Johnny Pham (c) Johnny Pham Photography
Brooke Shaden is a conceptual fine art photographer specializing in self-portraiture that revolves around rebirth, death, beauty and decay. While exploring the light and darkness in people, she has received awards for her cohesion and storytelling abilities. Beyond self-portraiture work, Brooke is a dedicated philanthropist who teaches self-expression workshops for survivors of human trafficking. She also founded The Light Space, a photography school for survivors in India and Thailand.
As part of Photographers Without Borders (PWB) ongoing “Storytelling for Change” webinar series, Brooke joined PWB Founder Danielle Da Silva for a conversation on creativity.
Below are edited excerpts from the discussion, which touch on Brooke’s unique self-portrait style of photography, her creative process and inspiration, creating art in the midst of quarantine, the power of storytelling and how to create a self-sustaining business.
Danielle Da Silva: How do you approach storytelling? What makes a good story, and how do you find them?
Brooke Shaden: This is the topic I'm most passionate about. To me, the best storytelling comes from taking something you feel strongly about on a personal level and opening it up to a wide audience. I know a lot of artists are of the opposite opinion and say if you're a real artist, you don't create for anybody but yourself. I agree that it's always best to create because you feel called to do that. But 50 percent of the reason why I make art is to share it with people. I look for that connection. The best stories are the ones you feel called to create because you just have to make it. But where you can also equally think about how it might touch other people.
The way I do that is through symbolism, finding universal languages everyone around the world can connect to and use to understand the story. In my images, I try to create this sense of universal symbolism where the locations, the props, the wardrobe, things that I'm using, have some resonance to anybody in any culture. Maybe I'll use a clock to represent time. I keep it really simple so my imagery isn't overwhelming but atmospheric enough to resonate with the widest audiences.
Images by Brooke Shaden
Da Silva: In this world, every action has a reaction. What reaction are you trying to get? What change are you trying to make?
Shaden: I'm trying to promote introspection. The most good comes out of people when they confront themselves first, so they can confront the world after. But we often do the opposite. People's natural reaction is to be social, to put themselves out there, to react to the world and then come back to themselves.
When you have a midlife crisis or when something isn't in alignment, I really want to encourage people to start with yourself first. You'll only be able to truly touch the world once you've connected to yourself first and foremost.
Image by Brooke Shaden
To watch Brooke Shaden's entire webinar, join our community by becoming a PWB community member. As a member, you'll have access to all "Storytelling for Change" sessions featuring notable photographer storytellers from around the world.