One thing I, and so many other artists, sometimes struggle with is: how to find inspiration? When you’ve got the urge to create something awesome, but are running dry on ideas, it can be super frustrating! But below I have some tips that should help you build up a well of ideas to keep you going on and on! Present, Past and Future Lot’s of people look toward the past for inspiration. This can be great, as there are so many great photogs who’ve come before us. It’s important to know what’s contemporary as well. Find people who are currently guiding the conversation around photography, and whose work you admire. Follow them closely! Other Mediums Find inspiration in other mediums. 2D art, film, graphic design (personally I love looking at packaging) and consider how these could influence or coincide with photographic elements. Museums Go to museums. This helps with #1 by exposing you to examples of both past and contemporary photographic artists, trends and movements. It also helps with #2 since many museums house works of art spanning many different mediums. Many major museums have a wing or gallery dedicated to photographic art. See the bottom of this post for a list of some museums dedicated specifically to photography. The Outside World Leave your house, and while you’re out there, keep your eyes open and aware. Try to keep your primary camera with you at all times. If that’s your cell phone, great! If it’s your DSLR/Mirrorless, avoid the temptation to leave it behind thinking it’s too cumbersome or that you’re not likely to see something that catches your eye. The key is to be always prepared to get the shot! Magazines Subscribe to magazines. That way you can do some finding inside the house as well! And it’s so easy, they come right to your door! And if you love treats and surprises like I do, coming home and finding the next issue in your mailbox is a nice way to pepper a little joy into your routine. I like to take them straight to my big chair and sit with some sticky tabs and mark the pages that feature photos that inspire me, so I can easily refer back to them later on. Sometimes I even cut the page out and add it to a vision board! Magazine subs are super cheap (here’s a link to some for just $2!) and will expose you to a lot of contemporary commercial work (i.e. what today’s photogs are being paid to do!) I totally believe that there need be no starving artists, so learning how to tap into commercial work and sell your unique artistic vision is a big big plus. Also, a lot of commercial work is very innovative and artistic, don’t write it off! PHOTOGRAPHY MUSEUMS
AFRICA Bensusan Museum and Library of Photography / Johannesburg Maison de la Photographie / Marrakech National Photography Museum / Rabat ASIA Lianzhou Museum of Photography / Lianzhou Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography / Tokyo MAP / Bangalore (coming soon!) EUROPE Foam / Amsterdam Fotografiska / New York, Stockholm, Tallinn Fotomuseum Winterthur / Winterthur Les Douches Gallerie / Paris The Photographers’ Gallery / London Portuguese Center of Photography / Porto Thessaloniki Museum of Photography / Thessaloniki USA New York Fotografiska / New York City, Stockholm, Tallinn International Center of Photography / New York City The George Eastman Museum / Rochester, New York Florida Florida Museum of Photographic Arts / Tampa Southeast Museum of Photography / Daytona Beach California California Museum of Photography / Riverside Museum of Photographic Arts / San Diego Other States Museum of Contemporary Photography / Chicago International Photography Hall of Fame / Oklahoma City Center for Creative Photography / Tucson Griffin Museum of Photography / Winchester, Massachusetts
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