that." But you didn't. But you could've. And that's how we feel sometimes. So, Proof of Concept is not... It's basically saying, "OK, their image is out there, where somebody says "that there was something behind it, but was there really?" And you have that moment of like, "Or did they just put this up really quick "and hope that it looked good?" Proof of Concept is when you look at it and you know that the artist had to put ...

a lot of thought into this idea to make it look how it does. So Proof of Concept, instead of just concept. Is there a through-line in your series? Now, when you're creating a series, one image necessarily must relate to another in some way. Visually, conceptually, technically, whatever you want to do, there has to be some through-line there of cohesion. Commitment and Dedication. This is another reason why galleries and other organizations love to see a series. Because it shows that you, as an artist, can focus your attention. Now a lot of us artists have a reputation for being a little bit scattered. So you can focus your attention on something that's really meaningful to you. If you were looking through an artist's portfolio and you saw a whole bunch of different things but then just saw a few images that all went together, that would sort of clue you in to the fact that, "Oh this is something that they felt so passionate about "that they created many images about this thing." So it's sort of a little bit of like, letting people trust you a little bit more. It will lead to multiple sales potentially, I mean that's the hope. It won't always, but you have a better chance of selling multiples if they're all within a series. So how do you create a series that contains an original narrative? This is what we've been talkin' about, isn't it? How do you do it? So I think that one way that you do it is by analyzing these four things: interest, experience, reaction, and emotion. Now we all have interests, okay. It's like, the most boring thing that we have. Everybody has interests all the time. We're all interested in lots of things. So then, what interest is so important to you, that you have to pursue that? Once you have that, that one thing that you feel like you could really dedicate time to, what is your experience of that interest, of that passion? What experiences in your life have come to lead you to a place where you want to pursue that? What reaction do you have to that? I think that some of the best art comes from things that make us uncomfortable, from not wanting to do something, from not wanting to experience something. Like April here, we were talking about how you wanna do a series where you're in this water and you were like, "I don't wanna do it." And I was like, "Yes!" And then we had this moment of like, "That's why you have to do it!" And we're all so excited to one day see this. And that was a really beautiful moment because it's this exact idea of, the experience is sometimes the thing that you have to work through and then the art that comes from that becomes your cathartic experience. It's really beautiful. And then emotion. How do you feel about a certain thing? How do you feel? What emotions can you put into that? And this is how we start to build an original narrative. Now the question of "Why" comes into play. And I have to say it. And I know it's a big, big horrible question. But I believe the best art has this big question of "Why" at the center of it. Why is that artist personally compelled to create? Why is the viewer compelled to look? And if you can answer both of those things, then you're probably creating some pretty interesting art. If you can get a person to want to view it, and they are connecting with why they want to view it, and then you can create it with the connection of why you need to, that's a beautiful marriage. So why do you have an interest in something? What if you just wrote down every single interest that you have, in the world? Every single interest that you have. It would probably be a long list. You can probably think of tons of things you'd be interested in learning more about. What if you went through that list and you just instinctually pick that one thing that stands out to you the most. And then you actually pursued that thing. I think more of us should do this more often. First of all we get stuck in what we've always done. So for years I was like, "I'm a photographer. "I'm a photographer. I'm a photographer." And I'm still a photographer, and I love being that. But I felt so chained by that one thing, that I felt like I couldn't do anything else. So I was moonlighting as a writer. Whenever I'd be home, I'd be writing my novel and I wouldn't tell anyone or share it with anyone 'cause I was like, "Oh I'm a photographer, "I'm not a writer. That's not me." 'Cause it feels bad to say, "I am a blank," if that's just an interest that you have. So what allows you to say, "I'm a photographer, "I'm a writer, I'm an artist," when you feel like you have nothing to back that up? And my answer is, do you have an interest in a thing? Why do you have an interest in a thing? If there's a deep personal connection to your interest, and you commit to pursuing that, then you are that thing. Your commitment to you passion, gives you the right to say that you are this thing. I am an artist because I am passionate about art and I am pursuing that art, consistently. Why is this experience meaningful for you? The experience of creating the experience that brings you to the point of creating? What is meaningful for you about this experience? And why do you react in certain ways? What makes you react in certain ways? If I were to come over and pinch you on the arm would you punch me? Would you laugh at me? Would you push me over? What's your reaction? That's a really silly example, but we all have very instinctual reactions to things. Why? Why do you react that way? Why do we tend to feel certain emotions over others? If I had to define my emotions I would say usually joyful, I would say highly anxious, I would say very passionate, very dreamy. These are emotions that I feel all the time. All the time. I'm like a weird little ball of anxious and excited and passionate. And why is that for me? And how can I channel that into my art? I think that negative emotions, for me, are way more likely to make them into my art, versus the positive side of things. And you might be different. You might feel joy and want to express that. Why? Why is that you over something else?

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Guided Daydream & Writing Exercises Workbook (Lessons 1-11)
Creating an Original Narrative Workbook (Lessons 12-18)
Finding Your Target Audience Workbook (Lessons 19-27)
Planning Your Series Workbook (Lessons 28-34)
Set Design Workbook (Lessons 35-41)
Compositing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 42-49)
Editing Workflow Checklist (Lessons 50-55)
Location Scouting Workbook (Lessons 56-60)
Stock Image Downloads for Practice (Lessons 61-72)
Organizing Your Portfolio Workbook (Lessons 77-81)
Pricing & Editioning Your Work Workbook (Lessons 82-89)
Writing Contracts & Licensing Images Workbook (Lessons 90-98)
Gallery Best Practices (Lessons 99-106)
Pitch Package Workbook (Lessons 107-111)
Writing Your Brand Workbook (Lessons 112-117)
Marketing Workbook (Lessons 118-122)
Social Media Workbook (Lessons 123-127)
Printing Methods Checklist (Lessons 128-133)
Self Critique Workbook (Lessons 134-137)
Bonus Materials Guide
Syllabus
Image Edit Videos

Ratings and Reviews

April S.
 

I tuned in for most of Brooke's lessons in this course and watched some of them more than once as they were rebroadcast. First I want to say that Brooke is a very good instructor. Her easy-going, friendly, down-to-earth, somewhat quirky manner cannot be mistaken for unprofessional. She is very prepared, she speaks well (not a bunch of hemming and hawing), she is thoughtful, she is thorough, she is very relatable and at ease, and she is definitely professional in her presentation. I really thought when I first tuned in that it would mostly be background noise while I was at work, sound to keep me company. Not because I didn't like Brooke but I really didn't think I was into fine art photography nor did I think I cared about the business side of things much. Not now anyhow. I was really wrong. Brooke sparked a deep interest in me to delve into fine art photography, to consider creating images for myself, from my imagination. In fact, I realized that this was something I'd been thinking about for a couple of years though I hadn't put a name to it (the idea of creating pre-conceived images based on my own creative goals). I gleaned many little treasures from her about image sizes, working with printers, different types of paper, selling, interacting with galleries, and so much more. I may not need all of what she taught right now because I'm definitely headed in another direction at the moment, but she planted ideas and information in my head that I know will be useful at some point. Things I may not have thought of on my own, but that seed is in my head now so when the time comes, I'll know. I'd really like to buy her course but at the moment, with the holidays right around the corner, it's not in my personal budget. I'm grateful to have caught the live and rebroadcast lessons though, and her course is on my list to own. I think it's a great reference to be consulted over and over again, not watched once and forgotten. Kudos Brooke for really putting together an excellent course.

Ron Landis
 

I'm retired now, but spent decades in the people and training business. Brooke is extraordinary! Even though this course is extremely well organized and she's left nothing unattended, she moves through it with friendly conversational manners and without a sense of it being stilted. It's as though we are all her friends, not students, as she shares her heart and passion with us. What a joy it is to listen to her. And what a clear, unambiguous command of her subject. Wow! She explains it with such ease using explanations and techniques that won't overwhelm artists just starting their portfolio or the Photoshop-squeamish among us; but despite its simplicity her resulting art is breathtaking and beyond original. I wish more of my professors at school were as engaging. This was by far my best buy at Creative Live yet.

Angel Ricci
 

When the title says comprehensive, it means comprehensive! I loved every part of this course. It's inspirational, motivating, and insightful towards creating art work. Even if you are not necessarily considering a fine art specialty, the concepts discussed in this course are applicable to many areas! I find this super useful as a videographer and photographer and look to apply all of these exercises and concepts for my personal and business work moving forward. It is lengthy, but you will not regret a single minute. Brooke Shaden is an amazing artist and educator. I recommend keeping up with her work, presentations, and any future courses that may come in the future.

Student Work

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