Inspiration can strike at the weirdest times. Keep that in mind. If you want to take pictures but you don’t know what to shoot or have the urge to shoot something you don’t normally photograph, do it anyway! It may not be “insta-worthy” but it’ll help you hone your skills and maybe help you find a new niche that you’re passionate about!
For example, I don’t post product photography photos on my Instagram, but because of some photos that I took and some research that I did, I have found a real passion for product photography. These photos don’t necessarily fit in among the nature photos that I take normally, but they do belong on the website for the creator of these products (Dailey Woodworking). If the name seems eerily familiar that’s because it is my dad’s business.
When I first got my camera some of the first things that I shot were a prototype for a possible Christmas ornament, a flat lay of my desk, and an assortment of my items strewn on a quilt. I’ve since realized that I like staging photos like those along with taking photos of nature around me.
You may be wondering where I draw inspiration for my photos from. It’s hard to describe. Sometimes it’s out of necessity (like needing product photos for Instagram) but usually when I shoot nature, it’s either that I see something around my house that looks beautiful and I want to take a photo to capture the moment or that I’m on an adventure and find something photogenic.
How should you figure out where to take photos near where you are?
There’s a few tips that I have for this:
First, ask someone that knows the place well. I spent some time at home and my dad took me on a couple drives around the area showing me all of the amazing places that he knew of and I was able to get some incredible photos that otherwise I may not have known to stop at.
Another option, is to do a little research ahead of time.
If you’re the adventurous type and you like to hike, you can go on local hiking/trail websites or find hiking trail Instagram pages in the area. Check out what might be in your ability range, and near where you’re going to be.
Another of my favorite options is to find photography or adventure-based Instagram accounts near where you are or where you’re going to be.
Once you’ve found places you want to go, save them to the maps app of your choice so that when it’s time to adventure you can pick one and go rather than having to research on the spot.
Sometimes inspiration to take a photo strikes randomly. I saw birds outside my window and wandered in and near the woods for 30 minutes to an hour trying to get a good shot of them. There were plenty of not so good photos in the mix, but I learned a lot about shooting things in motion and flight in the process. If none of the photos had turned out well, I would’ve likely been disappointed, but I also would’ve learned what didn’t work for the next time. I think I’ve photographed birds a total of 3 times, and I’d like to believe that I’m getting better each time. Or more confident at least.
More product photos I took for Dailey Woodworking!
It’s not cliché to photograph something that other people have shot before. Just make it unique to you. If there’s a typical vantage point that most people shoot from, take that photo for your own personal gain, but maybe try branching out a little. Shoot in an unconventional spot, or maybe get a little risky if you think it might result in a good picture! It’s worth a shot.
Disclaimer: I’m not advocating for risking your life or anything for the photo. I just want to encourage you to try new things. Don’t just take the same picture from the same vantage point and call it a day. Your photo that’s the result of trying something new might fail, but it also might be a huge success. You won’t know if you don’t at least take the picture!
I could make a huge emphasis on the HUGE, folder or binder of pictures that I’ve taken that are duds and won’t result in ever being posted anywhere, unless as an example for what not to do. But those helped me to get better just as much as the well framed beauties that I try to post!
Another idea for shooting when you think you don’t live anywhere exciting is to go out with an open mind. Walk around with your camera and shoot what catches your eye. Maybe it’s not what you’re used to photographing or not what you think you like to shoot. But try it out! Maybe you’ll never take another photo like it, but it might become something that you get very passionate about shooting! There’s no way to know unless you just do it and figure it out for yourself!
Don’t be afraid to “take too many pictures.” There’s no such thing in my opinion. Now, please try not to annoy the non-photographers that might be adventuring with you. But it’s okay to take a lot of different pictures with different settings, or at slightly different vantage points. Especially when you’re just starting out. Eventually you’ll get a handle on the best settings and framing to use for what you want, but you can’t get there without some trial and error first. I’m not ashamed to say that some days, if I spent the day at someplace I was really passionate to photograph (like Acadia) I could take close to 1,000 photos in just that day.
Also can we talk about how badly I want to go back to Acadia??
I’m glad that I didn’t stop myself, because I don’t have any way of knowing if the pictures that I love from that day are the first pictures I took or the fiftieth at that location. It’s all a learning process. You won’t become a big and famous photographer getting paid by major companies or with global recognition without first going through the awkward and quirky phase of having little idea what you’re doing and driving mostly on passion.
Maybe it’s rainy and you don’t want to take your camera outside because it isn’t waterproof but you really want to take pictures?
Try playing with lighting inside, cloudy days make great soft boxes for the light! Try your hand at flatlays or product type shots with items around the room! Anything goes even if you never show those photos to anyone and they live deep in your hard drive somewhere. You took photos and you had a good time learning and trying! Right? And even if you didn’t have a great time, or you got frustrated, it was probably still worth it. It showed you that maybe that type of photography just isn’t you’re thing, and that’s okay too!
I hope this has given you some inspiration for your future photography endeavors! If there’s anything you’d like to know along the lines of photography, whether that’s nature or product photography or anything in between, let me know in the comments!
Check out more of my photography at @becca.dailey on Instagram!