Photography Inspiration, Part I

I've recently stumbled upon the photopreneur blog, and they had an excellent piece about inspiration for photography. The 60-item list is certainly comprehensive, and I am going to make six posts providing my own take.

Here are the first ten things you can do to experiment with photography.

1. Play with Photoshop
Without a doubt, Photoshop is the industry standard for photographers. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, there is always the possibility of bringing out the best in your photos with some help in Photoshop. One of my favourite Photoshop features is the "lens correction" feature, whereby I can straighten buildings (i.e. so that they aren't falling away from the viewer) which have been distorted when shot via a wide-angle lens (such as the Canon 17-40 f/4L). Also pretty awesome are dodge and burn tools, which allow the user to selectively lighten or darken portions of an image, respectively.

2. Read the Manual
Reading the manual is probably the first thing you should do when you get your first camera. So many people ask me the most basic features of their camera, such as what "Av" or "Tv" stands for; with just a little bit of effort (maybe thirty minutes), one can learn the basics of their camera by reading the manual. Don't know how to set the timer on your camera to take pictures? Well, that's covered in the manual. Also, another thing which people struggle with (especially those with point-and-shoot cameras set on auto mode) is how to disable flash. Again, reading the manual will clear things up!

3. Watch a Movie
I love movies. They can certainly give you some excellent ideas of places/locations to shoot, for example. Sometimes, you may be inspired by a movie and try to capture a similar shot. Other times, however, you take a shot and realize later that your shot is similar to a scene from a movie. This realization was a recent occurrence for me as I was looking through my archives and posted an image on my photoblog that resembles the introductory scene of Gladiator:

4. Read a Newspaper
Reading the newspaper (usually on the web but certainly a paper version a couple of times a week) is something I do on a regular basis. The Los Angeles Times has some excellent editorial images in their Calendar and Guide sections. One of my favourite destinations for photojournalism is the "Today's Pictures" section on slate.com. They have something new everyday, and it usually relates to some kind of theme. For instance, the theme for November 30, 2007 is "International Day for Abolition of Slavery." The theme for October 12, 2007 was The Mexico City Olympics in 1968. What I like about the pictures posted on slate is that they are always dated and usually have a brief caption describing the image.

5. Visit a Flea Market
It has been a while since I've been to a flea market, but I have been to outdoor markets in Russia and other places around the world. They have a lot of neat objects which you can photograph (I'd ask for permission first, but if you're shooting with a long lens, then you can probably get away with it)! While I was in Riga, I came upon an outdoor flower stand and captured this image I posted on my photoblog. When going to a flea market or some kind other outdoor market, my suggestion would be to bring a macro lens so that you can take some shots of details. And of course, if you're lucky, you may end up with a nice souvenir or a gift.

6. Shop at a Farmer’s Market
Farmer's Markets are pretty awesome. If they are indoors, make sure you bring a fast lens and shoot at large enough ISO to prevent motion blur. And as the photopreneur blog states, "At a farmer’s market, you know you can find colors, spheres, people, and displays. And dinner too."

7. Check out Some Wedding Photojournalism
Photopreneur suggests checking out the images on display at the Wedding Photojournalist Association’s website. Another idea would be to just type "wedding photography" on google and see what kind of results you get. Wedding photography is certainly a major business for photographers, and there are thousands upon thousands of photographers who have their own website where you may find inspiration, be it in terms of lighting, posing, or whatever else.

8. Hit the Water
I've never actually shot anything in the water because waterproof housing is really expensive for an SLR camera. For instance, the waterproof housing device for a digital Rebel will set you back about $1,150. If you own the Canon 5D camera, the waterproof device for the 5D will set you back more than the price of the camera; a solid system costs about $2,600, or about $500 dollars more than the 5D itself! That said, if you really want to try underwater photography, your best (i.e. affordable) bet would be to stick with a small point-and-shoot; in that case, the waterproof housing systems cost between $100 to $400, certainly much more affordable than the systems for digital SLR cameras.

9. Hit the Streets
Street photography is one of my passions. It's a lot of fun just walking around town (whether close to home or abroad) and photographing the sights around you. To see examples of some the shots I've taken while out about on the town, check out these images: "scenic tour"; "observations"; "a pause"; "street mistakes"; and "taking off." To see more images, just look through the archives on my photoblog.

10. Join a Demonstration
I can envision how demonstrations would be a great place to shoot as they offer a combination of banners, signs, and lots of colours. If you bring a long lens, you can focus on a particular individual's expression during a tense moment. Or bring the wide angle lens to showcase the sense of scale of the demonstration. I like that "the only cause you have to support is photography."

Stay tuned for Part II!