The Best Photography Inspiration to Motivate You

If you know where to look, you can find photography inspiration anywhere in the world; from the people around you to city streets to scenes of nature. As a budding photographer, you can start looking for inspiration everywhere by utilising your “creative eye”.

A photographer’s inspiration is at the centre of their creativity and can motivate them to see things from an alternative point of view and be able to take stunning photographs. If you have found yourself stuck in a creativity rut lately, keep reading to find photography inspiration for you. You’ll be taking awe-inspiring shots in no time.

Find photography inspiration in social media

Exploring the creative photography work of others can inspire you to try new techniques and styles of your own. Luckily, social media makes it easy to explore all sorts of photographers from the comfort of your couch! You can find photography inspiration on Instagram or Pinterest and even group them into collections based on the photography genre of style. These photographs can provide endless inspiration.

That said, it’s also helpful to explore full-size photography exhibitions in person when possible, at least from time to time, in order to observe photography up close. This will allow you to examine inspiring images in detail, in a way that you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

Experiment with a different photography genre

After you’ve been practising photography for a long time, it’s easy to get into the habit of shooting within the same photography genre. Trying something new can push your boundaries and encourage you to embrace your creativity. If you normally take photos of architecture, why not turn your camera to the people on the city streets and experiment with street photography? Or if you’re typically a landscape photographer, why not try shooting cityscapes?

You can also draw photography inspiration from borrowing techniques typically used in one genre and replicating them in another. Get creative and play with a variety of genres. The more experience you have, the more versatile a photographer you will be. Above all, try something that challenges you. It’s when you’re most uncomfortable that growth happens. 

Find photography inspiration in travel

Travel can inspire your photography just as much as photography can inspire you to want to travel. Even though your own local area might be beautiful, having limited time to visit a certain place may be just the motivation you need to get out there and start shooting. You don’t even have to travel far; try travelling just an hour or two out of your city to get inspired.

To learn more about travel photography, read our travel photography blog.

Buy new equipment

If you’re stuck in a photography rut, splashing out on some new equipment or even testing out new photo editing software or apps can help you get inspired and push your ideas out of the box.

For instance, a fish-eye lens can encourage you to have fun, explore new angles and take creative shots you’ve never been able to achieve before. That said, it’s not a good idea to spend a lot of money on new equipment purely for the purposes of reigniting your creativity. If you’re unwilling to fully invest in a fancy new lens, there are a multitude of businesses who will rent photography equipment so you can try before you buy.

Check out 6 of the best photo editing apps to start experimenting.

Learn new techniques

In the same way, new techniques can encourage us to keep our skills sharp and our photography fresh. Again, you could even draw inspiration from others and try to capture similar images to them by replicating similar techniques. Or, challenge yourself to produce an even better image than they have.

You can experiment in the following ways;

• Play with light by shooting at different times of day or by using light diffusers
• Shoot in different environments; inside, outside, on cloudy or sunny days
• Give yourself an assignment. Challenge yourself by giving yourself a challenge for each shoot. It might be to go on a pretend “assignment” focused around a certain theme like “colours” or “passion”
• Try shooting without looking into your viewfinder. This is a technique many street photographers use to take photos without being too noticeable

Experience a new perspective

While it can be inspiring to admire the work of others, keep in mind that observing others’ work should be an inspiration, but just that. Instead of copying the work of others, try to take it as your inspiration to find a new perspective.

You don’t need to travel far and wide to create beautiful shots. Experiment with new angles, close-ups, mid-shots or shots from further away. Or try new angles, from above, below, directly above using a drone, or out of windows. Trying new things will help you find your photography style. You can even make it your goal to photograph familiar subjects in new and interesting ways. 

Be inspired by love

If you can’t get inspired by nature, objects or architecture, get inspired by human connection. Explore the beauty of love by photographing couples, young and old. Love can be found everywhere we look; in lovers, families, siblings and the best of friends.

Search for beauty in unlikely places

The best photographers see the world through many pairs of eyes, exploring and expanding the typical definitions of “beauty”. These days there such a large focus on the typically-accepted definitions in humans. The beauty of the camera lens is that it can help us focus in on the beauty and cut out the extraneous elements of the shot that take away from that beauty. Get inspired by the world around you and think of every subject as a potential subject.

Understand the beauty of a moment

Finally, when photography inspiration doesn’t come to you, you need to seek it for yourself. Grab a camera and head out on the streets. Search for those fleeting moments you see value in capturing, on city streets, in the suburbs or out in nature.

Photography inspiration can help create epic shots you can be proud of. Once you have your favourite shots, transform them into a beautiful photo print. Use your photographs to create a canvas print, metal print or an acrylic print with Canvas Factory today with our easy-to-use order template.