8 Simple Ways to Inspire Your Photography

8 Ideas to Inspire Your Photography

We all occasionally struggle with being creative.  Yes, even us photographers! Sometimes we just feel drained - like there is nothing creatively left to pull from.

Sometimes we get bored of what we have been photographing and are looking for something new to try.  I tend to feel that way more in the Winter or when I let myself get too busy.

So when I'm feeling this way, here are 8 things I like to do for inspiration and to get my creative juices flowing:

1. Visit an Art Museum

Visiting an art museum has been my standby when I need some photography inspiration.  I love art museums.  There seems to be an endless supply of beautiful imagery.

Don’t make this too difficult, your local art museum will be plenty good enough.  If you don’t have an art museum close to you, visit your local library and see what types of art books they have that you can check out and enjoy!

2. Go For a Walk

Put you shoes on and go for a walk.  If possible, walk a new trail our route around your city or neighborhood.  Take your camera or don’t! You can find inspiration by just thinking and letting some fresh air into your body.

If you are more of an extrovert who likes people around to get creative, organize a small photo walk with a few of your friends.

3. Experiment with Color

Spend an afternoon looking for creative ways to showcase color in your photos.  Maybe spend a few hours looking for interesting monochromatic images or look for images using complementary colors.  You could even do something similar looking for interesting textures. 

4. Get Creative with Blur

Spend time playing with slow shutter speeds and blur.  You could use blur to create abstract or impressionistic images.  You could find moving subjects and work on using blur creatively to tell a story.

5. Rent a New Lens

Trying out a new lens can give you a whole new perspective behind the camera. 

If you have only been using the kit lenses that came with your camera, grab a fixed focal length lens and experiment with some open apertures.  If you have only been using fixed focal length lenses, find a zoom lens that looks interesting to you.  

If you are feeling like neither of those would work for you, look for a fisheye lens, a macro lens, or even a tilt-shift lens or Lensbaby.  There are SO MANY options to inspire you!

6. Try a Different Type of Photography

There are so many different kinds of photography out there.  Most likely you have only tried a couple of them.  So try a new one.  Here are a few options: street photography, landscape photography, macro photography, underwater photography, portrait photography, food photography, or maybe try light painting!

7. Photograph a Still Life

Shoot a still life of an ordinary object.  Take as many shots as you need to until you find a way to get a creative or interesting image that you wouldn’t have initially thought of.

The subject can be the plant on your windowsill, your child’s toy, your favorite books, etc.  The possibilities are endless!

8. Listen to Music

For some people, music helps unleash their creative spirit and inspire them.  So if you need some photography inspiration, spend an afternoon listening to that genre of music that you love but never get to listen to (or that those around you don’t necessarily enjoy when you crank it up!)

For me, it is old big band Jazz.  My kids and husband don’t necessarily love it, but I love to crank it up!  Spotify, Pandora, or (if you have Amazon Prime) Amazon Music are good options when looking to find playlists.

Hopefully, something on this list will give you an idea and help you slip out of your creative slump and inspire you!

Do you have any of your own Photography Inspiration Ideas you would like to share with us?  Leave us a comment below - we would love to hear from you!  And PLEASE SHARE this post using the social sharing buttons (we really appreciate it)!