Finding Inspiration
It’s a funny old thing inspiration. Some days I feel like it’s there in abundance, and ideas for shots are coming into my head faster than I can press the shutter. And on other days I feel about as inspired as a cardboard box. Same for writing blog articles really, and while I was seeking inspiration for my article, inspiration found me – somewhat literally.
The days when the creative juices are flowing are my favourite days to go out and take pictures – those are the days when everything seems that bit more photogenic, from the amazing scenery of the Peaks (which let’s face it, is pretty photogenic most of the time), to a tiny flower and even to a squashed Irn-Bru can in Kelham Island. These are the days when it’s great to try something new, even if you aren’t really sure it will work. Days when you spend 30 minutes in your back garden, getting very odd looks from the neighbours as your peg an extremely vintage wedding dress to your washing line in the spirit of “trying something new.” Sometimes it works, sometimes it looks better in your head than it does in real life, and sometimes you wake up the next day wondering just what it is you had been thinking the day before.
But I don’t think you should ever stop playing with those flashes of inspiration, even if you get one good photograph and a hundred files in the computer recycling bin. Because to me, a willingness to try new things is a great way of learning, be it learning new ways to compose a photo, new techniques or even just learning to think a bit more outside the box. I think that this willingness to learn is a key attribute for photographers be they professional, semi professional, hobbyist or anything else. Technology is changing by the second these days and with that photographic styles are evolving too and you have to be prepared to learn something new (even if its just by fiddling with buttons!) to find a way to express your personal style in this rapidly changing market.
And yet, we have all had days when we feel that our inspiration has deserted us, even the author Jack London once said “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club”. Which first of all left me wondering whether or not there was room for a club in my kit bag for those particularly challenging photoshoots? But the more photography I do the more I have come to realise that there are those occasional days when he is right. There are some days when I get out of bed and I’m just not feeling “it”, but regardless of my levels of inspiration I still have to go and do my job, even if I’d rather just hide under the covers! Those of you who have ever suffered “writer’s block” will know exactly the feeling I’m talking about!
I try and solve this occasional problem by writing down ideas I have on “good inspiration days” and starting with having a read through those to see if anything catches my eye for being suitable. If I have met the client before I will have already discussed some ideas with them which is an excellent starting point. Then usually there is a selection of shots that I know work well in a given situation, say a portrait shoot. While I am doing this I am getting to know my client a bit more all the time.
This gives me a bit of time to figure out how comfortable they are in front of the camera, hear about what interests them and see and discuss the props they have brought with them because they are special and they would love to have them incorporated into a photograph. In a way, this is me “going after” my inspiration, though being a pacifist sort of person I prefer to use words as my proverbial club! So by the time I am a short way into the shoot, regardless of how grey and uninspired I feel in the morning, people have enough uniqueness and interest in them to inspire my work every day.
I think that really, inspiration is there all the time, every day, but sometimes you have to work a bit harder to find it. That’s one of the challenging, but most enjoyable things for me about photography. Especially if I have been trying to work out how to achieve a particular effect for a while and finally get it right – those are without a doubt the photographs I am proudest of!
If I had to give any tips on how to find inspiration for photography while you are out and about my top 3 would be:
1. Look for inspiration in small things. If you get used to looking for unusual things to photograph you will start to notice them everywhere.
2. If you have things you particularly like photographing, try using different lighting, or different effects to give you ideas for new techniques.
3. Never be afraid to try something new. And the end of the day there’s no harm if it doesn’t work –especially on a digital camera – just delete it and try again!
4. Buy a club.
If you have any more tips or advice then please share them below and we will feature them in a future blog!
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Happy experimenting!
Eleanor.