Stop living for others, start creating for yourself

Living in a world where we're surrounded with media especially social media, we often find ourselves drowning in information overload. Whether we are wedding photographers or have a creative job - or any job actually - we tend to compare our talent and creativity with whatever we see all day long on our screens. The problem is that it can trigger some depreciating feelings about ourselves because it looks like everyone else is coming up with amazing ideas, everyone else is shooting amazing weddings, everyone else is having a better life than me ... Truth is we know that social media are a lot about showcasing a certain reality, the best version of something, or even staging reality sometimes (I loved these two things : here and here) and this can condition our subconscious in believing that our life pretty much sucks. I've been there, trust me, I know how it feels. But I also started to question this statement and quickly realized that it's all about our perception. Perception about own self, about our self-value, about our own creativity... The other day I read that quote, and it made all the difference :

"Stop hating yourself for everything you're not; start loving yourself for everything you are"

How simple yet powerful statement that is! I believe that our depreciating feelings towards our work come from not loving ourselves enough - not in a selfish way but in a benevolent way - So I started to be more patient and kind with myself. After all, why striving to be patient and kind with people if I can't even be this way with myself ?! And also, I started to list down in my head everything I've already achieved/created and that I'm really proud of. I invite you to do the same, you'll soon realize that you've achieved much more than you think and it will even boost you to push yourself further, get out of your comfort zone and be even more creative and inspired. 

That's what happened with this editorial shoot. I had this idea for a long time running in my head but it never was the right time, I wasn't ready, I didn't have a stylist and other vendors on board, blablablah... and then suddenly during Chinese New Year, it all made sense. All of these excuses didn't matter. All I wanted was to reconnect with my Chinese roots, I wanted to mix modernity and traditions and above all, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone by shooting in conditions I seldom use : indoors, dark backdrop, strong and rich colors and contrast. And the other important thing :  I wanted to create something beautiful for myself, with nothing at stake, no expectations other than exploring, experimenting and see what comes out.  I created the traditional Chinese headdress you see on the photos, by myself and can't tell you how amazing it felt to reconnect with the fun of creating stuff with my own hands, just like a child's excitement with the first Lego castle he builds.

I didn't shoot because I was paid to do so, I didn't shoot because I wanted to be published, I didn't shoot because I wanted likes or approval or praise from anyone. I shot because it meant something to me. 

And what came out was beyond what I could have wished for but most of all, it made me proud of my work and suddenly, the grass wasn't greener on other side. Sun was shining bright again inside of me and grass was pretty fresh and green on my mind's lawn!

And so, I'll just end this rabbiting with this quote from one of my favorite poets :

"Stop acting so small, you are the universe in ecstatic motion" - Rumi

Here are the photos of the shoot :

Gorgeous rings by Myrtille Beck  |  Earrings by La Chambre Blanche     | Massaï Bangles by Sylvia Toledano from Art & Facts, other bangles : vintage

Vintage furniture from La Bohême Déco

Floral arrangement by Roses by Claire  

Headdress and overall styling by myself