How to Build Photography Portfolios And Develop Themes Within Your Art
Nature photography, for me, has been a vehicle for expression. Through my photographs, I have been expressing complex thoughts and emotions that are, so often, beyond the comprehension of our limiting oral and written language. The creative journey has been one of immense personal and spiritual development, and I have got to know my truest self on a much deeper level having ventured out into the landscape on this great quest for meaning and purpose. I have seen a significant improvement in the quality and depth of my photographs, and this has been a beautiful way to measure the deepening of my own soul and the increasing richness, therefore, in my own experience of this human existence.
My pursuit of the photograph has brought me to a place of personal and professional ‘success’ in recent times with my work being recognised internationally in prestigious magazines. Although the greatest measure of creative success, will always be, for me, the personal motivation of growth and true expression of Self, this external recognition of my creativity is something that I am most proud of and, thankfully, confirms that I am not simply caught up in some kind of narcissistic dream world, but that my deeper thoughts around creativity are, in fact, appreciated by other people.
Photography can be so much more than a hobby if we allow ourselves to surrender to creativity and the souls’ intuition. The soul seeks for new stimulation and challenges in pursuit of constant growth and expansion. You might be someone that is content with coasting along through life, capturing simple moments of beauty and sharing them with friends and family online, and that is ok, of course. This blog post, however, is intended for those that are curious and wish to pursue photography with a little more endeavour; those people that are looking to gain deeper self-awareness and understanding through the practice of Nature photography, and speak a universal language that comes straight from the soul.
With that in mind, following a recent prompt from an engaging member of my closed Facebook Community, Tim, I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts around developing a more meaningful photography portfolio and creating themes and styles for your photographs that help to convey the deeper messages that you might be trying to communicate as an artist.
Follow Your Intuition
‘‘I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.’’
- Joseph Campbell
The greatest and most influential photographers, I believe, are those that have discovered the places that resonate and strike a chord within the walls of their own hearts. We all have our own personal connection to certain places, and these places are often linked back to our favourite childhood memories. My own connection to the trees and woodland can be linked to early adventures beyond my nan and grandads back garden into a woodland that was a sanctuary for me throughout my youth.
I cannot tell you that I consciously knew what I was doing when I took a walk amongst trees back in 2020 - my hand, in fact, was forced as I was restricted to local footpaths during the pandemic. All I know is that my heart sang a song from its’ deepest corner as I wandered beneath great oaks with my camera and journal in hand, and that I had found a missing part of my soul amidst the magic and mystery of a mist-laden woodland.
It was my heart that led me to keep wandering aimlessly through the Welsh woodland, and it is my heart, I was always taught, that knows the truth. In the space of the woodlands that I was visiting to photograph trees, I naturally began to reflect upon my life and join some dots to better understand who I was and the events that had shaped me. The trees were my ever-faithful companions and most patient counsellors throughout the extensive, lifechanging creative process. I began to lose myself along the tree-lined footpaths, and it was upon losing myself that I began to find myself. What followed was my first collection of themed photographs that I could use to represent me as an artist, and tell a deeper story rather than simply photographing something beautiful. Trees, it could be said, have meant something to me throughout my entire life, so it seems fitting that I gravitated back to the woodland to tell their stories.
What is it within the landscape that you are drawn to? Is it the silence and peace found beside tranquil lakes, or a darker, louder and more chaotic ocean? Do you find your home in the safety of the enclosed woodland womb or do you prefer to stand alone and exposed to the wild elements upon a mountain? Why do you think this is? Have you always been drawn to these places or is this something that has evolved with time? If so, why the change of heart? Was there a significant life event that caused this shift in the places that you were drawn to?
By asking the question ‘why’, we are forced to dig a little bit deeper within ourselves for the answer. You can ask further ‘why’s’ depending on how deep you wish to go and how many answers you seek. In my experience, I believe that it is these questions that have led to a deepening of my art, and the evolution of style within my work. I also believe that these questions are what have helped me to intimately get to know the truest version of myself, and this, I feel, is reflected in my photographs.
Reflect Upon Your Photographs
I mentioned earlier that I like to use photography as a vehicle for personal and spiritual development. Before I found my home behind the camera, I found solace whilst sat at my journal with a pen in hand, and before that, I was a personal trainer that was completely obsessed with personal growth and ‘becoming the best version of myself’. I have found a way to carry forth my love of personal development and inner transformation into my art, proceeding to pursue self-mastery through photography and writing as a creative practice. Photography is more impulsive, intuitive, and reactive, whilst the writing side of my practice involves logical, analytical and rational thought. Together, I have found a Yin Yang approach to creativity, integrating two halves of the psyche as a means for growth and development.
A photograph, it could be said, comes from the subconscious mind - a reaction to fleeting light or lesser-seen beauty. In the moment, it is sometimes difficult to work out exactly why we were drawn to create a certain photograph, when there are usually a whole myriad of possibilities within a certain location. This is certainly true as we become more accomplished in our craft and decisions about where to look or where to stand are made, perhaps, more intuitively and instinctively.
In my essay, titled, ‘A Bridge Between Two Worlds’, I write:
‘‘The camera is the bridge that connects these two worlds. Not only does it capture what it sees in the external world that is so familiar to us all, but it reflects, at the same time, the inner world of the artist; one that is completely unique and so often unknown and unseen, even by the artists’ eyes at times.’’
So, with that in mind, what might your photographs be saying about you as an artist?
Perhaps it is time to think a little deeper about your work, and ask yourself whether there is a consistency of emotions that are expressed through your photographs.
When I began further reflecting upon the following body of work from around Eryri (Snowdonia) after I had created the photographs, I realised that, along with many other photographs I had created, there was a theme of ‘stillness’ running through them. I began to meditate upon this theme, and ask myself ‘why?’ Eighteen months or so after I had created the portfolio of photographs of these birch trees beside the still waters, I produced an essay, titled, ‘Seeking Stillness’ - an essay that features in my upcoming debut photobook ‘Finding Light’ and proved, at the time, to be one of the most significant pieces of writing that I had produced.
When embarking upon the reflection process, pay attention to your photographs over time, and see whether there are similar patterns emerging in how you like to compose photographs. Are there similarities in the way that you utilise negative space? Do you prefer to abide by the rules of photography or break them? Do you arrange elements in a similar order throughout your portfolio? All of these things might well have been subconscious in the moment, but, by shining our light of awareness onto them, we bring them into our conscious mind and, perhaps, recognise them as a part of our photographic style.
When looking back, are there potential themes that have already emerged that you could build a further portfolio around? You might be able to find three or four photographs that tell a similar story, convey a similar emotion, or are composed in a similar way. This could be more than enough to spark some inspiration inside of yourself to go out and create photographs that add to the portfolio.
Study One Area & Get To Know It Intimately
To begin creating photographs that are laden with depth and meaning, I believe that it takes dedication and intention. A person can’t expect to turn up to a location once and immediately realise its’ absolute photographic potential. The process of developing portfolio-worthy photographs, I believe, is a long one. These photographs are an evolution - they are a layering of compositions, interactions within the landscape and ideas over time. Not only does a location evolve over time, but so do we. Every time we return to a place, we have accrued new experiences and changed somewhat, just like the seasons of Nature themselves. This can lead to an altering, sometimes significantly, in the way that we see a location.
The most impactful photographs of mine, I believe, are those that have been produced after a long period of time spent connecting with an area of the landscape. The melancholic collection of silver birch photographs below were created three years after my initial discovery of this lesser-trodden area close to my old home in mid Wales. It takes time to get to know a place intimately, and, to add to that complexity, through our interactions with a chosen landscape, we are getting to know new sides to ourselves, too. Photographs aren’t always immediately obvious to the eyes, and I, for one, can often find myself in a state of overwhelm upon first steps along new footpaths. It takes a lot of time to ‘get the eye in’, so to speak, and to dig down into ourselves to better reflect the story of the inner landscape in the one that is outside of us.
My creative process is often about reflecting current life experiences and emotional states in the photographs that I am creating. By raising my awareness of and understanding my own inner world, something that I have intuitively done for as long as I remember, I believe that this might have an impact on the kinds of scenes that I am drawn to on a given day and the stories, therefore, that I wish to tell.
By spending excessive amounts of time within a chosen landscape, we allow our awareness to gravitate towards what it is that we are actually interested in photographing. Perhaps certain colours will begin to appear to our eyes, or arrangements within the trees, for example. We might notice symmetrical structures of trunks and the pleasing balance between a congregation of silver birch. Once we have built this awareness around what it is that we are actually wanting to photograph, our decisions about where to go next on our creative missions become easier to make.
Find Your Own Sources of Inspiration
Inspiration is everywhere. Don’t just look towards other photographers for it, although that can help, of course. Sometimes, studying other photographers’ work too intently can stifle a persons’ creative growth, however. We can easily get caught up trying to imitate them, or lose ourselves in comparison, denting confidence and fueling self-sabotaging thoughts. Personally, I have never been too interested in studying the works of other photographers too deeply. I have, however, found great satisfaction in losing myself to the imaginative worlds of 19th and 20th Century oil painters - particularly those that had painted the beautiful landscapes of Wales.
What inspires you personally? I have always found endless inspiration within books and films. Ever since I was young I have enjoyed getting lost inside of a great story, and I still do to this day. Music is one of my biggest inspirations, and I love to listen to music with a deep, soulful and authentic story contained within the lyrics. Much of my writing has been inspired in some way by music, and a simple line of my favourite song can inspire me to write poetry of my own. It is much the same with my photography - many of my photographs have been inspired by stories found in songs and films, especially.
“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
- Ansel Adams
By finding out what our greatest inspirations are, we can explore these gateways to get to know ourselves in a deeper way. Self-awareness is, I believe, the most important thing for creative and artistic growth - and for a consistent style and certain themes to evolve out of our photography.
Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting me by leaving a comment down below.
Better still, you can support me financially with one of the following options:
If you took something valuable away from this, please consider exchanging some energy with me by purchasing a coffee to help keep me fuelled along my journey. It can be tiring exploring this inner landscape all by myself.
This is my first zine (small photobook) that contains a collection of tree photographs from around the beautiful landscape and woodlands of Wales.
All of the nature photography within these pages was produce during 2021, and this zine tells the story of a year that changed me as a Nature photographer and human.
It features a series of short stories, a poem that I felt inspired to write whilst out in nature, and an insight into why I create and where my love of the trees and woodland was born.
£15 + shipping.
Shipping information
Some countries may impose import duties on items purchased from the UK and it is the responsibility of the buyer to pay these charges.
‘Finding Light’ is a debut photobook produced by professional landscape & Nature photographer Brad Carr. This book beautifully expresses Brad’s deep reverence for and connection with the natural world and shines a light into the darkness of what it means to be a human being.
Featuring over 20 essays on Nature, photography, creativity, healing and belonging, Brad lays the foundations for his art and what is due to be a remarkable career in storytelling behind the camera.
Foreword by Professor David Watkins.
Over 75 photographs.
Over 20 essays on the creative life, Nature, healing, psychology and spirituality.
Short stories and poetry.
Due to be released Spring 2025.
The first 100 Standard Editions will be signed on the inside.
Collectors Editions come signed with your choice of luxury, fine art print from my limited edition print gallery.
Pre orders will be subject to free UK shipping. Use code ‘freeukshipping’ at checkout.
For international orders, please select the 'International Standard' option.