Although it sounds a bit nonsensical with so much around us to capture in stills, why would photographers ever be short on creative inspiration from their surroundings, but this can be a problem for many photographers. We often hear about writers blocks and ways to overcome this, however what advice are we given for when our photography becomes a little lacklustre after falling into a set routine with our shots. There are various ways that we can get our creative juices flowing again.
One of the first things that we find useful is to mix up your routine, especially if you’ve been working in the same way for many years. Whether this inolves taking a longer lunchtime break, or starting earlier and finishing the day earlier, or perhaps going for a wonder and letting the surroundings inspire you. Whatever, it is, do something that will break the rigour of your daily routine and you will find this has an automatic impact on your photography.
Another tactic we find very useful is to seek inspiration from others. The way this can be done is numerous and can be done through a variety of ways. Browsing the web and spending a little time on other photographers’ blogs are usually great ways to inject a little bit of inspiration – just be careful you don’t get too carried away and create carbon copies of their work. Other forms of inspiration can also come from the most unlikely of places, news stories, daily interactions, visiting museums/galleries etc. so always pay attention to what’s going around you.
Mix-it-up. Every photographer is perhaps guilty of sticking to their faithful pieces of kit, and perhaps on occasions reluctant to steer away from the ‘winning formula’, but by trying different lenses or having different set-ups will often result in improvements in the end results. Full-frame DSLRs are coming more into effect, so if you’re using a cropped-sensor DSLR perhaps it’s time to make the upgrade and experiment with different settings. You can, of course, revert back to your old set-up if you feel that’s producing the desired results.
Keep it simple. It’s a common misconception that the best photographic shots are the most complex ones, i.e. you’ve got to be kept suspended from a great height or have an extremely complicated pre set-up. Often, it’s not necessary to have elaborate set-ups and just waiting for the right moment can often reap the highest rewards. As much as we would all light to jet-off to caribbean islands or remote locations it’s usually not possible, and by stepping outside of our usual environment (even if this means driving to the countryside from the city) can often yield very creative and productive results. For photo-editing, this can be equally applicable and you don’t need to spend hours constantly tweaking, but instead go with your gut instuct the first time around.
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