chaos theory

with Antonina Mamzenko

Hi friend,

Do you ever think about how so much of the language we casually use is so violent?

In photography, we have terms like:

Shoot. Take. Capture. Trigger. Subject. Headshot. Master and slave flash (yes, for real).

And in the world of business and work, we use words such as:

Branding. Targets. Deadlines. Killing it. Tripwire. Conversion rate.

It really is everywhere, and it's hard to escape it, even when you try. I’ve been recently reminded (by my wonderful friend and thought partner Keri Jarvis) about mechanising the language we use to describe our productivity, too, when I complained that I’m struggling to "plug in" back into work after a period of illness. Keri reminded me that I’m not a computer, not a machine, but a living breathing human being.

For a while now I’ve been trying to be more mindful about the language I use. It's not always easy and I often find myself slipping into old habits. But I think words have a lot of power over how we think - and play a big role in shaping the world we make, too. Choosing to use less violent language is one step towards a better world, I think.

Instead of “shoot”, I try to use “to photograph” or, if I need a noun, “a photography session”. Instead of “headshot” - “a portrait”.

Instead of “taking” photographs, I speak about “making” them. Taking implies a transfer of ownership, and can have extractive overtones, especially if you consider the colonial history (and even the present) of photography. Making feels more intentional, and can also be done in co-creation with your participants, your muses (but not subjects - another power-structure word I'm trying to avoid).

I’m yet to come up with an alternative for “branding” but I now avoid using the term “personal branding” because I can’t seem to escape a mental image of applying a hot rod with my initials to my own shoulder - dramatic, I know.

(Sidenote: If you want to read more of my evolving thoughts on branding, some of them are here.)

There’s no neat conclusion here. I’d love to hear from you: what’s your relationship with language, with words? Have you been trying to retrain your brain to use the alternatives, too?

Before I go, here are a couple of reminders:

March 15th: Words+Pictures early bird ends this Sunday

Save £50 off the full price of this four-week workshop. Two of the six places have already been claimed and we start April 16th (full schedule on the link above).

March 18th, 2pm GMT: Creative Anarchy but make it about marketing

This is a rescheduled date from earlier this week. I'm hosting a free Communing session on The Portal, focused specifically on marketing. The link above explains how to set up your Portal account, and you can RSVP to get the reminder from the community space.

March 23rd: Pick My Brain aka 46 for £46 mentoring marathon

I turn 46 soon and once again I'm celebrating by offering these quick fire mentoring sessions. Limited slots available.

Hope to see you somewhere on the interwebs soon,

Antonina x

Evergreen reminders about working with me:

​The Soup: A small group mentoring programme without a curriculum, but with spacious structure and accountability. Next one will run in the autumn. Hit reply if you'd like to chat and see if it's the right fit for you.

​1:1 Mentoring: If you need help with a specific question, be it your pricing structure, feedback on your brand new website or portfolio, or need some thought partnership, 90 minute mentoring slots are available. There's also a solidarity rate for those who would not be able to access mentoring otherwise.

​Family Photography: This year might be the last I'm offering my signature Adventure Sessions, and my availability is limited. If you're overdue one for your family, it may be a good idea to pencil in a date now. Hit reply to this email and let's chat. Unconventional Family Portraits are also available for those local(ish) to me. If we've worked together before I may be open to travelling a bit further afield for those, so ping me a message.

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