Maybe it's the inner artist in me that I never knew was there, but I always have this inclination when I see people with a camera to ask them, "What's your inspiration?". For most of us the easy and most likely answer is, "Insert child's name here". And that's fair, we are after all, Momtographers. But I would like to suggest that you interpret that inspiration and vision in a much more pleasing way if you spend some time drawing inspiration from other sources of beauty and interest. I think we ALL have an inner artist and once we start connecting with the things around us, it becomes clearer and clearer who that person is. Here are a few tips that can help you on your way. CHEERS!

1. Surround yourself with beauty- It is so important to be surrounded by things that you see as beautiful. From colors to music, to shapes and textures. Take notice of the things around you that make you smile (other then your kids!). Does the color orange automatically fill you with a sense of joy? Does the feel of satin make you smile? Does the sound of a saxophone make you tap your foot? You would be surprised by how different things look to you when you start filling your time and space with things that you find beautiful.

2. Do something you wouldn't normally do- Whether that means you wake up two hours early to watch the sunrise or stay up past midnight and listen to the sounds you can only hear when the rest of the world is asleep. Or when was the last time you went to an art opening, or a play? Have you been to a concert lately? Have you looked into the architectural history of your local town? The world is vast and full of things just waiting to inspire us, but we have to put ourselves in a place where we are actively pursuing that inspiration.

 

3. Discover the arts in ways you may not have before- This points expands on the last one, in that I am challenging you to experience things in an unfamiliar way. Are you someone who loves going to art exhibits, but has never been to a ballet? Go. Or vice versa.

4. Do a project- This can be photography related or not. But give yourself a chance to create something. It is supremely empowering to go through the creative process from beginning to end and

have something tangible to show for it. You learn a lot about who you are by putting yourself in a position where you are in charge of creating.

 

5. Set a goal- There is nothing new in this advice. But it is so sound that it's worth repeating. Right this moment I challenge you to go get a pen and paper and write down (3) short term goals that you can attain in the next 1-3 months. Don't type it, don't say it, WRITE IT DOWN, then just for kicks take a picture of it (since this is after all a photography driven board) and post it here. Let's hold each other accountable for being better, because we all have the capacity to be great with a little nudge here and there.

Here are few places that I go to look for visual inspiration:

Outside (sorry no link to this one)

I never could have "seen" this moment if I didn't spend time doing these things myself. There are three elements that jumped out at me when I grabbed my camera, the microphone in the distance she was sitting on her daddy's pile of records and of course playing dress up in her mommy's shoes, it all told a story and I was able to process that very quickly, and I am not sure that a year or two ago I would have been able to! :)

Last modified on Saturday, 30 January 2010 16:03
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Krista Njapa

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5 comments

  • Comment Link Sandy Friday, 22 January 2010 05:07 posted by Sandy

    I am going to go out and do #2 this weekend... not sure what I will do differently, but it will be something! Last weekend it was really foggy and my husband and I went to the park to play with snow and take pics! It was random, but soo fun!!

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  • Comment Link Krista Njapa Friday, 22 January 2010 13:43 posted by Krista Njapa

    That's awesome Sandy! It doesn't all have to be in one big chunk, little by little is great! Have fun! I hope to see pictures!

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  • Comment Link zekeSmommy Friday, 22 January 2010 19:35 posted by zekeSmommy

    I LOVE this photo. Props to you!

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  • Comment Link Vanessa Segars Sunday, 24 January 2010 23:18 posted by Vanessa Segars

    Ahhhh. Thanks for the soul food. :)

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  • Comment Link VANGTamra28 Thursday, 01 April 2010 23:28 posted by VANGTamra28

    I opine that to get the loan from banks you must have a good reason. However, once I've received a consolidation loan, just because I wanted to buy a car.

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