Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Roots, Blooms & Beautiful Light: A Conversation with Floral Designer & Photographer Janne Ford
93 Plays5 hours ago
For episode 50, we're joined by Janne Ford — a floral designer and photographer based in North Yorkshire, UK. Her background is in fashion and textiles, and more than a decade in that industry gave her a deeply trained eye for colour, texture, and movement. That eye now turns entirely toward flowers.
She grows what she photographs. She shoots only in natural light. The results are floral portraits that feel less like images and more like moments — intimate, seasonal, and full of quiet intention.
Janne's move from fashion to floristry wasn't a departure — it was a deepening. The principles that shaped her textile work (how colour behaves, how texture creates mood, how movement draws the eye) translate directly into how she designs and photographs flowers. That compositional confidence is hard to pin down until you know where it comes from.
Because Janne grows what she photographs, her work is genuinely tethered to the seasons — not styled to look that way, but rooted in the real, day-to-day changes of a living garden. Each image belongs to a specific time of year, a quality of light, a bloom at its exact peak. It's a patient practice, and the body of work it produces feels honest and alive in a way that's increasingly rare.
Janne runs floral photography workshops from her garden studio in North Yorkshire and leads creative retreats in the UK and France. If you want to learn to see and capture botanical beauty with more intention, her website is the place to start. Until next time — peace, love and rebloom 🌸— Lori & Jamie
@jannelford on Instagram
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Rebloom Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to Rebloom, a podcast about change, creativity, and coming back to yourself. We are Lori and Jamie, and this is a space for honest conversations with people who felt that quiet nudge to realign, whether that's in their work, their creativity, or their everyday lives.
00:00:21
Speaker
Each episode is a conversation about becoming, about listening closely, making shifts, and finding your way back to what matters. So if you are in a season of change, you're questioning or starting again, we are really glad you're here.
The Power of Podcasting Friendships
00:00:39
Speaker
So Jamie, on this conversation, one of the biggest joys for me was to finally get to meet someone who is a really good friend of yours. I love that when we're doing, when we're reaching out to people for our podcast, sometimes it's people I know, sometimes it's people you know, and then we get the pleasure of getting to know one another's friends. So this is a real, it was really fun for me to watch the two of you talk back and forth.
00:01:07
Speaker
Oh, thank
Meet Jan Ford: A Creative Journey
00:01:08
Speaker
you. Well, to our listeners, you're going to hear from my dear friend, Jan Ford, who lives in England. um It's just the most wonderful conversation to hear her journey um through art and textiles to floral photography like myself. But i think more importantly, too, there's just been a lovely friendship that has formed via social media, but it's not a social friendship. It's actually a real friendship. And I think that's the thing when you put yourself out there creatively, often the best friends come back to you and she is a delight and I can't wait for everyone to meet her.
00:01:47
Speaker
Well, hello, my friend Lori, and happy spring. Happy spring to you. I've been traveling a lot and I'm getting ready to travel again. so I'm on the road a lot this year, Jane.
00:01:59
Speaker
You are incredible. I don't know how you do it. I mean, I have your calendar on my calendar just so I can keep track of when you're here and there. We can record. I know. i know. Well, I'm finishing teaching this semester at the university, which has been just a delight. It's just been so much fun having to be back in the classroom with the kids and um looking forward to summer and teaching with you this summer in Chautauqua. And you're going to be teaching with our guest coming up here sometime soon, which we'll talk about. We are. So I am super excited to introduce everyone to my dear friend, Jan Ford. Jan and I met on Instagram. I think she was one of my very, very first friends on Instagram. Yeah.
00:02:48
Speaker
ah We both have a love of flowers and um i always say, and she laughs too, she's the British version of me, but we have such similar interests in antiques and and just she's a delight. And so welcome, Jan. How are you?
00:03:05
Speaker
im good it and happy spring to both of you. Thank you for having me. and I'm excited to get to meet you because Jamie talks about you all the time. so this will be a lovely conversation. I'm excited.
Jan's Connection to Yorkshire and Nature
00:03:18
Speaker
Me too. Do you have is it is it springier there? We're just we Laurie and I are in sort of oh well, we are not sort of we're in Ohio, Kentucky, and things are just starting to peak up now. How are they for you?
00:03:32
Speaker
Well, things seem quite normal out there. Normal as in this is what happens at springtime. But it's actually quite cold. So and even though the daffodils are out and lots of gorgeous flowers in the garden, it's cold. You can see I'm wrapped up in a jumper.
00:03:49
Speaker
Yes. Well, and jan um Jan is now living in Yorkshire. She was living in London for a while. And tell us a little bit about your home, Jan. Well, North Yorkshire is generally colder than London.
00:04:04
Speaker
My father-in-law used to say that it's two overcoats difference and and he's not wrong. but So, but, uh, North Yorkshire is where it's where I was actually born. It's where I met my husband at school. So although I haven't lived here all my life, when, um,
00:04:21
Speaker
when we decided to move away from London, the kids are growing up and they'd all gone off to uni and had their own lives, we decided, right, where where are we going to move to? And it just felt obvious to come back to our roots, which is North Yorkshire.
00:04:36
Speaker
So we're loving it. We've been here two and a half years now and we're rediscovering all the places we used to enjoy. And it's a really beautiful part of England. ah did you Did you go from city life to country life more or less?
00:04:51
Speaker
Yeah, we were really in suburbia really. um You know, although we had a decent sized garden and there's parks to walk, we're now in a very agricultural area surrounded by sheep fields and, you know, wheat fields. So it's very, very different.
00:05:10
Speaker
So that is how you grew up. So did you did you grow up? Obviously, you grew up, as you said, in North York, Yorkshire. Did you live on a farm when you grew up or did you live in the country? Well, my father was in the Royal Air Force. And so we moved around a lot. But obviously, air bases are always in the countryside in the UK. I mean, I'm sure they are in the States as well. um So wherever we lived, we were surrounded by countryside.
00:05:39
Speaker
So, um yeah. And, you know, growing up in the 70s, we were always out, weren't we? Climbing trees, running wild. And um so so it was a very free childhood.
00:05:50
Speaker
Yeah. ah City life just seemed a million miles away. I love it. And Laurie, I set you up for your question. Go ahead. I always ask the same thing about, so when you were a little girl, what were you doing and what did you like? were you You were running the fields, but did you develop your love of flowers then?
00:06:13
Speaker
i think I definitely developed my love of being outdoors and being in nature and um yeah ah very much an appreciation of the changing seasons.
00:06:26
Speaker
Both my grandmothers loved taking us to like stately homes and looking around gardens and that might sound really dreary to a six year old but it was the chance to put on a little frock and carry a little basket skin and I could hear them all talking about the flowers and this and that and I might have zoned out slightly but I always enjoyed those days out and those are the kind of days I really really love now going around gardens and you know going around lovely grand country homes which of course we've got a lot of in this country So, um yeah, the little me was often playing outside, building dens, paddling in streams, all the things that kids used to love to do, or probably still do, but...
00:07:17
Speaker
Yeah, lot of freedom.
Nurturing Artistic Interests from Childhood
00:07:19
Speaker
One of the questions that we ask a lot, and and it's sort of as a segue for this too, were you artistic as a child and did your parents encourage that? Because we found women particularly, and even men of our generation, it was more, you know, go into business or do things that were a little bit more, i don't know, business-like, I would say. And were your parents encouraging you or did you do artistic things when you were a child? Yeah.
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah, definitely artistic things and artistic things were bought for me to do. so yeah, painting by numbers, little kind of project boxes with things inside, you know, maybe a little knitting project or something. And um yeah, whenever we used to go and stay with my mother's mum, so my maternal grandmother,
00:08:15
Speaker
We might stay there for a week, but one of the things that we did was make something for our parents. And they lived by the sea, so it was often like, let's go and collect some shells. Let's make a little box and stick the shells on for for daddy, or let's sew a tie for daddy, or let's make a needle case for mummy. And it was we were making little craft projects all the time. i used to absolutely love that.
00:08:41
Speaker
And um yeah, so very creative. And my mum and my maternal grandparents were very keen on their gardens. and my My mum was very young when she had me, but she's always gardened.
00:08:54
Speaker
And some of my earliest memories are of her pointing out flowers in the hedgerows and um look at this little patch of violets or look at those primroses coming out. So things were always pointed out to me. So that's why I was very in tune with the seasons changing even as a child. And my father, obviously also very young, because they had met at school, he loved being outdoors. So we were always, i want to say dragged off for walks, but i never felt, oh no, we're going out for walk.
00:09:27
Speaker
used to actually love it. He always used to know where a fox's den might be. So yeah, it's quite magical in many ways. Yeah. That's so neat. I just picture a movie in my head. Yeah. Little little Jan. Yeah. Walking along with her parents, looking at flowers and, oh, I love it.
00:09:48
Speaker
You know, and it's funny. I mean, Jan and I, as I said, we've known each other for a long time, but I'm now drawing the connection. So my mother loved her garden, absolutely loved her garden. And I, as everybody knows, do love flowers. I'm not a gardener, though. I'm not a great gardener. um But I do love flowers. And I guess, yeah, it must have come. i mean, she always had a garden. She was always doing things, always pointing them out. And that is the gift that you give to your children. Sometimes you don't.
00:10:17
Speaker
I mean, it comes sometimes it comes out in a different form, which I think it did in myself with the photography and the flowers. But um that's so i just am drawing that parallel line now. And I'm thinking, oh, wow, that that's exactly what happened to me, too. So it the gifts of our parents are just delightful.
From Fashion Design to Photography
00:10:35
Speaker
i was I was going to say that um one of my favourite toys, i couldn't think of it just now, was, I don't know you remember this, you used to get a book where you used to cut out the doll, paper doll, and then you so used to stick, and you cut out the clothes and change the outfits. and Right. That one of my absolutely favourite things when I was five and six. And ah I'm sure we'll get onto this, but then I obviously went on to do fashion and um I kind of sometimes think had that fascination with changing outfits even then yeah so yeah as soon as you started talking about that I thought oh well that must have been the connection to your fashion design so so you went into school for fashion design or textiles
00:11:25
Speaker
Well, yes, but at school back in the early eighty s you know, you had a career advisor and I didn't know what I wanted to do. it Well, I knew I wanted to do something creative. um I was supposedly good at art and I was always drawing, always drawing shoes. and My parents used to bring me paper home from their work and I'd draw on that and I couldn't get through it fast enough.
00:11:51
Speaker
um And then I wanted to do something creative. But i I didn't know what were my options because where i grew up, most people either went into farming or yes, you went off to have like a career. you know, you were going to be a doctor or a lawyer or work for civil service. So there's a very limited range of things and creativity was not one of those. And I remember looking through a book um in the library at school.
00:12:22
Speaker
And was going down alphabetically and I got to F and it said fashion designer. And thought that is what I want to be. That that is ticking the box.
00:12:32
Speaker
That's what i didn't know I could do yeah um And then that sparked an idea. I mean, was only 16 or 17, but I was so determined that's what that war I was going to do.
00:12:44
Speaker
i love that. I love it. So you went off to university and you started studying fashion then? Yeah, fashion and textiles. And so I went to London for that. So i know a number of your guests have said their parents probably...
00:13:02
Speaker
tried to persuade them to do something else that wasn't creative yeah it did get to the point of course I'm applying for fashion in London and my parents are suddenly like oh okay yeah um why don't you go off to do English at university why don't you go off to do this but suddenly there was like trying to divert me away from this creative career in inverted commas.
00:13:28
Speaker
um But no, nobody was going to deter me, which I had a lot of that determination later on in my life, but nothing was going to deter me from doing that. So I applied, i applied to a London college and yeah, that's, that's what I went on to do.
00:13:45
Speaker
Good for you. Good for you. Yeah. Cause so many of our guests did not have, maybe they, I don't know, they just didn't, follow their own heart at that time in their life. And they always end up circling back to it later.
00:14:01
Speaker
Did you work in that industry initially out of college? Yeah, so I worked for a decade in the industry um until I had my first son.
00:14:12
Speaker
So, yeah, i did I did have a career. and um And, yeah, i traveled I traveled a lot to the Far East. I mean, you probably don't do that now because you can do it all online. But obviously this is pre-computers. So I would travel.
00:14:30
Speaker
yeah so i would travel to India and Hong Kong and go to the factories and see things being made and working out the design process. so And I travelled lot to the States because we did a lot of I worked for um sports companies. So I worked for Puma and then I worked for Converse. And um so we used to go on research trips in the States.
00:14:57
Speaker
And so it's very exciting career looking back now. That's amazing. So how did the how and when did the pivot towards what you're doing now occur?
00:15:11
Speaker
and And tell us more about what you're doing now. Well, i was a stay-at-home mum when I had my three children because um I found out one of the hardest things in my life, trying to work and balance small children. And so we made the decision that I would stay at home, which I do not regret for one single second. I loved being a mum.
00:15:35
Speaker
um so But as they began to get older, i was like oh my gosh and i'm sure a lot of you female guests in particular have this what am I going to do next yeah what what's out for me there now um so I suppose it was quite a pivotal moment when um well bizarrely when we got a dog because then i was walking every single day twice a day with him And I was walking through beautiful woodlands and I was really back in tune with how the seasons were changing and how things changed nearly every single day.
00:16:13
Speaker
At the same time, i was getting back into photography. I'd always been the go-to photographer in the family. i was always the one that was like, oh, Jan can take a good picture. She can do the family photo. So that was always a slight hobby. I was the one that always curated albums, always put the photos together um ever since I was about 16 or 17, actually. So the photography was there. We had a decent camera and i used to take it on the walks and obviously by then iphones were coming in with the camera yeah so I didn't actually got to say I didn't really need to take my phone and then I was taking things of like coming through the trees and um wildflowers and bits and pieces this I'll be down on my knees in the wet you know the dog would be off doing his own thing I'm doing the my own thing um so that's but then it was like what am I going to do with these images
00:17:05
Speaker
Yeah.
Instagram's Influence on Creative Connections
00:17:06
Speaker
um You can probably relate to this, Jamie. At the same time, Instagram was starting. And i was putting these images onto Facebook and it was just like, well, they don't really fit there, but suddenly...
00:17:19
Speaker
it was there was instagram and was oh gosh this is where all the creative people are doing interesting things and it was like these people are my people i mean this is where i belong so suddenly suddenly i had a reason to take pictures and post them somewhere yeah that's that that's how my instagram account started This episode of Rebloom is brought to you by Jet Creative, a women owned creative studio and longtime friends of our podcast.
00:17:52
Speaker
Jet Creative partners with brands and individuals to help clarify their story, strengthen their visual presence and communicate with intention. Their work is rooted in collaboration, care and the belief that thoughtful creativity has the power to connect with people in meaningful ways.
00:18:10
Speaker
We are extremely grateful for their continued support of Rebloom and the conversations we care so deeply about. You can learn more about Jet Creative and their work by visiting the link in our show notes.
00:18:24
Speaker
Before we continue, we just want to share this. This May, we're gathering for the Live Courageously Rebloom Conference, a few intentional days to pause, connect, and re-bloom.
00:18:37
Speaker
If you are craving space to reflect and reconnect, we'd love to have you with us. Details are in the show notes. And now let's jump back into our conversation.
00:18:50
Speaker
And I think we started at about the same time. And it's it's interesting because my dear friend Kim said, oh, you need to be on Instagram. And I remember thinking, oh, God, not another social media site. And this was back in 2014, 2015.
00:19:07
Speaker
And I've shared this before that I made the decision just, I thought, well, I'm going to post every day and I'll just see what happens. But what I didn't realize at the time is not only was I able to put out my my art or my my flow my flowers, my photography, but then we were able to make connections, worldwide connections. And that's when you and I became friends and we were both out there and it was small, much smaller back then, I think. Well, I know it was. yeah And, and we were, and back then we just sort of found one another and our styles are somewhat similar and we loved flowers and natural light photography and,
00:19:48
Speaker
and I didn't realize that there was a community there and I just felt so seen and heard. That is one of the beauties of Instagram. Yeah. You know, like the connections you can make and the friendships you can form when you never even meet in person. But you two are going to meet in person. Well, we have met in person, actually. We actually have traveled together. We met in 2019 in person. I went over to London. and I did wonderful one day class at Strawberry Hill, which is this magical place. And so we taught and then we actually traveled to the coast together. And use that as just such a great example because I think people don't think that you have real friends on social media. And we are real friends. We've become real friends, which I love. Real, real life. Yeah, yeah.
00:20:43
Speaker
Well, I like to think that I could, um some some people might think, oh, no, i think I could travel around the world to almost every country and say, hi, we know each other on Instagram. Do you want to meet up? I feel like I could almost yeah travel around the world doing that. I mean, it would be such a fun project as well. yeah um yeah, and i i I do believe it because um when I very first met my friend Kim,
00:21:14
Speaker
um She said she had messaged me on Instagram and said, I think we live close together. Do you want to meet up? um My family were horrified. The kids were going, what do you mean you're meeting up with someone online?
00:21:29
Speaker
as a gardener she loves flowers you know we're meeting uh ihs wisley which is a really beautiful garden in england it's like what's the worst that can happen and um you know like you and i we've become very good friends and um some of my closest friends are people i've met on instagram and then followed that up by meeting them in real life Yeah. And I think that's the beauty of it that, you know, you and I would never have met, ah obviously living in two different countries. i mean, just our paths would not have crossed. And so I think that is just such the beauty of social media, that it can bring people with love of anything together. and form those bonds and form those connections. And yeah, I mean, I think you and I were on, we were trying to figure it out and we've had many a conversation over the years too about what's going on here. And like, you know, just trying to figure out the whole algorithm or what's happening and sort of leaning into what we felt was right in what we posted and how we posted. And um it's also been great to have a companion to talk to you about that too.
00:22:37
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And um I think if the rest of your family aren't necessarily on social media, although most people are onto their own platforms, um Yeah, it's very difficult to have those conversations. You can't have those conversations with anyone else other than someone that's online. Yeah, yeah.
00:22:57
Speaker
So both of you kind of started this as a passion project and just sharing on Instagram. But both of you have kind of taken that into areas where you actually, it is somewhat of a business or you are making money from something that started as a passion. So can you tell us about that?
Photography as a Business
00:23:21
Speaker
Well, it started as a hobby for me. it was like, okay, I'm not, i I've got no idea where this is going, but I'm just, well, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do. This is a lot of fun.
00:23:35
Speaker
um And i I, was doing lots of other artistic things as well. And I'd met somebody on a calligraphy course and she was a florist. And she said, well, if you take some pictures for me, can i um give you some flowers? And I thought, yeah, that's great.
00:23:53
Speaker
But she also knew the people at David Austin Roses and she um gave them my name. And that was my first inroad into actually, OK, this could be something. I could do something here. And I did a lot of projects for them. I still do quite a few projects for them.
00:24:12
Speaker
And. um You know, ah not long after that, and my account really grew. And then people were coming to me asking me to take flower photos. And I kind of became known as the flower photographer. so um That's that's how i started, i suppose, making money and turning a hobby into more of a business. And there's lots of income streams for me. It's difficult. ah Probably is the same for you as well. It is. yeah um
00:24:45
Speaker
You know, there's lots of inroads, whether that's licensing my images for cards or. creating calendars or doing projects with people the thing i really love though is teaching and i have a studio at home where i teach people how to maybe work out what their style is and maybe take better photos of the work they're creating i mean you know this as well it's nothing worse than making something really beautiful and then just thinking it just doesn't look right on camera how can I make this better?
00:25:19
Speaker
And that's always, that's always the trick, isn't it? Yeah. When you talked about getting hired to shoot photos of flowers, can you explain that a little more? was it?
00:25:32
Speaker
Was it florists that were hiring you or? um Yes. So um just like we were new onto Instagram, more and more people were realizing that that's the platform that is best suited for showing off anything creative really um so of course it's all content and imagery based and so it's creating content which is incredibly difficult to do if you're a busy florist to then also try and create beautiful imagery of what you're making so um that that came to you know suddenly it was that was the thing that i was able to help people with
00:26:13
Speaker
What a great synergy. Yeah. And and i I want to say, too, I think it's very similar. Your path is so similar to mine, too. You know, it started as a hobby. And and I think that's the messaging that I certainly want our listeners to know is that sometimes you just start with what you love. Start with what you love.
00:26:33
Speaker
We didn't necessarily have. a view of what it was going to look like for either one of us as we've, we're now 10 plus years into it. But we really just started with what we loved and we're putting that joy out there.
00:26:48
Speaker
And then it opened all of the doors that led to some of those other passions, teaching for both of us, um working on social media content for other brands.
00:26:58
Speaker
If you would have told me I would be taking social media content pictures for brands, I would have laughed and I would have, what, what are you talking about? But that's where it all led because we were fine tuning our photography skills. We were fine tuning our still life skills. We were fine tuning our content skills for social media, which at the time was relatively new And then we all then we both became sort of experts in it.
00:27:22
Speaker
And then that and then ah it just opened all kinds of doors for both of us. And that was pretty cool. Absolutely. um Yeah, doors opened that I didn't really expect it and projects that, you know, you wouldn't even know what anybody was talking about.
00:27:39
Speaker
15 years ago do you you know what do you mean you're going to be doing that um so yeah you never know where something might lead um but it's thanks to you jamie that ah i know what a still life photo is because what just going back a few steps when i started making flower photography i was thinking well i'm enjoying this and then you know i think we followed each other and i was like oh my goodness this is a thing people yeah create still life photography yeah and um you know it's like going down a rabbit hole in instagram you suddenly discover all these other people that are doing the same things so yeah and people love to do it and stepping forward a bit to the retreat that we're running today yeah let's talk about that this is what people are coming to to learn from us
00:28:29
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
Upcoming Photography Retreat
00:28:30
Speaker
So this, let's talk about that for just a hot second. So we're doing this in September. go ahead, Jen, you tell us, tell everybody about it. I'm so excited.
00:28:40
Speaker
Well, it's here in the UK, in North Yorkshire, not far from my home. It's a beautiful um walled garden um that but coincidentally, somebody called Sasha York has created near York um on her but in a beautiful home. She's created this garden from nothing and she's built this beautiful accommodation. And i ran a retreat there last year.
00:29:04
Speaker
And that's what we're going to do again. And I thought actually it would be really fun to invite you and you can offer your expertise in tutoring because you're such a good teacher. Thank you.
00:29:19
Speaker
I, I, I, you know, although we create the same kind of things imagery with flowers, we've got kind of different styles. We do have it from slightly different aspects. So it's going to be great that people are coming on the retreat can learn different things from both of us. So I think it will work really well.
00:29:35
Speaker
How dreamy is that? It's going to be pretty dreamy. I know. And for anybody listening, we have only one spot left. We had one lady who backed out. So we have one, we have one spot left.
00:29:47
Speaker
um And it is just going to be a magical few days. And certainly in the gardens and North Yorkshire and with both of us and we're We want to share all of our tips and tricks and things that we both love. And to your to what you said, Jan, I mean, we I love, there's nothing more than I love when someone says, oh I knew that was your photo before i saw your name.
00:30:13
Speaker
And i think that both I've had that people say that to me. And I know i I know that about you. I can say, oh, that's my friend Jan's photo. Like I know her style. And that's the thing. But we're not teaching our styles. We're teaching you to find your own style and find your own love and bring that forward. So I have a question. When you're teaching, are you teaching with like a real camera or with your phone?
00:30:36
Speaker
it It can be either. A lot of people come to me with just their phone and the phone is the phone camera is incredible now. if You can take video I always say just whatever camera you feel comfortable using and you want to bring, that is fine. So a phone, i mean,
00:30:57
Speaker
it's it's Sometimes you just want to whip out your phone and say, oh, why didn't I do that in the birthplace? Yeah. It's a really good tool if it's used well. And a lot of people don't know what their phone can do. And it's a lot about composition.
00:31:12
Speaker
a lot about styling, backdrops, lighting. I mean, natural light is absolutely everything to getting a good picture. Although you're going to bring your lights, aren't you, Jamie? I am. I know.
00:31:25
Speaker
Yeah, we're going to a little off-camera flash. I was so afraid of using a flash, and I've sort of leaned into it a little bit more, and it just creates the most incredible Dutchmaster-type photos that are just, I love it, with the dark background, and it's just made a big difference. But that, again, is a growth. Sometimes I think our fear holds us back and we think, oh, I can't do blah, blah, blah. I don't know why I was afraid of it. And then took a class. That's the thing. You and I continually are taking classes and learning. And particularly when it comes to, as I call it, the big girl camera, people are like, should I have one or shouldn't I? said, well, are you willing to invest in learning how to use it properly? Because if you're not willing to invest that time, you're probably, you're never going to pick it up then.
00:32:16
Speaker
So you might as well just stick with your phone, which is always with you, and utilize that. But if you really want to get into photography, the level and the quality is so much different. and um But anyway, I i invested in a little bit of time to do off-camera flash, and it's just, it's grown my work incredibly.
00:32:36
Speaker
So i think that's another thread in the process to share with our listeners is starting with a passion. and then because of that passion, you want to keep learning and just devour
Learning and Experimenting in Photography
00:32:50
Speaker
anything you can. I watched a documentary about Alexander McQueen yesterday, and it was really interesting to me how he started out. He loved passion.
00:33:00
Speaker
fashion always and then went to work for a tailor and then everywhere he went, all the people talked about how he just wanted to devour anything he could learn.
00:33:11
Speaker
So I think that's how you grow. You start with that little seed and then you nurture it by learning and meeting people like the two of you met one another and you learn from each other. And and then suddenly these opportunities come your way that you never imagined would happen. Right. Right.
00:33:28
Speaker
Right. And I think the other thing that happens too is that I know Jan has been incredibly generous over the years and certainly I try to be too. When people ask questions, give them the i give them as much information as I have. And it's, oh you know, how did you find this or where'd you get that? Because I think the more you give, the more you get in return for sure.
00:33:48
Speaker
And yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And I kind of, i don't think you should ever forget how you started. and I started by, well, not you. Not me too. Yeah. And looking at other people, how did they do this? How did they do that? Going on works workshops um and and asking those questions and, um,
00:34:14
Speaker
Yeah, just that's that's the way you learn. So it's kind of it's kind of giving back. If people ask me a question, oh I'll ask. I'll try and answer it as best I can. um But going back to the big girl's camera, if you're going to invest in one of those don't hide it away just because it's expensive you have to have it out you have to practice i practiced in the kitchen or bowls of fruit trying different lights it was frustrating where do i stand in my house to get pictures like that and then bit by bit you work it out you learn to read the natural light you know you learn to know the good days the bad days
00:34:53
Speaker
when When not to do stuff is as important as when to do it Exactly. Exactly. One of the things i i learned and I teach too is ah the time between 12 and 4 o'clock is pool time. You need to not be outside taking photos. um You need to be at the pool or doing something. you know But you're right. You learn the light. You learn the light in your home. um I, you and I have taken thousands and thousands of pictures over the years that no one will ever see because that's how we were learning. We were growing and learning. And I would agree with you. Pull that camera out. If you're going to do it, do it and invest in it, but invest in learning how to do it. Yeah.
00:35:32
Speaker
So, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's been a really fun um part for me is learning. When I yeah when i first started, i was on um automatic. I had no idea how manual worked.
00:35:49
Speaker
I was afraid of that. And then i can't even imagine going back to auto now. Yeah. no um no me too and it was like felt such a leap didn't it oh my goodness how do i get to manual um and it's just one of those things you just have to practice and um you know look at all aspects of the the triangle and workout it's a case of figuring things out and um and every time you take a picture it's different whether you're inside outside the light can change within
00:36:22
Speaker
a few minutes and then you're changing the settings again but that's that's part of the fun isn't it really it is part of the fun and then collecting all the props and and just putting things together and I think that that um that's that creativity whether you're an artist or whether you're a photographer to me whether you're taking pictures of people or still life as you and I do that it's that that creative process.
The Joy of Creative Exploration
00:36:48
Speaker
That's the part that I have leaned into for so many years. That's my time. I mean, there's the, there's part, let's talk about that too. You work for David Austin. I worked for another company um here in the States um for many years. And when you're working for them, you're doing work for them that is pretty defined. Usually they're sharing with you what they want. How does that differ from creating your own work? Right.
00:37:14
Speaker
Well, it's interesting. I did a project recently and um you know, it was quite a tight brief of what I had to do and the shots I had to take. And I was getting a little frustrated. And my husband is, he said to me, you're trying to make, you're trying to put you on the brief.
00:37:32
Speaker
said, you're going have to take a step back and think, what do they want not necessarily what do you want so obviously they want it in a certain way because they know I can take the pictures but all the time I'm trying to put my own stamp on it and yeah it's it's it's quite sometimes that's quite difficult for me because I want to get carried away and do it in my style as if it's for me but it's not for me I know. Well, you know, it's funny that you say that. I've had many jobs over the years and I always say, you know, please take a look at my work because I bring in chippy things and I bring in antiques and that's more my style. If you're looking for slick or all white backgrounds or something else, that's not what I do
00:38:19
Speaker
And I would say, go hire that, you know, go hire the person that does it. I'm not offended, but this is my style. It's a little more warm. It's a little, it's a little more homey. um And that's really what I like to do. But to your point, it can't be what I want. It's got to be really their brief and what they want. And you have to try to, you know, hopefully get that for them. And um it takes, it it it's it's a challenge.
00:38:49
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, props, talking about props, is that is a big thing for me as well. And it doesn't have to be lots of things arranged in the picture because it's just as important as what you leave out as to what you add in. i mean, it's all about the composition. so um Yeah, but I love finding just those little details.
00:39:10
Speaker
Laurie, how hard is it for you? I know, you know, as we talk about creating photography for clients versus our own work, what's the difference or the challenges you when you have to create something for a client versus doing your own, like the freedoms that you feel doing your own work? Is it night and day?
00:39:28
Speaker
Night and day. Yeah. I mean, I actually don't mind client directives and having a place to start, but I think that constant questioning, like, is this what they want?
00:39:43
Speaker
does Is this the direction that they they have in their head, like questioning that the whole time you're creating? It's so different from when I'm just drawing because I want to draw and what I want to draw. And I don't i don't have that voice in my head, that questioning. I just kind of do it and play. Like you did when you're a child, you know, yeah you're just drawing and playing. And I love that more than the direction. i love that too. And I think that's what all three of us try to do when we teach at our retreats is have our
00:40:21
Speaker
people create just for the joy of it, create from their heart, not create not create another person's style, but find that joy and find that that look that is them, that works for them. I'm always amazed when I teach at the Botanical Garden, um you know, same flowers, same props, how people come up with all... Just so many different things that I never even would have thought to do. That's my favorite thing about teaching. i love that. like yeah And that's why I purposely for so many years, I don't really bring my own work or show my own images. I do now more, but I would just show the techniques and then encourage them to use their colors and their way of using the material. And by the end of the class, everything looks different and they're all unique. And I love that.
00:41:16
Speaker
love it. Yeah, that's absolutely right. And the same when people come and create with flowers, you can have the same flowers. Everybody's got, can have the same flowers to choose from, but they're all creating something different. and getting getting back to being on a retreat that's what those two or three days really gives you isn't that um a chance to just explore things maybe different colorways different mediums that you just don't have the chance to do at home or don't give yourself permission for you can do that on a retreat
00:41:52
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. You can just play. And I think that's the joy that that Jan and I have felt over the years is that when you mean, we started just by playing.
Jamie's Artistic Transition Journey
00:42:04
Speaker
And that's when we talk to our guests or when we talk, I think we're always talking to excuse me, when we're talking to our audience with our guests, I always want to say, just play, just just have fun. Just ah you don't need to know the end.
00:42:21
Speaker
But at least if you know that you love a particular medium or you love something, explore it and see where it goes. And maybe it takes you down a path and you stop and you go to something else. And I started in mixed media and then really got back into photography. so and And they were both wonderful paths, but one led to another that led to another that led to us having this conversation today. I mean, that I never would have dreamed about. Right.
00:42:47
Speaker
Back in 2015. Right. I will say the other added layer in retreats that I absolutely love is you get all these little nuggets about like great books, great movies, great skincare suggestions. yeah Like people really bond and share like things about their lives and that was I don't know why, but that part of teaching and doing retreats was surprising to me at how how much you can bond within just a few days with a group of people.
00:43:24
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It really is a safe space. um I have to say it's it is women that come on my retreats, but obviously men are welcome too. um But it's a space where everybody, i mean, I think it's really brave to come on a retreat by yourself for three days to spend it with ten ten strangers so everybody has come with that same feeling of I'm going to do this I'm going to get something out of it and yeah you like you say people share people bond they leave as friends they share all sorts of things loads of ideas like you say maybe even recipes yeah yeah it's just um I think
00:44:09
Speaker
It's a wonderful thing to do. some people don't have the same interests as their husband, so they might have a shared holiday, but then a retreat is where they can really go and explore whether it's their hobby or something related to their career more.
00:44:23
Speaker
And also people have stressful jobs. So sometimes a retreat is a creative retreat. It's just fun. A lovely way of spending a few days exploring something that you don't have time to do otherwise. Right.
00:44:38
Speaker
Yeah, I think it helps to de-stress. I know that my my journey started with a watercolor class locally. And so sometimes it's finding something locally that maybe doesn't take you away from your home to see if that...
The Impact of Retreats and Collaboration
00:44:51
Speaker
is something that is a passion that you want to find. And then for myself, then I went out and I, like you all, I did a three-day retreat out in Palm Springs. um Oh gosh, a zillion years ago. And it brought my camera and thought I was, that's when I was still on, as I said, automatic and thought I was a great photographer. i was terrible, but it was just trying and it was learning. But those three days, it was ah a group called Shutter Sisters and it was all women photographers and there were 80 photographers.
00:45:19
Speaker
profoundly changed the trajectory of my life. Absolutely changed the trajectory of my life. Not only am I still friends with many of those women, um it was well over 10 years ago, but it started my entire artistic journey just by giving myself permission to do that. and That was the best thing I'd ever done in my life. And I'm so glad that I did that.
00:45:39
Speaker
And that's what I hope a lot of people will do is make time for yourself, whether it be just an afternoon or a few days. I think it's it's incredibly important to find those creative outlets and passions.
00:45:52
Speaker
I mean, I can get really stuck just working on my own. You can get a creative block. And I just think by either collaborating or being with other people that got the same interests, it's just so inspiring, isn't it?
00:46:08
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. And I think you find a little bit of something that they've done, or, as I said, just watching them put something together or drawing or painting, it just, it, it just, I don't know, it profoundly changes you. And even if it's just a new shade of lipstick, it goes.
00:46:28
Speaker
Well, Jan, this has been such a delight seeing, um well, just knowing you for these years, these many years. And Lori, we got to get you to come to England. Oh, that's on my bucket list. I haven't been there yet.
00:46:43
Speaker
One space left, Lori. Yeah. Well, she was just in Ireland and now she's, and then she's headed to France and she's all over the place. And oh my goodness, she's teaching everywhere, but I cannot wait to teach with you, Jan in September. It's going to be so magical. And um I'm so thankful and grateful for our friendship over these years. It's just been a wonderful taking this flower journey with you. Yeah. And you, it's been, it's been great. Yeah.
00:47:10
Speaker
It's, it's, I mean, we've taught together for one day before, but this is going to be three days and it's going to be a lot of fun. It's fun. What is some advice that you like to give to your students or maybe you hear that, I don't know, you wish you all of your your attendees would take with them?
00:47:30
Speaker
Well, I mean, on a serious note, practice because you're never going to... um get better at anything without practice. It goes for anything, doesn't it? But just try and carve out that time for you to really hone your skills and yeah, just give yourself permission to enjoy doing this because it's it's it's not a waste of time art is just we need it for our mental well-being and our health and you know it brings joy to others so um just explore and have fun when you can and i'd also say collaborate find a
00:48:13
Speaker
Find a friend that loves what you do as well and do it together, even though they might be on the other side of the world. Yeah. Find that friend. Find that friend. i love that. That is a perfect way to end. And exactly. Practiced. Find the thing that you love. lean and a friend And find a friend. i know. i found you both and I'm so happy. Oh, well, thank you. Thank you for joining us today. And this has been a treat.
00:48:39
Speaker
Thank Thank you both for having It's lovely for me to watch you two talk because I your friendship has just been something really special. So nice to meet you, Jan. And you, Laurie. wonderful. Well, and to our listeners, peace, love, and re-bloom.
00:48:58
Speaker
Thanks for spending this time with us on Rebloom. We hope something from today stays with you. Maybe a thought, a feeling, or a spark of inspiration.
00:49:09
Speaker
And if this conversation resonated, we really hope you'll share it with a friend. We sure are grateful you're here and we'll see you next time.