Could You Creatively Photograph Your Partner Every Week?

We often hear that we, photographers, don't necessarily need to travel the world or spend a lot of money to create beautiful photographs. That's exactly what Kavin Bradner endeavored to do when he began a weekly photographic ode to his girlfriend, calling it #maggiemondays.

All too often, as professional photographers, we neglect photographing our loved ones on a regular basis due to a never ending workload. However, would it not be great to change things up and create a project that documents your partner or family? Bradner, a photographer based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, had ended up with so many photographs of his girlfriend Maggie, that he had to come up with an idea that wold enable him to create and share the images in a consistent and thought through manner. 

Starting the project on April 16th 2017, Bradner photographed Maggie every single week for a year. Each final image was then uploaded on his Instagram page and tagged as #maggiemondays. It's not easy to come up with new ideas every week, let alone with the same subject. Bradner also noted that coming from a small town, it wasn't always easy to find new locations to use for their shoot.

To tackle the creativity block, Bradner would use the time when he's out running to let his mind wander and come up with new ideas. Running also helped in scouting out new possible locations for shoots. Interestingly, Bradner admitted that taking time away from social media also sparked up his creativity, which was a crucial component for this project to succeed.

Their relationship as a couple wasn't affected much throughout this project but as with any commitment, there were times when one of them wasn't feeling up for it. However, the weekly deadline looming over the shoulder made both of them just simply get on with it and keep creating together. The project never had an intended goal as such, but it became a way to immerse themselves in creativity and see where it takes them.

The project ran its natural course and finished a year after it began, leaving both with a year's worth of photographs that showcase their vision, imagination and skill. Not just that, Bradner also learned to experiment with ways to try new ideas. He has since began using paper to aid in making his vision come alive in photographs, from doing basic sketches to creating storyboards instead of blindly going into a shoot.

Take a look on Kavin's Instagram for the full collection of #maggiemondays alongside his other work!

Images used with the permission of Kavin Bradner.