While starting a business, moving, and dealing with all the things in life, how is one supposed to stay inspired to make beautiful photos? Some of you shoot portraits all day long, and maybe you are experiencing photography burnout. Or maybe photography just can’t seem to find a place among your busy life. How are you supposed to stay inspired to make images?

The best piece of advice I have come across is to do it for the pure fun of it. Leave behind the expectations, and just enjoy what those eyeballs are trying to show you. Treat it as camera meditation. No need to worry about this image showing up in publications, on prints, or even seeing a future on the web. A good way to spark inspiration is to grab your camera and just go for a walk.

The Camera Walk

In my experience the beginning of your photo walk will be like trying to sketch on a blank piece of paper. Nothing jumps out and inspires you. Maybe you feel a little anxiety walking around town with a camera in tow. What you really need is some creative warm up. Just start pushing the shutter button. It doesn’t matter if they are masterpieces, just get some images under you belt. That is when the magic starts to happen. Once interesting images start to appear before you, let the creativity flow. Don’t worry too much about exposures, lens choice, blab la bla. In fact, I would argue that you should only bring one lens on these walks. The more choices you give yourself, the less creativity will be allowed to flow. Start to explore your space. It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of a small town, large city, or out in a desolate countryside. Train yourself to see the things most people walk right past each day. Not only will your photography improve, but your outlook on life might just improve as well.

Need fresh ideas?

One thing that has helped me stay inspired is to explore other areas of creativity. Don’t just explore great photographers when you are trying to come up with new ideas. I always look at graphic design, studio arts, interior design, architecture, landscape design, culinary arts, etc. Basically anything that is visually awesome is worth a look.

Stay Creative my Friends!