Inspiration By Donna

How do I find inspiration?

As a photographer, I don’t have the luxury to wait until an inspiration hits me. I always seek out ways to inspire myself so that my work doesn’t go cold. Although most of the time my default is browsing through the computer to find the next inspiration, I know that this is not always the best way to do it.

One of the best ways to learn is in person and through experience, and that is very much the case for me. Inspiration often hits us the most from the things that very real and tangible, things that we can touch and feel, smell and hear with our senses.

If you want to tap into your creative self, try going out there and feel the world instead of just sitting on your butt waiting for inspiration to come.

In case you’re interested, here are some of ways I spark creativity from within:

icon-check  The People Around Us: To observe human behaviour my favourite spot is the subway. I have had the most interesting and fulfilling interactions with strangers on the subway. This is the spot that if you take time to take off your earphones, stop scrolling through your phone and just take the moment to observe people closely, you’ll be able to come up with different storylines for any creative project you have. I like the subway because no one can really escape anyone, so you just have to face one another. Some people shut themselves off from you, but the few times you get someone to open up, it can be priceless!

icon-check  Mother Nature: Nature offers so much for inspiration, from the countless colors to the texture of things, it is just a plethora of different possibilities that we can mimic for our graphic layouts, logos, wardrobes, you just name it! One thing that nature inspires me is the realization of how small I am in this world. So, through my perusal of nature i understand that i need to try more just make a meaningful contribution to live my own mark in this world. We all have big tasks ahead of us and we should use our gifts to make them happen.

icon-check  Unchartered territories: There is no better way of knowing your limits than by trying something that you’ve always feared doing or feel hesitant about trying. I don’t like staying in my comfort zone lest I become numbed down, and a great way to wake myself up is by re-energizing all my senses with different external stimulants and near impossible experiences.

Each month in the coming year, I promise myself to experience that which I have never felt or done before, so if you want to join me, you’re welcome! You can call this my Bucket List for the year. So how will this inspire me? Well the more you face your fears, the more you’ll inspire yourself. Seems like a weird analogy, but we need to have something that we can turn to say – ‘You can do it, you did it before and it didn’t kill you”.

Mundane things that inspire me

A Trip to home depot – love to see all the things I don’t know how to use. If I don’t know how to use it, then maybe I can invent ways of using it. I particularly like the roofing section.

Fabric Shop – there’s so many things to touch and see through. Basically when I’m there, I’m on a shoot mode. What can I buy there for my next photo shoot.

Great architecture inspires me. I love to see how people think and what they build in their minds and it comes into fruition. I think that if I think the way they do, I will be able to create great masterpieces too!

I hope in your own way, you will consciously look at your surroundings as inspiration, your new experiences can be your teacher and people around you as your source of new wisdom.

I’m curious to see where you get your inspirations as marketers, graphic designers and business owners. Follow me on social media and let’s keep the inspiration flowing.