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Do you keep a Notebook/Sketchbook of ideas?
Just curious how many photographers/MUA/stylists out there actively use a physical notebook/sketchbook of some kind to scribble ideas down? I started doing this years ago after a suggestion from a friend and I have found it useful for developing ideas and remembering those quirky flashes of images that pop into our heads from time to time. I am a terrible drawer but even my bad drawings have proved helpful when trying to explain some weird concept to a model/MUA/stylist. I've tried migrating to using my Ipad for this stuff but the physical notebook never seems to go away. How about you? Apr 06 14 10:00 am Link I do. Have done since I was 10 years old. I call it a "work diary". Model/MUA/artist here. Apr 06 14 11:27 am Link Sometimes but I never seem to be able to put my hands on it when I really need it Apr 06 14 12:20 pm Link I have a notebook, computer folders, collages, and a phone folder for ideas. Whenever inspiration strikes! Every once in awhile I get my act together and put everything in one place. Apr 06 14 12:28 pm Link yup. a sketch or two a day. very crude. here's a recent scribble.  Apr 06 14 12:38 pm Link Indeed, several. Tend to spend sundays mostly devoted to writing. Hence the high post count. Apr 06 14 12:43 pm Link No. I've got my ideas inside my head. They're very vivid, practically 3D. Now I just need to find the time and energy to make them real. Apr 06 14 12:50 pm Link I used to, not so much anymore as I'm mainly looking for photographs now. Robert ParkeHarrison showed me his sketchbook and it was all words in overly neat, tiny block letters, filling page after page after page. It looked like something out of the movie Se7en. But it obviously worked as his (and his partner/wife's), series - the Architect's Brother is pretty brilliant. http://parkeharrison.com/architect-s-brother Apr 06 14 12:52 pm Link Surreal Focus wrote: I have several, along with cut up magazines, a file of image links and MM list. Apr 06 14 12:59 pm Link nyk fury wrote: Cool. I've never actually added color to my quick sketches. Usually just end up writing color ideas in the notes. Apr 07 14 03:38 am Link MMDesign wrote: Thanks for the added info. I was lucky enough to see some of their work in San Diego once, but I never knew that he kept a sketchbook like that. Apr 07 14 03:40 am Link Eugenya Donald Photo wrote: You have a better memory than I do Apr 07 14 03:42 am Link I draw on almost anything with a blank white space. Here, I was designing a touring bike with a concept suspension and steering system teaming up with an industrial engineer. I doodled this on a postage envelope, you can still see the postal printout cancellation on the left side.  . Apr 07 14 04:07 am Link Surreal Focus wrote: I've seen two of their shows. One, in Lexington, KY, had the original pieces while the other, in Cincinnati, had show prints. There is a world of difference between the two. Hope you got to see the originals. Apr 07 14 11:29 am Link I quite often sketch out ideas for a photo shoot. Outfits and poses. Usually helps create better results. Apr 07 14 11:37 am Link I sketch out my bigger commercial projects where there is a lot of planning involved. It helps to pre-visualize everything and helps with lighting. On most creative projects I just get a mood board going so we have a concept and feel developed. The rest is all rather spontaneous. Apr 07 14 11:41 am Link I keep a small database in my phone of image ideas - that way it's always available when an idea pops up. Apr 07 14 01:04 pm Link I have thousands of picture ideas. I use Evernote to collect them, I have typed notes, shots taken from the TV, computer screen captures (there is a plug-in for that), pictures from real life. Most of them are tagged (categorized) by genre, mood, location, props, and couple other criteria. If necessary I write notes on pictures with a companion application called Skitch. The best part of it is that everything is synchronized on all of my computers, my smartphone, and my iPad. I use the iPad to show idea to the model during the shoot. One of the best sources for ideas is Deviant Art of all places. Apr 08 14 10:43 am Link To the people posting their ideas here and sketches...Thanks for MY new Ideas. lol Apr 08 14 11:00 am Link I do some in my head, but then I end up drafting out patterns by hand to sew later on newsprint paper (Doing it now in fact.). Guess I do make a sketch of sorts, although it is a pattern to me. Apr 08 14 11:02 am Link All the time! I make written notes in it and do sketches in it. I like large moleskin books. As soon as one is filled, I label it with dates and start another. I also paste in ideas from other sources, although Evernote has taken over most of this. The more I work with it, the more indispensable it has become. An ipad with a few apps (including Evernote) and I'm good to go. Hell, I can even sketch and do handwritten notes into Evernote now with a stylus. That pretty much sealed the deal for me. When I get closer, I do a couple large scale sketches of a set, positioning, lighting plans, etc. I'm a horrible painter though, so for commercial purposes, I have a storyboard artist that I use - he's amazing. Apr 08 14 11:04 am Link absolutely helps me remember ideas plan props plan location plan wardrobe communicate with other collaborators priceless Apr 08 14 11:09 am Link Sketches and lists, yes. Organized in books, no. They are often scattered around me. Sometimes I like to use steno pads, bound at the top with a line down the center of the page, but in the absence of a steno pad, scraps of paper drift like an ocean around here. Immediate chores go from the front cover back. For less immediate issues, I flip the pad over and write from the back forward. Random sketches on the next available page. Then they get lost. Apr 08 14 11:19 am Link Absolutely! Sketchbook, iPad, phone, laptop, napkins, receipts, ticket stubs... they eventually all make it into my notebook. I usually have several projects rattling around in my head at any given moment, but for those times when I'm creatively blocked, sifting through my book gets me sorted out. Apr 08 14 11:31 am Link Sure - it's not the only thing, but I've used a sketchbook ever since I started in photography. Apr 08 14 11:34 am Link I love the Moleskine graphing notebook. Its the same size as my Nexus 7 and fits perfectly with it in my tablet bag. Apr 08 14 09:55 pm Link Surreal Focus wrote: I have my little black book where I scribble stuff all the time (yes it really is a little black book). It might be a simple entry like 'Strip Poker - 4 girls - need green table' or a whole list of shots for a theme. I also keep a wishlist going on Amazon whenever I see things that would make great props. My pc desktop is littered with folders of images I've saved from all over the place with shoot ideas too. Apr 08 14 11:56 pm Link First time I shot with a professional model, she taught me to get and carry a notebook. That has proven to be some of the best advice, I've ever received. That notebook and pen goes with me on each and every shoot. I shared that same bit of knowledge, last week with a young person just starting out. Get a notebook, carry it with you and write down ideas, data, experiences, etc. as you go along. Apr 10 14 06:13 am Link Yes, some great ideas here. I've also used Pinterest. Apr 10 14 06:27 am Link |
Sometimes my ideas are so fleeting that I will forget the details minutes after.
