About This Product
This series is worth buying if you simply need a refreshing take on creativity or if you struggle with getting caught in creative ruts and youʼre just tired of feeling that way — like thereʼs nowhere to go, so you think about giving up completely. No matter your skill level, this content will teach you ways to really DIVE into your imagination and how to stop putting so much pressure on yourself while creating something.
This course delves into psychological viewpoints of creativity and Jacob’s take on creativity and the art world in general, as well as the topics of: How To Find Inspiration, Getting Through Creative Ruts, The Power of Editing & Gear Talk, Creative Shooting Techniques, and everything that goes on in Jacob’s mind when creating interesting work. This is a journey of self-discovery when it comes to your imagination, and by using these challenges, techniques, and tips for trying something new, the ultimate goal of this course is that your evolution as an artist will never slow down.
CREATIVE CHALLENGES
Jacob and I challenged followers to show their creative process by walking us through how they’d shoot 5 different photos in one scene while in quarantine.
Join in on the fun and show us your process on where you’d place your subject using the given light and scene. Whether it’s a street corner on your daily walk, the counter in your kitchen, the fence in your backyard, a windowsill in your bedroom — CHALLENGE yourself to get creative and show us how you’d create 5 different photos within that scene on your Instagram story!
#STAYFRESHMIRROR CHALLENGE
Reflections are so interesting, right?! Well, we all have some mirrors we can use in our homes somewhere, so let’s use them! This challenge is simple, use the mirrors you have to create 5 interesting photos! Play with the mirrors and your camera to see what kind of cool reflections, bokeh, and compositions you can make!
BATHROOM CHALLENGE
This is an EXCELLENT challenge, because the walls are closed in on your normal way of thinking when you make photos. What if you ONLY had your bathroom to use as a place to make photos? Well, that’s what this challenge is! We don’t always need interesting locations to make interesting work. So, show us how creative you can be in a bathroom with your camera!
OLD PHOTOS NEW EYES EDITING CHALLENGE
Have you ever gone through your old photos to edit them in your current style? It’s so fun, right?! Well, let’s take that a step further and focus on editing them with new eyes using the radial filter tool in Lightroom! You can use this tool to add haze, a light leak, adjust the exposure of a certain area of the photo, etc. Watch how I use this tool for motivation and see what you can come up with on your own photos! You may discover some new ways to really take advantage of this tool in Lightroom.
Tag us so we can see + share your process!
TOPICS COVERED
01. Creative Thinking & Theory
I discuss my take on creativity and the art world, in general. This delves into some psychological viewpoints of creativity and what simply being an artist is to me. Everything we consume in the art world is because the artist said, “Yeah, so I’m just gonna go make this now.” So, I touch on how to stop thinking so much and just go create whatever you want! Everything else can be noise while you’re creating!
02. How To Find Inspiration
We get asked about inspiration a lot as photographers from our fellow photographers, friends and family… however, sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration, yeah? In this chapter, I show you the tools I use to constantly be searching for inspiration. In a time where we have streaming services, the internet, online stores, etc… there’s simply no reason to not be able to find inspiration everywhere.
03. Personal Work
A discussion about WHY I believe personal work is so, so important to keeping your imagination fresh. Personal work is the playground where you can simply play with your camera. There are no timelines, no clients, nothing. It’s just you, your gear, and your imagination. I go through some of my personal projects to show you where the inspiration came from for all of them and why it’s such an important practice to keep your mind fresh!
04. Getting Through Creative Ruts
A simple discussion about my take on creative ruts. One word? BOREDOM. For me, that was the main factor. I chat about why I haven’t experienced a creative rut in almost 4 years and what I’ve done to avoid experiencing those ruts! For me, it’s all about where I choose to spend my energy and how to not overthink something as simple as making photos! Just go make some stuff!
WANT MORE SPECIFICS?
01. Gear Talk
Yep, we chat about the gear I use! I talk about why I use particular lenses at certain times and also how gear has kind of become a backseat thought for me creatively. When I pick up my gear these days, it’s really just something in my hands. It’s a tool that is needed for me to create the world I see in front of me.
02.Breaking Down Scenes
I discuss how I break down scenes I’m standing in, such as what I look for in a scene and how to combine those elements to create interesting work. We spend time in Lightroom browsing through some examples and simply breaking down how I saw things and combined elements to make an interesting photograph.
03. Creative Shooting Techniques
I show you how I use prisms/phone/reflections in a scene to add interest. I discuss how I use free-lensing to add a bit of a dreamy effect in camera, and what it means. Finally, I teach you about multiple exposures, which I get asked about A LOT. These techniques are all about INTENT. They’re fun to use, but using them in the right situation can produce amazing results!
04. The Power of Editing
This chapter is probably what get asked about the most. EDITING. I love, love, LOVE editing so much and I show you how I use Lightroom to edit my work! I go through my standard editing, adding little effects to add some subtle pop to your photos, hand-painted style editing for some colorful, fine-art type of photos, and creative editing! We go through how I use the brushes and filters in Lightroom creatively to turn a photo into something completely different! This chapter is long and detailed with tons of tips and tricks!
05. And so much more!
I discuss the whys, the hows, the whats, and everything that goes on in my mind when it comes to imagination and creating interesting work. This is all about creating what YOU want to create. By using these challenges, techniques, and simply trying something new, your evolution as an artist will never slow down.
What They’re Saying
Jacob Loafman
Learn MoreHello hello! Iʼm Jacob Loafman, a photographer from Missouri, USA. My goal when making photographs is to make them interesting in some way. I canʼt create the same thing over and over or I will die, so I challenge myself creatively on a monthly basis to avoid creative ruts entirely.
By going down this path, Iʼve carved a name for myself in the industry — including winning industry awards, being published, and my personal work featured on the cover of Rangefinder Magazine. Those things are wonderful, but Iʼm really just a silly, deep guy with a WILD imagination that happens to enjoy making pictures.
CONTACT
jacob@jacobloafman.com
Catalina
Jacob is literally the king of creative work and breaking through ruts. He is able to create magic in any scenario and see things from a completely difference perspective. This course is for anyone who wants to shake things up and approach photography in a brand new way. I have learned so many new techniques from Jacob that truly changed the way I shoot and approach creativity. I cannot recommend this course highly enough!
Alex L
Their approach is authentic and modern. It makes you see things with a new eye. I now look more at light, movement and the little things I sometimes don’t really look at. It made me a better photographer and my clients are so happy to get that extra something in their gallery. It’s definitely an amazing way to communicate and I can’t wait to practice even more. Oh and also, it doesn’t stop at the gif course! You get to be in an amazing group with people who LOVE gifs (and The office, because there is nothing more to life) which gets you inspired all the time.