Where to find new inspiration with photography...

[hannahthiem]

<p>No matter what type of photography you do, we all need inspiration from time to time. What do you do to get yourself out of a rut and inspire a fresh take on your visioning?</p>

[chris_waller]

<p>I don't do anything consciously, I just wait for something to 'propose' itself as a subject. There's an element of zen in this - the more you look for something, the less likely you are to find it, but if you keep your mind open, then something will pop into it.</p>

[Norma Desmond]

<p>I have several artists and photographers who I talk to regularly about lots of different things.</p>

<p>Just the other day, I was having an energized discussion in the street/documentary forum . . . it even got a little contentious. A day or so later, I went out to do some street shooting and found myself totally into it and stimulated and I attribute a lot of it to stuff that stimulated me in the discussion. I often find other people, directly or indirectly, are good sources of renewed energy.</p>

[tonmestrom]

<p>Agree with Fred. About 95% of what I do is street and the everchanging dynamic out there is all the inspiration anybody needs. Studying photographic history is another great source of inspiration.</p>

[Brad_]

Push yourself beyond what's comfortable.

 

Yesterday I was shooting on the street in San Francisco and engaged and then took some close-up portraits of two Norteños members, and then

bs'd a little. As I was walking away, one guy ran up behind me and said, "Hey look, if anyone ever gives you any trouble,

you come back here and let me know, and we'll f 'em up real good for you."

[Mary Doo]

<p>I find inspiration in talking and shooting with other photographers, and going with the flow from there. I actively participate in a camera club and its related activities, join photo tours (or workshops), in a way to get an organized opportunity to "make me do it", amongst the many advantages that these associations can provide, through which I have made some good friends, who in turn inspire me in varying degrees in different ways. (Is this sentence too complex? LOL!)<br /><br />Speaking for myself, if I need a spiritual inspiration every time before going out to shoot, then there probably won't be many photographs.</p>

<p>Attaching the latest shoot with a friend whose work I admire: <a href="http://www.marydoo.com/lotus/">http://www.marydoo.com/lotus/</a><br />No, we did not "copy" from each other; just to illustrate that being with a like-minded friend helps to inspire in one way or another. It is a tiny patch of pond, and we took delight in making these memories.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Set yourself a project of some kind, perhaps one not usual to what you normally photograph.</p>

<p>Like writer's block, the only way to work yourself out of a hole is to force yourself to do something, even if it seems very unproductive at first.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Do something new with a day or two of your life, completely unrelated to photography. Really stretch it a bit... ask your local police if you can do a ride-along one night. Go to an Irish pub and learn how to play darts as if your life depended on it, which it may. Go to a livery stable and rent a horse for an hour, three days in a row. Spend an afternoon cleaning up trash along a public road. Take an introductory flying lesson. Read an entire Shakespeare play, non-stop, and then go see it being performed.<br /><br />If anything that's relatively new to your personal experience turns out to get some hooks into you - even temporarily - you'll probably find a rush of interest in studying, documenting, and celebrating it, photographically. When something's new to you, it makes photographing it new and invigorating, too. Um, be careful, if you actually do the horse or the flying stuff, OK?</p>

[luis_g]

<p> For me, inspiration can come from many angles. Sometimes it comes from reading literature, news, scientific articles, and/or listening to music.</p>

<p>The abysmal sorrow I felt at the beginning of the Iraq War ended up inspiring me considerably because I <em>used </em> it.</p>

<p> I listen when people talk to me, and eavesdrop frequently whenever using public transit. Although I haven't done it in a long time, like Joyce writing epiphanies in his little notebooks, I make candid recordings of conversations and listen to them later. Unfortunately, I've such a backlog that I've stopped the practice, but inspiration often flows from those recordings.</p>

<p>Art of all kinds, from fine art to kids beating on plastic buckets on the sidewalk, hoping for a buck. I am the kind of person that spends time with and makes multiple visits to certain works.</p>

<p>Obsessing on something can be a font of creative energy. After decades of photographing, including street photography, I observe to the limits of my ability, and what I witness inspires me.</p>

<p>Once I saw an unprecedented (in my personal experience) act of kindness that inspired me for months. I am a firm believer that the obvious is the <em>last</em> thing we see (due to desensitization), so I pay attention, and always assume I have missed most of what is there. My rejects often contain kernels of truth, things leaking in from the future, that although failed, are creative portals. I also pore over snapshots, to the point that once, decades ago, I took a job at a 1-hr lab so I could do this on a grand scale.</p>

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[sandra_chow1]

<p>Autumn here on Vancouver Island is not always colourful, tho last fall was an exception. Fresh air is great for overcoming my fears of trying something new; plus very often for me, it has to be a conscious act of, "I've GOT to try something different here..." I went out, expecting to have glorious autumnal photos, but kept getting boring "calendar shots". Late afternoon, I was turning to go back when I took the camera off the tripod and saw it needed a good 2 seconds for shutter speed. Great! Clicking the shutter (and tripod free), I got the most gorgeous mess of colour and light. I didn't stop for almost 2 hours, and came out of the hiking trail after dark, went back the next morning at dawn, and again the next evening. Now I have a 'show' of around 75 images which I'm putting together for a winter / spring exhibit.</p><div></div>

[dwaynetucker]

<p>Hello <strong>Hannah</strong> !<br /> <br /> I find new inspiration for other photographer’s works; my favorites are <em>Scott Kelby</em> , <em>Joe McNally</em> and<em> Tuan Nguyen</em> . I agree that no matter the type of photography we do we need inspiration; I love lifestyle shoots and natural fashion photography. What I have been doing lately is if I get a client I look at the background if it's for a company and write random words in five minutes that I think of when thinking about the brand. Brainstorming, or if it's for a person I would try to get to know the person a bit better before the shoot go to lunch or talk on the phone for a bit...it's nothing like having the model feel comfortable life will be great at the shoot. <br /> <br /> <br /> Some people don't agree with this. But I also love to listen to music (depending on the style of the shoot is the type of music) inspires me to take a fresh approach with original creativity as well.<br>

--<br>

<strong> Dwayne D.C. Tucker II</strong><br>

Nassau, Bahamas</p>

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

<p>I belong to organizations that put on seminars, many on other photographers work. <br /> I go to museums. Just watching movies; observing people most of the time at all locations helps me. I take subscriptions to Vogue, Town & Country and other magazines that are more or less oriented toward photography. I take at least one in-depth seminar each year looking through the heart, mind & soul through the photographs the photographer makes. <br /> I constantly look at the world and see if I can make it a better place because how I paint it with my camera.<br /> What do you do?</p>

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[julie_nightingale]

<p>I'll go out prop shopping at junk and antique stores. Maybe paint something that I want to shoot, (I'm painting a mans torso...a mannequin right now a bunch of rainbow colors on a rotating potters wheel), or see some of my creative friends. I find that the friends I have some fine artists and some photographers really inspire me most.</p><div></div>

[julie_nightingale]

<p>I'll go out prop shopping at junk and antique stores. Maybe paint something that I want to shoot, (I'm painting a mans torso...a mannequin right now a bunch of rainbow colors on a rotating potters wheel), or see some of my creative friends. I find that the friends I have some fine artists and some photographers really inspire me most.</p>

[ron_gratz]

<p>It depends on how much time I have. If I have time to travel I'll go somewhere I have not been before and different from my usual haunts. EG for the last 2 summers I have travelled to the Oregon Coast.<br>

When I can't travel far I like to take out one of my antique cameras, load a roll of film (or load several film holders for the old folding plate cameras) and go to a known location with the mission of exposing an entire roll of film or all of the plate holders. This forces me to look more intensely and has resulted in some very nice images. Even when that doesn't happen forcing myself to estimate distance and take hand-held meter readings gets me more involved.<br>

Ron Gratz</p>

[samrat]

<p>There are times when I do not take photos, sometimes because I just do not have the urge from within. I do not have to depend on photography for my livelihood and so I can afford this "luxury" from time to time. However, and especially after a break from hospital shifts, I take the camera with that new zeal that <strong><em>just comes</em></strong> from somewhere within. At such times, there is no reason and no tiredness as I go clicking once again.</p>

[mayor_newton]

<p>I generally just raise my rates. Nothing like making a buck to get the creative juices flowing. Photography started and will end as a business for me...not a hobby. Oh, I get off on a 'job well done,' or doing something that appeals to the 'artist' in me, but making a great living doing something creative like 'taking pictures' does it best, in my mind.<br>

The adrenalin, too, of shooting editorial is a rush...flying towards an accident scene, being part of the 'show' while shooting a major performer in concert, catching a tear in a child's eye as the house behind her and all her presents burn on Christmas morning as Dad holds her...those were the days. The best way to learn, too, as there is no room whatsoever for error...you come back to the lab with the shot, period. The one time you forget to load film because you were off duty having a few drinks, then get sent to a quadruple fatality with aero-med and crying mothers and screaming cops...you never, ever forget the film again.<br>

'Graduating' to marketing photography...'art' that sells products...a great outlet for your creative desires, but there is no 'time out' because of 'lack of inspiration.' How can you charge a client a hundred bucks an hour and then tell him 'it didn't quite turn out?' You can't...you don't. Raise your rates and get 'er done.<br>

R J Linburg<br>

Oh, and the feeling you get after the little girl...with the toasted Xmas presents and the angry look towards the 'opportunistic' photog...the next day smiles at you when the gifts and money and love rolls in from the front page, 'above the fold' shot you took. With your photo credit. Inspiration. </p>

[azleader]

<p>Three words... lighting, perspective, composition!</p>

<p>No matter where you go, no matter what you photograph; your source of inspiration is always the same... lighting, perspective and composition.</p>

<p>Lighting is everything. With the right lighting all else is secondary. Light inspires the heart and soul.</p>

<p>Perspective is the photo artist's take on the subject; their view of it. With perspective you provide the viewer a new look on a subject that they may never have considered. Never be mundane.</p>

<p>Composition is the glue that holds a vision together. Never include extranious elements that do not support your main subject. Simplicity provides elegance and grandure that rivets viewer attention.</p>

<p>Consider lighting, perspective and composition in every image you capture and you will always be inspired.</p>

[dg1]

<p>When I feel stale it's usually because I've stopped really looking. I find looking at other photographer's work will often jump start my eyeballs and I start seeing what's around me in a fresh way. </p>

[alastair]

<p>Look at the camera controls and try to use settings you don't use often, or in the wrong context. Try throwing the camera into the air while taking a delay shot (I tie it on so it won't hit the ground first!)</p>

[oskar_ojala]

<p>Either I force myself out looking for ideas or then I look at pictures from photographers with vision to try to communicate new things to inspire myself.</p>

[pizzil]

<p>I usually assign myself a project with some sort of constraints. This year I assigned myself to shoot for a week only within 10 feet of my suburban New Jersey house, only with my Canon 100-400, and only handheld. The results are here--</p>

<p>http://www.lpdigitalphoto.com/HTMLYard/index.htm</p>

<p>I learned a lot but more importantly I got out of my sports photography rut and back into something a bit more creative and challenging.</p>

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[YAYUSA]

<p>I think sometimes that there exist too many things that they make me think. Every instant of life I believe that it(he,she) has one because. To capture instants with my chamber(camera), always it(he,she) allows me to express what I sit(feel). My chamber(camera) always goes with me.</p>

[fischerphotos]

<p>I email my photo buddies and ask what they've been doing lately. Just talking about photography to someone who loves to take pictures like I do gives me tons of inspiration...</p>

[wentbackward]

<p>Often the rut is not with our art but other 'life' issues that may be bearing down on us. At the moment I am awaiting sign off on an important contract after a very bad period during the financial crisis; it has heightened importance for me and my family. The waiting is really heavy emotionally - stifling in fact. The human reaction is to try to take control, in other, less rational ways (i.e. the kid screaming in the supermarket that controls the parents behaviour). I think our art becomes dangerous in such a situation, we are not creating but painting by numbers, which is in itself negative, so worsens the situation.</p>

<p>What do I do? I clean and tidy all my equipment (constructive therapeutic), I plan and then do something different. I have lists of things or places or ideas. I add to those lists and I absolutely force myself to take one or some of those things, either just scout them out and plan more detail (say if the light is poor) or go do it. (Stay away from camera shops too).</p>

<p>But often something will just lift us. Just now my daughter came to me and says 'Daddy, kiss' before heading off to kindergarten. Without a plan though, the lift may take us to wrong destination!</p>