What You should be Taking Pictures Of

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

duetto coffee machine clive coffeeduetto coffee machine clive coffee duetto coffee machine clive coffee

Your series may be a collection of images all geared towards one idea:

  1. movement
  2. decay
  3. light/dark
  4. freckles
  5. puddles
  6. smiles- and their different kinds
  7. ethnicities within the city
  8. street style fashion for spring
  9. architecture of Portland
  10. bridges
  11. things you love in Macro (super close shots of everyday favorites)

The possibilities are endless. Come up with an idea and start shooting!