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Proud pup mom, type A creative, lover of the outdoors, Top Chef fan girl, and wedding and portrait photographer. Welcome to the blog!
HI, I'M RACHEL!
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micro WEDDINGS
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Washington, D.C. Metro Area Photographer
This blog post is for my fellow creatives – people who make a living through creativity, those who enjoy making or designing things because it feeds their soul, or even folks who, for example, want to decorate their house creatively. To do all of these things we need to get inspired. Sometimes those feelings of creativity wash over us in abundance, while at other points, we’re looking for a tiny spark to ignite those flames. Today I’m sharing five easy ways to get inspired when we’re having trouble getting that fire started.
As I said above, sometimes inspiration just comes to us – seemingly from nowhere. Other times we experience or witness some magnificent, life changing / life affirming, wondrous event that spurs us into creative action; inspiration flowing out of us so fast we can barely keep up! As exciting as these two occurrences can be, we can’t sit around & wait for something like that to happen to us. Sometimes we have to be our own sources of inspiration.
I have found that inspiration is all around us & it’s actually easy to get inspired from things that are already in our everyday lives. You don’t have to climb a mountain or visit east Asia or even see Cirque du Soleil (but definitely do that last one anyway! 😉 Take one or all of my suggestions, & you will be a creative force to be reckoned with in no time!
1. Experience Nature
Nature is an easy & obvious way to get inspired to create, so I don’t think that idea is revolutionary, but one of the easiest ways to experience nature on a regular basis is to take your dog (or kid or yourself) for a walk. Whether walking around your neighborhood or choosing parks or pathways you haven’t been to before, notice all of the nature surrounding you as you go. What stage are the trees & flowers in bloom? Count how many shades of green or pink you see. Touch things around you – what textures do you notice? Bonus points if you bring your camera or a sketch pad so you can start creating right on the spot!
Going on a big trip isn’t always in the budget or conducive to your schedule. You can’t count on the trip of a life time to be your main source of inspiration, but you can play tourist in your own area & see your familiar surroundings in a whole new, different light. Start with one of your favorite spots to visit within your surrounding, familiar area. Plan to go outside of your normal walking route. Visit the streets that jut off from the one you usually travel, and notice the architecture of the buildings, the texture of the sidewalks, & look for little oddities. My favorite thing to look out for are fun painted or designed fire hydrants! Next, look at a map of your area & choose a place to visit that you’ve never been before, or have seen in passing & sticks out in your mind. Go there and wander the streets, have lunch, and just be. Soak it all in. Again, bonus points if you bring your camera or sketch pad.
OK this one might sound a little strange, but I gain a lot of creative inspiration from driving! Or even being in the car when someone else is driving. Being in a car gives you the opportunity to see a lot of things quickly, from trees & sky to architecture & pedestrians. My favorite thing to do is notice what is in front of me at a stop light. In my mind’s eye, I compose the perfect frame of what I would photograph there. I focus on leading lines, structured shapes, vibrant colors, interesting old buildings, etc. Another fun game is to look at passersby & imagine how you would use them/their style in a shoot, design scheme, or painting – whatever your creative interests are. No bonus points here! We don’t want you taking photos or sketching while driving 😉 But you will have loads of inspiration on your mind the next time you pick up your camera, charcoal, or sit in front of your computer, etc.
4. Browse the Internet
Art is all around us, but it’s nowhere as easily accessible to us as it is on the internet. Look at anything from your favorite photographer’s website, to fine artists’ online displays, to Pinterest! Visiting & browsing websites where you can see images of art, design, and/or others’ creations is a great way to get inspired. One way to translate your web surfing to creativity is to pick an image that really speaks to you & try to create a piece of your own art or design inspired by that piece. This was an assignment during one of my photography classes & it really stretched all of our minds. Finding a way to be inspired by someone else’s work while not copying them is an amazing creative exercise.
A great way to get inspired is to try something new. The excitement of doing something different is enough to get you off your butt & doing your art, but the bonus is your new work will inspire you to keep working, experimenting, & trying new things. Google is a wonderful tool. Think of something you have always wanted to do or learn related to your creative field, google it, & then follow the instructions on how to do it. Trial & error will create some interesting results in & of itself!
HELLO@RACHELEHPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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Rachel is a wedding and portrait photographer
Serving brilliant, elegant couples in Washington D.C. + Beyond
Copyright 2022 Rachel E.H. Photography | Website by Alex Collier Design
she / her
Just going for a walk gets me out of my own head more than anything else. Great suggestions Rachel!
Agreed! Thanks Christine!
Love the tip on playing tourist! That is always my favourite way to find inspiration!
That is definitely one of my favorites! It’s educational as well as inspiring 🙂
[…] by something, and as I’ve mentioned before, two of the most inspiring things to me are nature & travel, & the best time of year for both of those things is SUMMER […]