How Do You Find Photo Inspiration When Everything Feels Familiar?

Posted by Scott Peterson in General on the Big Photo Hunt community board, .

If you're like me and have been photographing long enough, you know there are days when you really want to shoot, but just can't decide what to capture. I think this is especially true for those of us living in smaller towns, far from the constant buzz of a big city.

When I hit a creative wall like that, I try a few simple exercises to kickstart my eye. I wrote a short piece on my site a while back going over what works for me.

Finding Photography Inspiration When You Feel Stuck

How do you all reset when you're feeling uninspired or sutck in a rut? I'd love to hear what helps you get back out there.

Replies

Sarbajit Chakraborty on

So, I'm going to add more to this - I recently went to a book store, and found this deck of cards called "Street Photography Challenge". This is a bunch of photo cards, that you are supposed to try and replicate. I have tried it out, and it made me look at things very differently, with terrible results at first, but a challenge for me to improve on ideas that I thought were creative. Maybe something like that exists for other genres, and maybe something worth trying out?

Oh, and photography books - I have books with photographs of Saul Leiter, and Vivian Maier. They are a huge source of inspiration for me.

Mark Gladding on

So I'm trying a thing this weekend. I asked my AI minion to design some solo photography games I could use to inspire shooting. It actually did a reasonable job. They are mostly organized around the photo scavenger hunt space. It gave me 3 games, and for each game, it gave me the setup, where to play, a "hunt card" and how to score my success. Some hunt card suggestions - 1) a tiny thing acting important (make it look monumental), 2) an ordinary object having a dramatic moment, 3) A shot that identifies the place you're shooting without any reference to the place anywhere in the photo (street signs, billboards, etc), 4) A contradiction (something that feels amusingly or strangely wrong). It also recommends constraining to 36 shots. I'll report back on how it goes.

Scott Peterson on

Seattle is a beautiful city. I was there several years ago for business but didn't have time to get out with my camera. A missed opportuntiy on my part!

Scott Peterson on

@Sarbajit Chakraborty cards sound interesting. What is their name?

Sarbajit Chakraborty on

@Scott Peterson It is this: https://us.laurenceking.com/products/the-street-photography-challenge

Sarbajit Chakraborty on

I have had this problem in the past. The place that I keep going back is Pike Place Market. A couple of months ago, I went there, and I came back disappointed with the feeling of "I have taken a picture of everything there is to take a picture of".

What changed that feeling were a few things:

1. I went back through my photos, and I realized that I was very focused on specific parts of the market, and almost exclusively on the flower vendors. When I went back after that, I promised myself that I won't click a single picture of the flower vendors, and that challenge definitely made me look at things from a new perspective.

2. I challenged myself to look at the same things from different angles (like the Public Market sign from further away, or closer by, or with the crowd in front, etc.)

3. Using different lenses, specifically primes (I always carry a zoom just in case). This forced me to look at the same space from different perspectives, and using the environment differently.

4. Going there at different times of the day - Mid-day, early-morning, late-evening, night, etc. Different activities happening at different times of the day. Different light-and-shadow as well.

5. Don't go to the parts of the market where I have already taken pictures, and go somewhere where I don't have many pictures.

6. Lastly, I love the idea of a project (even though I personally have no patience for it). @Lucien L'Hermite was talking about a project around folks from his neighborhood - an idea like this I always think is amazing.


I also decided to go to the ferry terminals and the beaches nearby for sunset (cause they are west facing) and forcing myself to stop looking at people, and look more at nature (basically change my photography wheelhouse).

I will also say that living in a big city like Seattle it does open up a lot more opportunity, so maybe I am not the right person to provide my perspective or complain about being bored.

Scott Peterson on

My wife is probably glad I'm not into bird photography Andrew, those lenses are pricey!

The next time you do your "what is that!" shout can you video it 😂

Andrew Bailey on

I live near a rich delta, but I don't really have the lenses for birding and my father burned the boat before he died, like a really bad Viking. So, existing in the uniformly green hinterlands, where seasons mostly live on calendars, it's easy to become filled with ennui, like a bad pastry.

I break it by traveling, but otherwise, I take objects and find new homes for them in the wilds of my acreage. A bowling pin with a lovely blue bottom might end up in the garden. Or, I walk around Mobile looking for shadows and light to draw my eye and try to remember to find a different perspective for it.

Worst comes to worst, set your camera for zone focus, walk in an area with a sufficient, if familiar crowd, then point at the distant air above everyone and cry out, "My God, what IS that?!" Then fire a burst before you run away. And, possibly, move.

Dennis Corrick on

I struggle with this. I live in Florida, which has some amazing wildlife photography opportunities. But for several months a year, it's so hot that those opportunities can be gone by coffee time, and not back until Happy Hour. Luckily, I'm an early bird, but to get to a great spot often requires a DAMNED early bird! Outside my typical nature photography, my trick is like @Nisah Cheatham's above; taking a lens I haven't used in a while and forcing myself to do something out of my comfort zone. Now in retirement, I'm doing some traveling, and that has me seeing new things and makes me rethink some habits. This week was a cemetery dating back to the Revolutionary War.

Scott Peterson on

@Dennis Corrick It's a toss up Dennis. Living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula we don't worry about it being to hot, but come winter shooting in below zero weather brings on an entirely different set of challenges. LOL

Dennis Corrick on

@Scott Peterson My Florida daughter who'd never seen snow ended up working outdoors on a ranch in N Michigan for several years. Going to visit her in February definitely took me out of my comfort zone in several ways!

Nisah Cheatham on

The funny thing is the buzz of a big city can also feel uninspiring. I've taken so many shots of the bridges and buildings and boats along the Chicago River. 🤷 My main 1st step in getting inspired is to introduce a constraint, like only carry one lens that I haven't used in a while. Next I will look at my running list of project and pick just pick one. Finally, I will set out with a destination outside of my little bubble with the idea of getting specific shot. 99% of my Chicago shots I reach by walking there. So when I'm not inspired I put on my best walking shoes and cover 10k or so. I will eventually see something different or be out at a different time of day. Each of these shots are about 5k away from my main urban photo spots.

Scott Peterson on

@Nisah Cheatham It's kind of funny how we both seem to have what the other wants. Up in the Upper Peninsula I'm loaded with beautiful waterfalls, lighhouses, rivers and of course Lake Michigan which you also enjoy. But I enjoy going to the city with my camera because it's so different from what I see day after day.

Great captures by the way Nisah!

Scott

Nisah Cheatham on

@Scott Peterson We should create a rural/urban home swap network!

I always say that I shoot whatever is around, but "all that's around is Chicago". On visits to my mom's in Montana, I loved the chance to get different shots.

Scott Peterson on

@Nisah Cheatham if you ever head up this way let me know. I'm two hours north of Green Bay.

Dennis Corrick on

@Nisah Cheatham I'll add mine to the swap network. We have a camp by the St. Johns River in N Central Florida. So much of the area, water and land, is in state or federal preservation that it's a great place to get close to wildlife.

Erin Hayes on

I live in Alaska. I know im lucky, and I love how beautiful it is up here. My favorite go to is a random roadtrip. We load up as a family, pick a direction at random(north or south, lol...there's no other way to get out of the city😅) and drive until I get the urge to pull over. This one was the result of one of those urges...the weather wasnt cooperating for full color, which was what id hoped for, but I think the B&W expresses the mood better😅

Scott Peterson on

@Erin Hayes Same here Erin. I'll hop in my truck and drive the back country roads until I see something interesting. Fuel costs aren't helping but I still enjoy it!

Scott Peterson on

California is beautiful Ralph, my wife and I visited Yosemite and San Francisco this past June. I could spend a month shooting at those locations and not run out of ideas!

Ralph Berrett on

I live in Central California, the main income is AG.
I like to take a walk about. Just go roam around and take photos without a goal. Sometimes I will do studio shots and plan out my shots. Maybe I will do model shots, and half the fun is planning them out. Sometimes I update my portfolio with product shots, for example.