There’s good news for you: whether you are 20 or 60, you have all the chance to become an all-star photographer since the art of photography has nothing to do with age. Be you tall or short, thin or a big guy, with or without a degree in photography, all the doors are open to you and nothing can hold you back as long as you keep yourself inspired along the thorny way of mastering photography.
But first, you should awaken your inspiration, your inner fire, your inner power, your inner hero – whatever you call it. Once you do that, you’ll see the world changing around you and new opportunities popping up here and there. You will propel from apathy to action, crushing all the barriers on the way to success.
However, it’s not that easy to start. In the beginning of your career, you might think that the quality of your shots is so behind the top-notch royalty-free images you can find in photo collections of experienced cameramen, that you would never catch up. But that is so not true: with due effort and inspiration, you will take it to the next level even before you know it. So, without further ado, let’s pass to the best tricks to find inspiration and get a head start in your career in photography.
#1 Take Shots Everywhere, Either with Your Camera or Mobile Phone
How often do you go out shooting – two times a week, three times a week, every day? The correct answer would be ‘I shoot anytime I see something worth capturing.’ Just like world-class athletes working out for hours every day, a future professional photographer should never miss a chance to do a few extra ‘photography push-ups.’ A lot of analogies could be given here, but the gist is pretty clear: immersion. Whether you take shots with a camera or mobile phone is not that important since you should develop a habit in the first place. As science says, on average, it takes up to 254 days for people to form a new habit and 66 days before it becomes automatic. Try to be patient and consistent.
#2 Shoot What You Love, Love What You Shoot
If you are lucky to be in love with something beyond photography, you can achieve a true synergy unavailable to many. Let’s imagine you are running a small confectionery business. If so, you might start with lovely shots of sweets and chocolate to combine your two passions and later, after you master food photography, switch to capturing your staff and indulge in other types of photography available to you as a boss.
#3 Follow Photography Contests
Millions of young athletes adore their idols performing on the world scene; millions of photography amateurs seek inspiration in the best world picture-taking contests. Here’s the shortlist of the upcoming events to watch:
- iPhone Photography Awards.
- International Photography Awards.
- National Geographic Traveler Photography Competition 2020.
- Monochrome Photography Award.
- Nikon Small World.
#4 Complete a Photography Challenge
Challenges are great for developing your skills while having fun. Also, they teach you to cope with difficulties and react fast in unexpected situations. Depending on the photography niche you are trying to master, your next challenge might be creating a photo essay or collage, capturing objects from different perspectives, making self-portraits, or, the funniest of all, shooting strangers in the streets. New experiences stimulate imagination and creativity and broaden your horizons.
#5 Print Your First Photos
As they say, unless you track your progress, setting goals is a waste of time. No matter how crude your first photographs seem to be, print them out as the initial starting point and a future reminder of the progress you’ve made. And if you want to make it exciting and demonstrative, you may pin two photos, the one taken by you and the iconic one to which you aspire, to the wall and track your progress by re-shooting the same photo over and over again according to the milestones you’ve set.
You Can Become Whoever You Want to
Every path is the right path for a novice. The biggest advantage that you have as an aspiring photographer is that there’s no pressure on you – you are resilient, not burdened by anything, and capable of conquering any heights. Be it fashion or portrait photos, nature pictures or photojournalism, or anything else that makes you tick, savor every moment of learning and every new experience. Cling to the style you love, hone your skills to perfection, become a master in the chosen domain, and finally, show your wonderful photos to the world to breathe inspiration in a new generation of endeavoring photographers, who might be searching for their muse the way you’d searched for it back in the day.
