Chasing inspiration

Inspiration can be a hard thing to come by. It seems to only come in heavy waves or not at all. As a creative person, there’s a high demand for a constant, steady and prosperous stream of inspiration — but that doesn’t always work out. There can be a lot of pressure in today’s creative pool to constantly share content that’s original and of high standards. With the rising pressures of constant content creation, the natural process of being inspired can seem like a myth. There are many ways you can integrate inspiration into your everyday life.

Find inspiration in magazines

Subscribe to different magazines that align with your preferred aesthetic. A wildlife photographer would subscribe to National Geographic instead of Teen Vogue. The simple act of flipping through a couple pages of a magazine can help bring up ideas. Whether it’s color, composition or layout that sparks an interest, it’s a starting point. Subscribing to a monthly magazine subscription also ensures a constant flow of material to look through.

Surround yourself with inspiring imagery

Creating moodboards is an excellent way to organize a theme that you like. This can help sort through ideas and develop them even more. Organizing images this way allows for pattern identification and allow a concept for a photoshoot can arise.

Revisit old work

Looking back on previous work with a new perspective is a good opportunity for refinement and improvement. Concepts that may have not been executed properly in the past now have a second chance. Spending more time on the development of old ideas can help to spark new ideas as well.

Carry a small notebook around to jot down ideas

It can be very easy to convince yourself to write down a creative idea later rather than sooner. Committing to writing down ideas as they come creates a bank of inspiration that can be easily sourced when needed. Sometimes creative people experience a wave of inspiration but don’t harness it. Having an easy way to document ideas saves a lot of time in the future.

It’s normal to have anxiety when efforts of inspiration fail. It may seem like constant mass production is the new normal in creative work. Being patient, open-minded and willing to actively seek out inspiration can make the creative process less intimidating.