Find Fresh Photography Inspiration in the New Year

Heading into the New Year you might be used to making resolutions about diet and exercise, but it’s also a good time to resolve to find new inspiration for a new year of photography. Perhaps you’ve been feeling stuck with your current portfolio direction or find yourself with too many ideas to focus on, but it’s vital that you keep up with your craft and expand your abilities. To help with that, here are some suggestions to point you down the right path into the New Year.

Peruse popular photography blogs

If you’re not already, start following or, at least, perusing the content of popular photography blogs on the web for new inspiration. Reading through another photographer’s writing and viewing their images exposes you to a new style, techniques and ideas that you can incorporate into your work.

Tap into music

While most people these days seem to have all their music on Mp3 players, if you still have CDs around or are a rare lover of vinyl, look through the album covers for inspiration. As you’re looking through album cover images and inserts (either in print or online) for new photography ideas, listen to those favorite albums to help boost your creativity. Tap into what creates a mental image in your mind, whether it’s the chorus, first verse or a single line and figure out how to represent that in a photograph.

Art exposure

Art can have a powerful influence on your approach to photography so take the time to visit a nearby art show or read an art magazine for inspiration. Fashion magazines can give you inspiration with their unique layouts, and even the advertisements can give you a spark of new insight into photography. When visiting an art show or exhibit, pay close attention to how the colors and composition of certain pieces affect your mood. Try to understand the artist’s perspective in the piece and use it in your next photo shoot.

Go on a photo walk

Photo clubs exist all around, and most of them go out on photo walks or group sessions that can help bring new inspiration to your work. By going on a photo walk, you’re forced to leave the house, interact with fellow photographers and gain fresh ideas for shoots. If joining a club doesn’t appeal, find a fellow photography lover to go out on an adventure with so you can inspire each other with your unique perspectives.

Daily/weekly/monthly photo projects

There are various photography websites including National Geographic that offer weekly, daily or monthly photo project suggestions. By committing to taking one photo a day or one photo a week along a specific theme, you get that extra push to expand your craft. The projects can include things like self-portraits, landscapes, black and white and other themes. When you have to produce a certain image by a deadline, it can help light the fire of your photography inspiration.

Keep your eyes open

This may sound like common sense, but in today’s world, it’s easy to go from one destination to the next without paying attention to your surroundings. As a photographer, it’s part of your job always to look around you and view things from up, down, sideways, close up, far away and everything in between. View everything you see as a photo opportunity and find the beauty in even the simplest objects.

Once you’ve sparked new inspiration in your photography, bring it to life with the amazing options from Baboo Digital including Giclee, fine art and metal prints.

Featured image by gigi_nyc