Photo Walk | 10/04/20
Hopefully the first of many.
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Inspiration
Hopefully the first of many.
One thing I find myself struggling with is actually getting the photos from my camera to somewhere where others can see them. It’s probably more that I just never find or make time to actually make it happen.
I also find myself a little disappointed when I have time to go out and take photos and it’s raining or really cloudy and just dull out. I know plenty of photographers really like the less extreme example of this as you get soft light and shadows. Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan. Maybe someday I’ll find a way to appreciate it, and maybe even a place in my work. But I’m more concerned with when it’s flat out raining outside and going out would just not be a good idea.
The rain is calling me to stay inside, and that’s the perfect opportunity to actually work on getting some photos uploaded, edited, shared, or even printed. This might seem really obvious, but if you don’t have an end goal in mind, a structured workflow, and a time limit dedicated to each particular part of the process, it’s just not going to happen.
So why not take advantage of this opportunity. An added bonus can also be that going through your images will likely inspire you and motivate you to want to shoot more and get your work out into the world.
A rainy day provides a great opportunity to actually go through your photos and get them ready to be shared with the world.
My suggestions to best utilize this time:
Set a single end goal to focus on (prints, Instagram posts, photo book, stock photo submissions, website gallery, etc.)
Set time limit (30 minute increments or less)
Edit towards goal (screen vs print, resolution, details at output scale, organizing images by criteria, sequencing images)
Set workflow (uploading to your computer, organizing files, rating/flagging, filtering, editing, exporting, file storage)
Uploading/Sharing/Posting/Submitting (already established by end goal, but don’t forget to actually do it!)
By the way, you can also take advantage of evenings or really any other free time you’re stuck inside or lacking motivation to go out and take photos to work on editing through your photos and accomplishing your end goal.
Related Posts:
Inspire Yourself
Make Time For Photography
Photo Challenges Project
Sometimes the best source of inspiration is your own photos. I would recommend looking back at photos you took in the past, even if it was years and years ago.
The fun part is when you realize what your actually like to take photos of. Look through your Instagram feed, maybe filter through some photos or collections in Lightroom or whatever software you use. You might even find inspiration looking at your own website or anywhere else you have previously shared your work.
Looking at my own past photos definitely makes me want to go wander the streets of Brooklyn, or anywhere really, for hours on end with no real purpose other than to photograph things that I find interesting.
In a different perspective on how you can inspire yourself, you might also want to think about your other interests beyond photography. These could serve as a potential subject worth exploring photographically. This can definitely give you a different perspective and appreciation than you might have previously had.
I know that my the images I’ve shared here are from many years ago at this point, but they make me want to go out and take more photos. They also are memories to me as well. As a photographer, or a creator of really any kind, let your own past work be a source of inspiration.
Related Posts:
Make Time For Photography
Photo Challenges Project
Use Shot Lists
Just wanted to share a little tool I’ve got over here that you can use for inspiration. The general idea is to click to generate a word or phrase from a list I’ve set up and use that as a point of inspiration to get out and take photos. You can definitely do more than one together and use them as limitations. They are open to interpretation for sure, but if you only have a little bit of time to actually take photos they might be helpful to give you something to focus on. If you have any other ideas to add in, please let me know. I am also looking to create other tools for inspiration as well. Try not to just keep clicking and just go with one and have fun!
Click here: Photo Challenges
One cool thing that you can do on Instagram is to follow hashtags, which can be great for a variety of reasons. The main reason I use it is for inspiration, I have gone through different photographers posts and looked at their hashtags and gone from there many times. I want to see what other people are creating on that theme basically. Once you click on it there are typically others recommended below that might be worth checking out as well.
Another type of hashtag to follow would be a branded one, maybe it’s the actual brand name or a catchphrase type hashtag. If you have a particular brand of camera or accessories like a bag, that can be a fun way to see what others are doing and hopefully be inspired by that. This branded hashtag could also be one you personally use for your work or business, that’s something you probably want to keep an eye on and maybe you will get some really cool user-generated content worth sharing and reposting.
Looking at other hashtags that are often included along with the one you are following can give you insights into how people might categorize the type of work on a niche level. You can also see what hashtags actually get content reposted to specific profiles, which can be a great way to expand the reach of your profile. This might require some extra work and looking at the associated profile to see if any of the top or even recent posts under that hashtag have actually been shared on the profile that is requesting the use of the hashtag. This can also point out which hashtags are relatively worthless in these regards if they’re just flooded by the thousands and the content is all over the place.
I definitely am not a master at utilizing hashtags for my own work, but I think they can be a great tool in a different way than we might typically think of them when you start following them. I think it can be really rewarding to see what others share and discover new creators and perspectives that you might easily miss if you just stick with following individual profiles. They are also fun to look through and get a feel for what a particular hashtag might represent to the masses.
Give it a try, share what you discover.