When you're the best of friends

fox & hound photoshoot 🦊🐶

“And we’ll always be friends forever, won’t we?”

“Yeah, forever.”

It’s been a while since I shared my fantasy photos here. Did you have a favorite image from this set? Let me know in the comments below ♡

NOTES IN THE MARGIN

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this photoshoot reset my creative nervous system. I’d been feeling rather burnt out with big, fantasy projects—the months of planning, the all-day shoots, the hundreds (if not thousands) of photos to cull through and meticulously edit afterwards. Lately, I’ve been craving simpler stories, ones that take me back to the core of why I love to create.

It’s all wrapped up in a larger shift in my creativity that I’ve been experiencing ever since becoming a mom. Some goals and ambitions I had for myself just don’t fit anymore. It’s been disorienting trying to find my artistic center when the axis of my world has changed.

This shoot though was exactly what I needed to remind myself that, at the end of the day, fantasy photos are something that I do for fun. There was no pressure, no big fixations on what I was trying to accomplish. Just me and my friend romping around the woods near my house, indulging in some true millennial nostalgia.

I think it’s important to have these moments as creatives. They center and focus us, remind us why we put in the effort we do. I still love my elaborate shoots, even though they take a lot of energy to produce; part of the reward they offer is the achievement of a goal, the satisfaction of a challenge overcome.

This day though was pure play, and I’m incredibly grateful to have found friends who enjoy the same hobbies as me.

CREDITS

Fox & Styling: Paige Loe | Hound & Photos: Kerani Arpaia | Masks: Curious Fair

---

Thank you for reading Dreamer’s Field Guide! In this journal, I share my own fantasy art and short fiction stories as well as experiences from my life as an author-mother-creative. If you enjoyed this piece, you can support my work by becoming a paid subscriber or by sharing this post with someone you know will love it.