I got my new camera and new lenses. Now I don’t know what to shoot photos of?
-Sincerely,
Puzzled
Dear Puzzled,
I think to answer this question, you really have to ask yourself a couple questions.
What Inspires You?
What do you gravitate towards? There are general categories of photography: Food, Fine Art, Portraits, Lifestyle, Editorial, Landscape, Commercial, Fashion etc. Each of these has its unique challenges and rewards. Get a few magazines from these different categories- as you flip through the pages, what gets you excited?
Think in Series
I work well in “projects”, I thrive on a “to do” list. ( In fact, without my to-do list I get absolutely nothing done.) When I’m feeling less than inspired and want to shoot something, I come up with a project. This is what lead to the Clive Coffee shoot- playing around with one of their Duetto espresso machine to see what I could come up with. I wanted to create a series of images with a certain caption: Two Italian Ladies
Your series may be a collection of images all geared towards one idea:
- movement
- decay
- light/dark
- freckles
- puddles
- smiles- and their different kinds
- ethnicities within the city
- street style fashion for spring
- architecture of Portland
- bridges
- things you love in Macro (super close shots of everyday favorites)
The possibilities are endless. Come up with an idea and start shooting!
