As a creative person, I always have tons and tons of crazy ideas running through my head! But let's be honest, I know sometimes it's not easy to come up with something creative, something fresh, something that's your own. You're tired, worn out, running around like a crazy person with all your errands and events, or you've just plain hit a mental creative block. It happens to everyone - don't let it get you down!
So you're wondering how to get out of this creative block rut?
I have some great advice that will help inspired you to get inspired!
As a photographer, I know there are a million other photographers out there, and a ton of them are fabulous! I see images and say "Wow! That's gorgeous!" all the time. It's a competitive market out there and sometimes it's easy to get down about your own work when you see so much beauty being created by others. But you don't have to let their beautiful work discourage you - in fact, just the opposite - let it encourage you! Let it inspire you!
Don't get me wrong...I'm not advocating being a copy-cat. By no means should you 100% duplicate someone else's work. They worked hard to get their photography to the level it's at, and you should respect that. Inspiration and Duplication are two completely different things.
When I look around at all the awesome images out there, I still want to be able to do something unique, that reflects my own personal style and the style of Green Feather Photography.
Here's how I take inspiration from other photographers and make it my own with a few twists...
What do I like about this image?
If I see an image I like, I try to analyze why I like that specific shot. Do I like the pose, the light, the composition, the background? Then I take those elements and try to produce a similar effect with my own images, while still maintaining my own photography style.
I don't want to completely copy it, but I want to get some great ideas for my own work.
Next time you're looking at images you love, as yourself why you love them, and see if you can produce the same elements in your own photos.
Inspiration: Background
I liked the image on the left because of the foreground and background elements. When I found my location for the image on the right, I was reminded of how I liked the interest of having an old building in the background of my image. But I didn't want the building to be the focus, so I made sure my subjects were far enough away to out it out of focus and bring attention to them.
Inspiration: Pose
I liked this pose because of the focus on the female subject. I decided I wanted to do something similar, but still keep a bit more of the males subject as well. Plus, I made it my own by sticking to my lighting style and use of lenses.
Notice how it is not an exact copy, but you can definitely see there is an influence here.
Hints for posing: Posing can be a difficult thing to master, so practice, practice, practice! Find inspiration and try out different poses with patient subjects. The more you do the poses, the more ingrained in your head they will become...but we'll save that for another blog post :)
Inspiration: Light
The inspiration image has gorgeous light that I was drooling over, so I set out to capture a similar lighting effect. I had not worked with a lot of lens flare up to this point (now I just can't get enough!) so it took a while to nail the effect I wanted.
If you're stumped, here are some places to find inspiration:
Google - do a simple search for a subject (ie: Wedding Rings) and see what you find, then use that inspiration for your next session. You can find a lot of unique ideas online.
Pinterest - simply searching "photography" on Pinterest will give you a ton of results! Browse through some photography boards and gather inspiration images into your own board to reference later.
Facebook - network with and follow other Photographers on Facebook. Photographers are always posting image from their most recent sessions and this is a great way to see how they direct and pose different subjects, use lighting, and compose their images. I follow a lot of photographers and when I'm feeling a little less creative, just looking through my news feed inspires me!
Instagram - "iPhonography" has become quite a hit these days, and there are always a ton of creative and inspiring images uploaded to Instagram every day. Follow 'grammers who you find inspirational, even if you don't know them.Blogs - I follow not only the blogs of Photographers who have similar styles to mine, but also ones who's style is completely opposite. You can also find inspiration from graphic designers, seamstresses, musicians, stay-at-home moms, etc. Anyone can inspire you if you're looking for inspiration.
Other ways to get inspired:
Attend workshops and webinars, read books and magazines, participate in forums, talk to other photographers, watch movies, take a walk, Photo-a-Day challenge...
And don't forget - the best way to improve your photography, is to get out there and shoot often!
Inspiration images borrowed from:
johnmorrisphotography.com
freshwed.com
wedding64.com
fimaphotography.com
addtoheart.com
joebuissink.com
* Please be kind and respect Copyright Laws - I have put websites here to give credit to some of the amazing photographers who inspire me. I do not claim them as my own.*
Andrea is the artist behind Green Feather Photography and co-author behind Rock The Camera Workshops in La Mesa California. Her awesome blog is full of style inspiration and photographer tips!
pinterest.com/grnfthrphoto
LOVE this! Thank you so much Amber for sharing how you stay inspired but not being a complete copy cat.
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