Creativity. Vision. Inspiration. How do you feed yours?
Why is it that in a profession / hobby / craft that is based on the fundamentals mentioned above, it seems that so many people seem to be missing the point. It is more about the size of your lens, how many megapixels you have or trying to get a better image than the next person that get some people excited about photography.
Photography, however it is approached, is an art and that means that there needs to be at least some sort of creative process involved. Surely there must be a reason as to why you would take your camera out and actually aim it at something?
Whether you are snapping away purely to remember a certain moment or you are on assignment shooting a fancy hotel your images will suffer if you are not inspired. I am not talking fall onto your knees and start speaking in tongues inspired, just inspired by something - whether it is the moment you want to remember, the process of photography or your subject. Anything.
Being obsessed about the technical aspects of photograhy is not going to lead to better images. Yes, yes it is important to understand the details of how the camera works but that is purely a means to an end. You are ultimately responsible for creating the image. You need to have the vision to see the image. Your camera cannot be creative. It’s all you.
Now if you are like most photographers you will find yourself shooting a lot of the same type of subjects whether wildlife, interiors or weddings. On the one side this is great as you start understanding your subject more but on the flip side it is very easy to become complacent and produce images that lack vision. Lack inspiration. You start shooting the same images, and type of images, over and over again. Nothing new. Nothing unique.
There are a quite a few ways to find new inspiration such as books, workshops and various blogs in the internet but I reckon one of the easiest ways in which to refresh your creativity is to start shooting more. Whether you shoot more of the same subject but try different approaches or you shoot a completely new subject - just shoot more! Forget about the technical stuff - just shoot more. Look around you and see what catches your eye - just shoot more. Get the idea?
Look at wildlife photography for example. The reality of it is that you cannot control your subject. Their movement, placement and general behaviour is normally the opposite of what you have in mind. This is where you should start shooting more but with a different approach.
The image above is the folds of skin around a white rhino’s front leg. Not the kind of rhino image you normally see but at least it is different from the thousands of tommy-tourist type rhino images. One mistake that a lot of people make is to shoot a few frames and then that’s it. Apart from having the privilege of seeing such an amazing animal in it’s natural environment use the time. Photography is like anything, the more you practise the better you will become.
The image on the left is another example of trying something different. Normally we try and make the animal the focal point of all our images. Sometimes it is worth looking past the obvious. While we were sitting watching the zebra drinking from a very dry dam, the blue seemed to pop out and bang - there is your image. The image was then selectively desaturated in order to keep the viewer’s focus on the water but the zebra is still an integral part of the image. If you take some time to really look at the scene you will start seeing more approaches to a scene. Different but effective.
There is so much more to wildlife photography than the standard lions on a kill or elephant spraying water. Don’t get me wrong, these moments are truly amazing to watch and offers amazing photogaphic moments but there is so much more!
Now even if you normally only shoot wildlife you should shoot more of everything else as well. When you start looking at the non-wildlife world you will find a whole new series of challenges to deal with. This will not only make you think photography basics again but it will also give you a whole new set of tools with which to return to your wildlife photography.
You do not have to go on an official shoot to get more photographic practise. There are moments all around you. All you need to do is aim your camera at it. You will be surprised at how one thing leads to the next and before you now it you will be completely immersed in your photography. Self created inspiration?
If you feel that you have no idea where to start, whether in wildlife or other types of photography - imitate. Yes I said it, imitate. Look at a image of a photographer whose work you admire and try and get something similar. Not only are you setting yourself a high standard to aim for but the process of reverse engineering an image will teach you a huge amount. Once you then start using all these new creative tricks you will start looking at things differently. Have you followed a creative process? Absolutely. Have you been inspired? Perhaps.
One of the very easy ways to get inspiration and bucket loads of creativity is on the internet. By reading some of the fantastic blogs out there you will not only see some truly amazing images but you will find out how the photographer went through the whole process. From the initial idea, the entire creative process and where they draw their inspiration from. To easy.
I am going to steal a line from David duChemin’s latest blog post where he speaks about Chase Jarvis’ view on the creative process.
“You create and share it, then you do whatever you have to to sustain that create and share cycle.”
Very true words. Share. What is the point of emmersing yourself in the wonderful world of photography, whatever you are capturing, if you do not share it with anybody. How will you get feedback? How will you know you are growing as a photographer? How will you get that wonderful feeling of having someone enjoy your work?
Whatever your reason is for creating images you cannot deny the importance of creativity and inspiration. You need to find it. Embrace it. Nurture it. It is the driving force behind your own photography and what will ultimately lead you to become better at what you do - whatever you are shooting!
I have a couple of blogs that I read on a daily basis which has been great in keeping the inspiration up. Will share some of these during next week.
As always I look forward to hearing from you.
Until next time.
Gerry
Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 5:56 
