Find your way back to CREATIVITY - Reconnect with your inner child

Are you lost in your search for creativity? Every artist might face this phase where he/she feels stuck, whether you are a wedding photographer, or even travel the world as a destination wedding photographer, whether you are a painter, a singer, a writer... I bet we all have felt that at some point. At least, I have. Until that day, when my sister called me as she needed me to babysit my nephew...

Spending time with my 3 year-old nephew has opened my eyes on how we think about creativity. I realized that as adults, we overthink creativity, we think that it’s something we need to find outside, draw inspiration from God knows what source … Pinterest? Instagram? Fellow artists ? (yes, I do all of these three I have to admit) but we forget that creativity comes from the inside FIRST. Watching my nephew create his own world for a whole day made me realized that every one of us used to be THAT creative, we could see a sword in a wooden stick, we could see a castle out of a couch and a pile of pillows, we could talk to anyone anytime, we never felt judged for not being creative enough or not doing it right… But growing up, we built walls with social pressure, fears...and we stopped exploring.

That’s it.

We  JUST. STOPPED. EXPLORING.

Because we are driven by the pressure of creating. We think we need to create, we must come up with something others will like…

Remember when we ALL used to be like this creative building our own reality:

Best of Action Movie Kid's adventures Thanks to Hashi and his son for these great videos. You can find the original channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2hAbftpVjHtFrDOpEM90aA http://www.kainio.com

I gave my nephew an old Holga plastic camera for him to play with. Oh boy, I can’t even describe the joy and light in his eyes! He grabbed the camera and snapped the hell out of it, he snapped everything that caught his attention. He was so happy about it. Did he care that there was no film roll inside? NO. Did he care what people around him would think ? NO. Did he felt pressure to come up with amazing pictures? NO. Although I’m sure in his mind, he did created amazing pictures! 

I asked myself when was the last time I felt so much joy and excitement… 
If only we could reconnect with our inner child, if only we could reconnect with that joy, that part of us that doesn’t care what others think. If only we let ourselves to just be. If only we could let the social pressure go. The pressure we create ourselves in our own mind about : the NEED to create to please others (aka get praise, get new clients, get likes, get shares and comments, etc)

STOP PUTTING PRESSURE ON YOURSELF to create AMAZING things. A lifetime of creativity will probably bring out only a few chefs-d'oeuvre and THAT IS OKAY. Let me ask you: Who's your all-time favorite artist? Can you name some of his/her major chefs-d'oeuvre? How long is your list ? I bet it has less than 10 items. I remember reading the story of John Keats, one of the greatest English poets. He lived his whole life thinking his work was mediocre, he even wrote himself : “I could have been one of the greats if only I had enough time”. Isn't it sad ? So don't waste your time trying to create the perfect thing. JUST CREATE.

One effective way I found to reconnect with our inner creativity is to break the daily routine. Remember the very first time you brushed your teeth, on your own? Weren’t you the most excited kid the the WHOLE WORLD ?! Of course you were. Were you that excited about brushing your teeth this morning ? I guess not. But that’s because it became a must-do, a daily thing we need to do for a specific goal : get our teeth clean. 
Why not try doing something without a goal? Trying just for the sake of EXPLORING. EXPERIMENTING. Because the joy we will feel doing this, will trigger a new way of feeling, seeing, and then CREATING differently. 

“I find as my imagination strengthens, I live not in one world but a thousand” - John Keats

We can just start by doing ONE thing differently everyday. Take a different route to go to work, change the order of our daily routine, eat something we’ve never tried, but above all, just create without any goals in mind : pick up your guitar, your pen, your brush, your scissors, your camera, whatever is your favorite tool of creation and just do it. CREATE.

"All children are artists, the problem is how to keep being one ?" - Picasso

Here are some phone snaps of my day of adventure with Leo :

Leo on top of a Skyscraper

Saving the world like Spiderman

Leo being a photoreporter

Leo catching life in motion

Leo creating magic on the train

Leo checking his shots on his backless camera

Share with me your thoughts about creativity and your experiences on reconnecting with you inner child. I'd love to hear about it and get inspired ! Meanwhile, register below if you want to receive your daily dose of inspiration.

With love and gratitude,

Celine xx

The carefree bride in Provence - Domaine des Grillons

Provence is probably one of the most beautiful and one of my favorite regions. I love how being a wedding photographer in France helps me discover little gems. Not only in terms of location but also in terms of persons. I've met Morgane of  Big Day Events and  Violette Tannenbaum few months ago as we worked together for the Love Etc. wedding fair. We clicked instantaneously. I love how Morgane is able to turn a vision into reality, how she is able to reflect elegance and simplicity, raw and authenticity into her styling. And I'm in love with Violette's dresses, soft, delicate, modern and romantic at the same time. After we met, we knew we wanted to work together on some projects. When Morgane told me about this gorgeous location at Domaine des grillons, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Surrounded by fields of poppies, olive trees, woods, and hills, it was the perfect place for this bridal inspiration. Actually Provence might just be the perfect place for a wedding in France to my opinion...

When I saw the poppy fields, it reminded me of Monet's painting : Coquelicots. 

We wanted to create something romantic but quite wild at the same time as the location entices you to do. An elegant bride but carefree at the same time, you know. Here is how we turned our vision into reality. Would love to hear your thoughts about it folks !

Styling and flower arrangement : Big Day Events | Lace robe and dress : Violette Tannenbaum | Make up : Diamond Heart Make Up | Hair : Agnès Caneri | Silk ribbons and table runner : Orchidée de Soie | Calligraphy : Nice Plume | Chain Ring : Myrtille Beck

Location : Domaine des grillons | Film Lab : Carmencita Film Lab |

About luck

"You’re so lucky, you’re living a dream life and you get to travel all the time !" I get that really often. So let’s get clear here. Being a wedding and destination photographer has nothing to do with luck. I’m not lucky, I show up, I hussle and I make things happen. However, some part of my life can be called “lucky”. I am lucky to be born in such a beautiful country as France and a pretty city like Paris. I am lucky to have the freedom to be who I want to be, to say what I want to say, to make choices...when in a lot of countries, it’s not the case for most women. So I get slightly puzzled when people are telling me how lucky I am to be where I am at now, as if it was a magical thing, as if it didn’t require any efforts from me. Because just as a reminded dear friend, this is what Luck is :

LUCK : (noun) : “the force that causes things, especially good things, to happen to you by chance and not as a result of your own efforts or abilities”.

So for instance : seeing wild dolphins while cruising Milford Sound, THAT was lucky.

Anyways, what I wanted to share here is that YOU can live the life that you dream of, EVERYONE can. Sounds stupidly easy? Well, believe me it’s not. Living the life you dream of requires actions, it requires commitment, it requires becoming comfortable with uncertainty, it requires fighting against yourself sometimes, because you have fears, because you procrastinate. Basically, it requires personal growth, and growth is painful. BUT the pure joy of being able to decide how you want your life to be, the freedom that comes with it, and feeling that you serve your life purpose,  is totally worth every single painful steps. It’s like losing weight, you can’t expect to be fit and healthy without taking actions, and sit on your couch, complaining how fat you are and binging on Häagen-Dazs (me, last Saturday night. PS: my favorite flavor is Pralines&Cream, what’s yours??).

Ever since I quit my day job which I’ve been working at for 8 years, I made a commitment to myself that I wanted to work on myself everyday to become the person I need to be to create and live the life I dream of and to be of service and selflessly add value to the life of people who will cross my path, be it through my Faith activities or through my work as a photographer. People think that success - whether we talk about business, money, love or health- comes to those who were born in the right network, whose parents had the useful connections, to those who are more beautiful, have the right genes, etc. Sorry to say, but these are just excuses we use to avoid taking actions to build our own success. It’s all about the MINDSET : “ You are just as worthy, deserving, and capable of creating and sustaining extraordinary health, wealth, happiness, love, and success in your life, as any other person on earth. It is absolutely crucial - not only for the quality of your life, but for the impact you make on your family, friends, clients, co-workers, children, community, and anyone whose life you touch - that you start living in alignment with that truth” (Hal Elrod - The Miracle Morning )- PS : READ THAT BOOK, it’s life changing.

From a young age, I refused to believe that because I was a daughter of immigrants who don’t have much education, I was not entitled to have a higher education, that because I lived in a neighborhood where drug dealer was a dream career for some, I was doomed to a not so bright future, that because I was a girl, I was worth a lesser pay than my male peers… Of course, oftentimes I have doubts, I have fears, I compare myself to others, but I am aware that this is not the right path that will lead me where I want to be. So I fight, I fight against myself, against my ego, I stop asking the wrong questions like : “why am I not as successful as X” ? but instead : “What can I learn from X’s success and how do I become better to achieve it?”. The only person we should compare ourselves to, is the person we were yesterday, and the day before, and one month ago, a year ago, five years ago. And surely, if you take actions and commit, you will see how a better person you’ve become. “Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become” (Jim Rohn). So it starts with YOU and it starts NOW.

Keep me posted on how you are taking actions, I’d love to hear and be inspired ! (remember, it always starts somewhere, even with baby steps ;) you GOT THIS !

And sign up here below to keep in touch and keep inspire each other and make this world a lovely place !

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With love and gratitude,
Celine xx

How to get inspired

Oftentimes, I've felt guilty not doing what artists "should do" to get inspired - should do as in what society or others think artists do to get inspired e.g. walking through museums, trying to understand all form of arts (modern art, contemporary dance, performances, etc) or following famous photographers and knowing everything about their career... I felt that there might be something wrong with me not doing those things that others seem to be doing on a regular basis.

But then I recently came to think that doing like everyone else is not necessarily the "normal" thing to do, we're all unique, and we all get inspired in different ways.

I don't want to force myself going to the museum, looking at modern art that i don't understand and doesn't inspire me, I don't wanna do things because that's what people think I should do. I want to do things in a purposeful way, in a way that's meaningful to me.

Truth is, most of the time, I get inspired by tiny details and moments of everyday life.

I am inspired by the ever changing clouds, the song of the rain on the window, the sun rays beaming through the leaves - did you know that theJapanese have a specific words for that?? it's called Komorebi

-Love that word - the burst of laughter of my nephew, the smell of dad's cooking, the hands that hold, the eyes that talk, the lips that whisper... the list is endless just as life's beauty.

And sometimes we find inspiration in the least expected ways...

Just like last week, when I was sitting on the train on my way home, the man next to me was reading some sort of magazine that looked like geeks' scientific magazines, his eyes were frenetically scanning the pages, I first looked at him quite condescendingly I must admit. I then sneak peeked again above my shoulder to see what was so exciting about this magazine, then I found myself hypnotized by what my eyes were seeing... They were images of the Universe captured by the telescope Hubble

- Of course, I didn't know that's what it was at first- all I could see was a burst of amazing colors, voluptuous shapes created by what looked like galaxies and stars. I couldn't stop staring at the pages and I think the man noticed. He then kinda slowed down his reading to let me enjoy the moment too. He didn't say a word but I could hear : Yes, I know, it's amazing, here, have a look, I'm sharing with you.... and then it was time for me to alight at my stop. I wanted to thank him, ask him what was the name of the magazine...but I didn't dare. Damn it.

After that, I looked frenetically in every newspaper kiosk for that magazine... and one evening last week I found it! and I read it like an obsessed geek on the train home. And I'm reading it again as I'm sitting here typing with a cup of tea, chocolate and biscuits...like a Granny would read her horoscope.

 It was seriously, one of the most inspiring and fascinating things I've read and seen for a while. Here are the reasons why :

First, because we tend to forget how amazing the Universe we live in is.

When I looked at these images I sometimes had to pinch myself to believe all this is real, it's here, all around us. I realized how we belittle the world we live in, because we are so focused on our daily lives, on our daily problems, that we tend to think that the center of the Universe is US and what surrounds US, we forget to look at a higher level, take a step back and look at the whole Universe around us and its beauty.

Antennae galaxies (c) NASA images

This is Orion nebula ... now, I dare you not to be amazed... (c) NASA images

Second, because the story of Hubble is one of a kind and can resonate in many of us I think. When the telescope was created, only a few scientists believed in the project. Many thought it'll never work out as they considered the very first attempts as failures. But because a handful of people was determined to make it work, because they believed it will be a milestone for science, change the way we perceive the Universe, through a new way of capturing images directly from above versus from the earth, they pushed through and managed to launch Hubble out there in 1990. 25 years later, Hubble has captured more than half a million (!!) images in archives and has transformed the way scientists and public understand the epic scale and structure of our space. 

Galaxy M106 (c)NASA images

Now tell me that you didn't say : "wow" at least once while looking at these pics. I invite you to Google "Hubble" and read more about it. You'll be hooked !

 Conclusion: don't stick to the rules, don't cave under social pressure, don't do what others think you should do. Believe in yourself. The Universe will respond.

A special THANKS to the man on the train.

Love,

C x

Fields of Gold | J+F Wedding

♫   Fields of Gold  ♫ 

See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold
I never made promises lightly
And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We'll walk in fields of gold

Sneak Peak from Jasmine and Franklin's Beautiful Wedding