How I Find Inspiration When I’m Not Feeling Creative
We’ve all been there, those days when inspiration is nowhere to be found. It doesn’t matter if the sun is shining or the sky is grey and gloomy, the creative spark just isn’t there. So what do you do? Stay home? Leave your camera behind?
Over time, I’ve found a few methods that help me reconnect with my creativity, even when I’m not feeling inspired.
1. Start with a Quick Location Scan
Before I leave home, I often open Google Maps and ask myself a few questions:
Do I feel like heading into the city, out to the archipelago, or toward the countryside?
Do I want to be near water — a lake, river, or the sea?
What’s the weather like?
Will I need to prepare a lot?
If the answer to that last question is yes, chances are I won’t go at all. Simplicity is key. The whole process (from decision to packing) needs to take no more than 15 minutes. If I’m still undecided after that, I move on to the next step.
2. Turn to My Creative Heroes
When I’m stuck, I’ll often watch a few minutes of videos by some of my favorite photographers on YouTube. Just a couple of minutes, enough to spark a feeling or remind me of why I love photography, but not so much that I end up sitting at home all day.
Sometimes I scroll through a few inspiring Instagram accounts. Seeing others’ work the way they see the world often reconnects me with what I want to express in my own way.
3. Go Monochrome
If nothing else works, or if I’m already out and still not feeling it, I’ll switch my camera to black and white mode. This changes the way I see my surroundings. No colors, just light, shadow, and form. Everything is simplified. I stop thinking about “what to shoot” and start noticing lines, shapes, and contrast. It’s a way of quieting the mind and easing back into seeing.
After a few frames and a bit of walking, something usually catches my attention, and that’s when the spark returns.
There are countless ways to find inspiration. These are just a few that have helped me when I’ve questioned why I even picked up a camera in the first place.
If any part of this resonates with you, feel free to borrow these methods, or better yet, use them as a jumping-off point to find your own way back to inspiration.
Pun intended. 😊