We all have picked up the camera and walking out the door at some point and wondered what can I photograph today? There is nothing more exciting than taking that step out of the door when feeling inspired, but not so much when not “feeling it.” However, there are times when feeling uninspired and need to force to find inspiration in unlikely ways. Here are some ideas that I have heard, read about or practice myself.
St. Mary Church in Krakow
Go Out & Start Shooting
Road signs in Poland
The human brain wants you to find the perfect idea. By going out and shooting whatever random subject matter is there (no matter how dull) can create inspiration within itself. Go out and shoot that fire hydrant, doors, trees and whatever other random, dull, static objects you may find in your line of vision! It may lead you somewhere unexpected.
Find A Color
Go out and shoot one color. Narrowing your subject matter down to one color will make you see photographs you never would have otherwise. Different colors have different moods too. If you are feeling calm and cool, go shoot blue. Do you feel happy? Shoot yellow or orange. There are many internet resources that you can look into to explore the color wheel and emotional interpretation of color.
Flower in Phipps Conservatory-Pittsburgh
Shoot Feelings
Jacob looks in amazement at light.
Basing your photography on a certain feeling can trigger tons of inspiration. Let’s say that I wanted to shoot “happy.” Maybe, trying to capture a happy feeling leads to a photo of that place with the perfect sunset, sunrise, moon rise or even a cloudy day.
Shoot Street Photography
Go out to the downtown area of your closest metropolitan area. Thousands of people pass through that area every day. They all have different stories and are living different days. Surely, you can find some inspiration in that. Put yourself in their shoes and capture something that is meaningful to you.
Hedy and Howard Chandler at Jewish Cemetery in Wierzbanek, Poland
Shoot Technical Photography That You Haven’t Tried Before
Model Railroad
Not only is technical photography interesting, shooting technically complex photos will help your skill set. You will be able to use those skills in the future by going out and expanding your skill set now. A few skill sets you can learn are light painting, extended exposure, cloning, star trail exposures, motion blending. Keeping busy and expanding your skill set can help you incorporate those ideas into your future pictures, and give you more ways to capture your inspiration.
Go Somewhere New
Pack up your photo bag and take a big step out that door. Give yourself a general direction and see where it leads you. Take a GPS and take a road you have never traveled.
The Vatican in Rome
Collaborate
Collaborating is always fun, this way you can tap into the creativity of someone else or get inspired by them. You could collaborate with another photographer, model, makeup artist, group of friends, neighbors, etc.