A Beautiful Outcome of Creative Daydreaming by Heather Payne

Photograph by Jake Anderson

Heather Payne, a destination film photographer, is someone who creates because it gives her life. In this type of business, one can easily find themselves creating what others create or what others want them to create. Heather actively fights against these. She has experienced many things through her time as a photographer, and one piece that she holds tightly to is creativity. She believes that it is imperative to allow yourself to create in order to avoid burnout and the emotions of feeling confused creatively. Creativity looks a few different ways for her. One is to think about photography through a story-telling mindset. Heather creates a genuine connection with nature and people to share the story at hand in a unique way. The other is to carve out time for personal daydreaming. She envisions elements being joined together to create something new and fresh while sharing a story from within herself. The shoot shared below is an example of what has come to life when Heather’s allowed herself to create freely and join hands with other incredible artists!

What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity, to me, means giving myself permission to dream. I don’t have limits to stay within. I just execute the visions that I’ve been dreaming up and make them come to life.

How has your creativity developed throughout your journey?
Being in business over the past 8 years, my creativity has developed a TON! As you enter into this super saturated wedding market, you just want to “fit in”. You “create” based on what you’ve seen already being produced to stay relevant. If there was one thing I wish I could’ve told myself 8 years ago, it would be advice on how to STAND OUT. As I’ve built this business in my 20’s and gained confidence in myself, I’ve learned that standing out creatively not only catapults you inwardly but it also vastly changes the trajectory of your business.  At least, this is what it did for me. 
I sit down quarterly to simply daydream. Not for anyone else, but myself. I think about a color, a landscape, fashion, an emotion or any element and allow myself to develop a vision. This sometimes translates into putting together my own photoshoot, which allows me to work with creative friends, or it is a thought or an idea I incorporate into my upcoming weddings. 
From these ideas, I will put together a vision board to help me stay on track.

How do you stay inspired? What are you currently inspired by?
Having the routine (as I mentioned above) to sit down and creatively day dream, I can put goals into place to make them come to life. It may take me the entire year to pull it off, but I will make it happen. 
With a background in horticulture and landscape design, I am most inspired by nature... what’s native, a scene, how the wind blows, etc. Fashion also deeply inspires me as well as the human body. The idea of merging all three of these to tell a story that I made up in my head. Now that’s cool! ;)

What inspired this shoot?
At the beginning of 2018 during my “creative day-dreamings”, I had an idea to incorporate vibrant colors into a shoot featuring Marchesa’s nature inspired gowns. I am constantly in search for inspiration through nature, color, fashion and great design. I planned a trip to Texas, to work with the incredible Maxine Owens who is queen of colors & floral designs.
These gowns were insanely inspiring as they feature such depth and richness in color. It was only fitting that for Valentine’s Day, I produce an inspiring shoot that merged these inspirations and push a little outside of the traditional bride’s color story.
Marchesa designers, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, like to filter their vision of femininity through a rose-tinted lens. The embroidered, colorful gowns feature laser-cut petals, floral embroideries, and shimmering leaves layered with rainbow-hued petal appliqués that flutter with every move. The luxurious fabrics, delicate silks and elegant silhouettes would make any bride feel pretty and powerful.
The stunning, monochromatic, floral creations were used to highlight the petal appliques on each gown. With a mix of luxury and modern, the final outcome blends all of these elements in hopes of inspiring the bride who’s not afraid of a little color! It was such a refreshing outcome to see how a simple spark of an idea can lead turn into a final product.

PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY

STORY DETAILS

Concept, Production, Styling & Photographs by Heather Payne Photo | Flowers by Max Owens Design  | Dresses by Marchesa  | Earrings by Free People | Model Amanda Blake | Agency The Dragon Fly Agency