Photographic collections or series can be a creative fallback when you find yourself in a rut or in an environment that doesn’t fit your style. Collections or series are different from photo projects. A collection is a group of images that belong together, often visually or thematically, but they can also stand on their own without a narrative or progression.

A photo project, on the other hand, is more intentional and structured. It starts with an idea and becomes a visual essay or photo documentary.

I’m tempted to say that a collection will find you, but you have to find a project. Does it make sense?

Let me explain. If you look at your body of work, you already have collections or series. They may not be organized but they are there. Collections say a lot about who you are as a visual artist and how you see the world. A collection may have been a part of your photography for many years, unintentionally. Or it may have started with a single photograph that spoke to you and made you aware of more possibilities.

For example my ‘Stories of Hands’ series started out of the need to focus my attention and isolate a subject in a very busy Italian market one day. Little did I know that it would be the beginning of a really large series of hundreds of hands collected around the world. Ten years later, I am still collecting, and it’s a really useful subject to fall back on when I find myself overwhelmed by a crowded situation.

This is just one of dozens of collections I regularly go back to.

How about you? What is your camera naturally drawn to?