Friday, March 1, 2013

Finding Inspiration

by Stephanie



Life has been full the past couple of months. My job has become incredibly intense, my husband and I have decided to put our house on the market (we’re just moving a few suburbs over), we’ve had a myriad of out of town trips, and our kids have started their spring sports seasons. In the midst of all of the busyness, I often find it hard to save time for creativity. While I know creativity can sometimes flow freely without much effort, more often than not, it takes work…..work to plan, to think, and to execute. And maybe to execute again and again and again, until it’s just right. And all that work takes time.

So when I don’t have time to plan or execute, I do try to keep thinking. To look for inspiration around me and keep mental notes in my head of all the ideas I want to work on when I have time.  And when my head gets full, I write them down.

I recently received the latest edition of Click magazine. If you haven’t seen this publication yet, you should check it out! Its pages are full of great design, interesting articles, and of course, beautiful photos. After I read all the articles, I go back and look through all the photos again. I take time to study the light, the subjects and the stories that are being told. I think about how I can apply what I see to my photography. Just that simple act of thinking “how can I do that?” often gets my creative juices flowing. I begin planning and pondering, working ideas over in my head. Then I look for little snippets of time when I can begin to execute.

So how do you find inspiration? Where do you find inspiration? And what do you do when you don’t have time to execute your creative ideas? I’d love to hear all about your process!


And don’t forget that today is the first day of a new month and a new theme….”home.” Check it out on our monthly theme tab at the top of the page!




8 comments:

kelly said...

your self-portraits are such an inspiration. and whether or not creativity comes easy, you make it look effortless. beautiful shot!

terriporter said...

Finding inspiration is easier than finding the time, for sure! I have notes all over my creative space with things I want to do if only the time presents itself. Mental notes don't work for me anymore! Love your selfie with the great reflection! And I've been finding inspiration in the new Click magazine too. Now where can I find some time?

Viv@Thoughts from the Desktop said...

Thank goodness for my ipad that is my notebook I used to pride myself on my memory!!!!'

CarolHart said...

Beautiful image and a wonderful post. Life moves at such a swift pace that I agree, sometimes it is a challenge to carve out time for doing our art. But, as you say, the mere act of thinking about it and pondering "how can" or "what if" is a creative endeavor in itself. Thanks for the tip on Click. I am not familiar with that publication...yet!

heyjudephotography said...

I agree, Click has some stunning photos. I do the same as you Stephanie - when I can't actually "do" my craft, I envision, I study, I think about it. I'm glad you wrote that you do the same. I really realize now that it truly is a productive thing and helping us when we are able to "get out there."

Kim Stevens said...

I have to grab the time I can when my kids and hubby aren't here, no TV, etc. I find it hard to concentrate on any ideas with so much going on. So when an idea comes I usually write them down, I can't remember anything anymore. And like many of the others I think about different ways to express how I feel through my photographs. But most of the time when I have it I try to go out and do just whatever happens and that usually get me to thinking about ideas and things to try.

Love the selfie, and wow that table has such good reflection (and no scratches, haha)

Dotti said...

Such a great photo! You have so many things on your plate, Stephanie. Too often life gets in the way of our creativity robbing us of energy as well as time. But creative minds seldom stop, do they?

Deanna said...

I can't imagine going back to raising children, holding down a full-time stressful job, a husband, and now selling your home & moving...girl no wonder you have no time for creativity. But what I see from you is always full of love & beauty. Don't ya just love that cover of CLICK, love the light and focus on the hat.

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