If I’m not struggling, then I’m probably not going to be happy with what I’m creating.
Brooke Shaden
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Brooke Shaden once made a film in the basement of a nursing home. She was supposed to be folding laundry, but instead she staged a haunting scene: her friend running down dim corridors, ketchup-blood smeared on the walls. It was for a high school videography class, and, in true Brooke fashion, it won a local festival.
That moment didn’t just boost her creative confidence; it went even deeper. It morphed her creative energy into eerie self-portraits and dreamscape composites. Brooke’s photography has always leaned into the beautifully strange, but her work isn’t about darkness for darkness’ sake. It’s about grief, wonder, impermanence, and the light that exists inside shadow.
In our conversation, Brooke shares how she’s explored being a fine art photographer, self-portrait artist, and passionate educator, despite never planning to pick up a camera in the first place. We talk about the emotional roots of her images, the challenges of creating with a learning disability, and why reading fantasy novels is essential to her creative life.
Here’s some of what we get into:
- Why Brooke believes grief can be beautiful and how that belief shapes her images
- The surprising way she found photography through filmmaking (and a bit of spite)
- How she builds technically complex composites with a minimalist mindset
- The reason she creates alone and why that doesn’t mean she’s disconnected
- Her thoughts on storytelling, symbolism, and making deeply personal work feel universal
- What it means to “boldly go” as a creative and how curiosity keeps her moving
This episode is all about creative resilience, emotional honesty, and showing it in a way that stays true to your vision, even when it’s not what the market expects. Brooke brings warmth, wit, and hard-earned wisdom to the mic. Enjoy the episode!
Q: Where does the photography start? Tell me a little bit about that story.
Brooke: I was always the kid who thought I was completely normal, with nothing unique to offer. I wanted to be a writer but chose to be an English teacher for job security. Then I took a film class in high school just to prove to my then boyfriend how easy it was. It turned out to be my first real creative outlet. I made weird little horror shorts in the nursing home where I worked, and one even won a local festival. That made me realize maybe I was one of those creative people. Eventually, I picked up a still camera because I didn’t want to work with other people every day like you have to in filmmaking, and I’ve been doing photography ever since.
Q: In your opinion, how has building an online community influenced your career?
Brooke: In every way. If I don’t feel like doing something, I remind myself it’s not about me, it’s about who I might influence by doing the work. That motivates me. I wouldn’t have created half of what I’ve done without my community. They’ve given me confidence, and I try to model creativity and confidence to inspire others.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to create imagery that reflects their inner world but struggles to find their voice?
Brooke: One of the most important things is to consider that the work is a story. It’s not the experience or your emotions, it’s the story of those things. When you treat it like storytelling, you start thinking about the emotion, the climax, and what you want the viewer to take away. Then you can start assigning visuals and symbols to represent that. It becomes a way to express something personal in a way others can understand and connect with.
🔗 Connect with Brooke Shaden
🧭 What We Talked About
🎼 Early Journey / Origins
- Brooke’s first creative dream wasn’t photography, it was writing. Her initial path led her to study filmmaking and English literature, aiming to become an English teacher.
- A high school film class sparked her creativity, where she made eerie short films in a nursing home basement. Her first project, a creepy short, won a local film festival, planting the seed for her visual storytelling.
- She picked up a still camera only because she realized filmmaking required collaboration, and she much preferred working alone.
📖 Philosophy / Vision / Storytelling
- Brooke’s work revolves around grief-positive themes, embracing darkness as a path to beauty and reflection.
- From a young age, she saw grief-like her grandmother’s passing and the death of a pet, as profound and strangely beautiful, rather than terrifying or morbid.
- She encourages artists to ask themselves: What do I see differently, and what can I never stop exploring?
- She views her photography as storytelling through symbols, likening her process to crafting a novel, layered with metaphors and emotion.
📷 Tools, Gear, and Behind the Scenes
- While her images appear technically complex, Brooke works in a deliberately minimalist and intuitive way with both camera and editing tools.
- Her editing philosophy is rooted in vision, not perfection: “I’m working in service to the vision.”
- She uses Adobe Photoshop in unconventional ways and intentionally learns only what she needs to realize each image.
- Her shoots are often solitary, quick (10-15 minutes), and generally pre-visualized, shooting just a few frames to get the exact image she imagined.
🔁 Practice, Teaching, Platforms
- Brooke teaches workshops, hosts the Promoting Passion Conference, and mentors creatives worldwide.
- She recently launched a 52-week creative challenge in collaboration with Sony Alpha Female.
- Her creative rhythm includes daily creative acts-even reading sci-fi and fantasy novels counts as “creative nourishment.”
- She maintains productivity through intentional routines and community accountability: “I create in service to my community.”
💬 Advice, Creative Strategy, or Challenges
- For anyone struggling to find their visual voice, Brooke suggests separating your experience from the story you want to tell-and using symbolism to express deep, universal themes.
- She openly shares her experience with a learning disability, which makes traditional technical learning difficult, yet she’s built a highly original body of work by following her own method.
- Her commitment to personal projects has kept her creatively fulfilled; even failed series have been stepping stones to stronger work.
🌍 Influences, People, Brands, or Places
- Massive fan of sci-fi and fantasy-especially Star Trek, Ender’s Game, and the Shannara series.
- Favorite quote from photographer Jerry Uelsmann: “If I have any goal, it’s to surprise myself.”
- Partnered with Sony Alpha Female for her weekly challenge.
- Founded the non-profit Light Space, offering photography education in places like India, Thailand, and now Kenya.
🔮 What’s Next for Brooke
- Developing a new photo series exploring fostering children, impermanence, and love without ownership-a deeply personal project years in the making.
- Hosting her annual Promoting Passion conference in September-open to creatives of all types.
- Planning a nationwide U.S. print exhibition tour in 2026, inviting fellow artists to exhibit alongside her.
- Continuing to expand Light Space, bringing photo education to underserved communities around the world.
