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Lack of Inspiration
As I see it, there are 3 things you must have to make photographs. 1 Light 2 Camera 3 Inspiration Light is there, everyday there is light so that is a given. Camera, I have one, a Sony 828 thingie. If I did not I would borrow one or buy one. I am not that picky about cameras. I got a B in a Photojounalism class with a tough instructor using a weird old Japanese rangefinder camera with a fixed 50 2.8 lens. I bought it at a yard sale for $5 and it took a decent picture. So I have 2 out of 3 and it equals ZERO. I used to have all sorts of ideas but they seem to have gone away. I do have a shoot coming up with a begining model, she will get much better pictures than what she has now. I keep hoping if I go out and shoot that I will have an epiphany and be struck by the meatball (R Crumb fans will know what I mean). I know this happens to everybody at some point. Not whining or even ranting. Lack of inspiration - discuss? Aug 23 06 11:49 pm Link I am the opposite, I got plenty of insp. and ideas, though when it comes to putting it to life - I can't put the pieces together. darn it. Aug 23 06 11:51 pm Link Go out and shoot....keep your eyes open...the world is flying past you....  Aug 23 06 11:52 pm Link Since I started shooting in mid/2004, Iâve never had inspiration, only a camera and some lights. Now I have a better camera and better lights. Aug 23 06 11:53 pm Link craig...im right there with ya...im a photographer (as well as a model), and am soo burnt out its ridiculous. i think if we just keep shooting, and stick it through we'll make it through the valley of the uninspired!  hehe. good luck!Aug 23 06 11:56 pm Link Alright, I might sound stupid and oversimplifying, but life is the inspiration itself. I think once you identify your style and understand who you are and what you like - anything could be an inspiration. As a suggestion, talk about yourself, and see what ppl say - do they have a different opinion about things? if so, you could picture your way of seeing things.... Aug 23 06 11:59 pm Link stop thinking so hard it will only make it worse. just put the camera down and let the world speak to you. i keep a book in my car at all times that i only use to write down ideas as i see locations or things that spark my interest throughout the day. Aug 23 06 11:59 pm Link Photos without inspiration suck. Aug 24 06 12:01 am Link Brian Diaz wrote: BUAGAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA Aug 24 06 12:07 am Link Brittany Leigh wrote: Thanks, I don't feel I'm suffering from anything. I just don't "see" a photo in my head and then try to create it. Aug 24 06 12:09 am Link Brian Diaz wrote: Great Minds Think Alike. Aug 24 06 12:16 am Link Solomage wrote: It's true - always have your camera with you. Inspiration doesn't walk up in a blinding flash of light with trumpets blaring, sometimes it just reaches down, smacks you on the back of the head and runs off. You have to be ready for it at any moment, or hunt it down and find it. Aug 24 06 12:17 am Link No, you don't need inspiration. (Someone quotable said "Inspiration is 99% perspiration.") I highly recommend you read Bayles & Orland's Art & Fear for more information. Go shoot. -Don Aug 24 06 01:06 am Link Seems that way but the world isnt flying anywhere - its all inside you.. Bringing it out, thats the part to work on Aug 24 06 01:09 am Link Aug 24 06 01:13 am Link Michael L. wrote: Ideas are not that hard to come by: Aug 24 06 01:40 am Link Join a group or get together with a couple of photog friends and give each other "themes". Each person takes a turn with a theme/assignment and you have a week to shoot it. At the end of the week, you all get together and "vote". Loser buys drinks/dinner Aug 24 06 05:35 am Link Would like to thank everybody for participating so far. As usual, a variety of opinions and ideas. I've decided to photograph my new condo for my Mom. She's 79 and wanted to come visit this summer to escape the heat in Fresno. Then she cracked her kneecap and had to cancel. So I know she wants to see it. After that, my guitar collection. I am not afraid inspiration will leave forever, it is just taking a break. Aug 24 06 08:57 am Link a photo without inpiration.....is a snapshot....nothing more.......its what seperates artists from the technicians, or worse, pretenders with a camera...which is actually the majority is it ok to snap a pic without inspiration....depends on why you are shooting.....many times you take pics for your work that have preset boundries that you are stuck with.....not much creativity there usually....but even then try to push the limits when you can..... as for getting the spark of inspiration....try visiting an art museum....look at other artists works...wander around your city and imagine what you can do with the canvas that is there...or how you can change into a reality that isnt there.....dream a little and turn your dreams into a bit of reality Aug 24 06 09:08 am Link I feel your pain. Ive been fighting "it" for almost a year now. Not sure whats wrong. Ive even gone back and shot with some of my first ever models to try and find a spark. Shooting now feels like work, and since I do it as a hobby and for enjoyment, thats a bad thing... Aug 24 06 09:17 am Link TENSION, COMPOSITION, and DETAIL the perception of tension within the frame a strong composition with focal points in the image details that draw the eye These are essential elements of my own work. Aug 24 06 09:30 am Link D. Brian Nelson wrote: I don't want to get into this debate, but this is a totally butchered quote that needs to be fixed. Thomas Edison said "Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration." Aug 24 06 09:54 am Link D. Brian Nelson wrote: Oh, and here I thought it was selective desaturation Aug 24 06 10:03 am Link global vision wrote: Amen. Aug 24 06 10:09 am Link Yeah, everyone can burn out or "run out of ideas" after a while (writer's are very familiar with writer's block). Sometimes you can jump start your creativity again by breaking the "rules" of photography that you've learned. Sometimes you can find inspiration in something unexpected (pick a random word out of a dictionary and try to make a themed shoot about it). Sometimes you might need to go to a book like the Photo Idea Index by Jim Krause. Mix up your thought process on how you normally plan out shots, ask a model if they have any "crazy" ideas to shoot. Hell, do anything to try and get those creative juices flowing. Good luck! Aug 24 06 11:28 am Link I'm a people photographer. I don't know much about light, and I don't know much about gear, but I do know about people. They are what interest me. My photography is simple; I don't have big concepts, and as such I might not qualify as being creative. But I see what is compelling in people. I see what makes someone beautiful (no matter what they look like), and I try to loan my vision to those who look at my work. It's that simple for me. The people I photograph are what inspires me. Aug 24 06 11:40 am Link Go to www.dictionary.com Look at their word of the day. Today it's Denzien: denizen \DEN-uh-zuhn\, noun: 1. A dweller; an inhabitant. 2. One that frequents a particular place. 3. [Chiefly British] An alien granted certain rights of citizenship. 4. An animal, plant, etc. that has become naturalized. Go shoot it. -PKD Aug 24 06 01:13 pm Link This us a rut that a lot of creative people find themselves in. I have been a writer, artist, and photographer.... All of these outlets at one time or the other have left me feeling frustrated and bored of my work. That us really what I think the gap in creativity us all about.... A frustration and a boredom with your own ideas. It isn't that you have lost you're creativty... It us simply that other peoples imaginations seem more compelling to you... Than your own. At the time. I have been wildly frustrated over images I have created only to have them become some of the most memorible. When we start to realize that small parts of who we are are present in everything that we create, it begins to breed a change in us... Our uniqueness is what qualifies our work as worth while.... Not how well we feel it represents our voice... Aug 24 06 02:17 pm Link Here's something I used to do with photo students - open the dictionary to a random word - now go make a photo that represents that word. Your word for today is "determined". Now lets see what you can produce. Aug 24 06 02:24 pm Link mad city fine arts wrote: OK, I stand corrected. Nevertheless, inspiration is way overrated. In photo school inspiration was the desire to pass. In commercial photography, the inspiration was the desire to actually have the client pay the invoice. In art photography, it's all about working and making stuff. Aug 24 06 02:30 pm Link What? You want us to tell you how to be creative? This is a skill can be taught. Some people exude creativity. Others have to work at it. Why do you want to take photos at all? Take a vacation...go for a walk...ride a bike....go shopping. Or....you could try Synectics. Google the term. It works, to a point. Aug 24 06 02:34 pm Link Just do what I do. Take your camera and go out very early in the morning and look at everything. I have learned from a guy that has been shooting for 40 years that in the morning when your mind is clear you see things that you would miss later in the day. He also said very late at night when things calm down to go out and look around. I never had such a good time doing this and it works for me. Mike Aug 24 06 02:41 pm Link |
