If you’re stuck for new ideas about what to photograph, or if you’d just like to give yourself a push to take more photos, why don’t you try documenting something?
Photo documentation, photo essay, whatever you want to call it, it’s a great way to motivate yourself to shoot and observe, and you’ll rack up a good series of photos that you might be able to use for a portfolio.
Without further adieu, here are some ideas to get the inspiration ball rolling:
People.
Friends, family, strangers. Try documenting them. Maybe just document one person who you see every day. Or document all of your loved ones, your family or ♥friends. Or people on the street. Or ♥♥yourself! The options are endless: close-ups, fashion, behavior, lifestyle, etc, etc, etc.
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Places and things.
Choose a site, and photograph it every day. Or maybe at different times of day. For example, your local beach in the morning, noon and night. Shoot different doorways, letterboxes, window frames. Pick a room in your house, and photograph all the different objects in it from day to day. Take photos of the contents of your fridge every day. The world is your oyster.
Particular subjects.
Plants, shoes, dogs, pegs. Decide on a subject that interests you, then go out and photograph it in all its forms and types. Do you have an obsession with sunglasses, or umbrellas, or spoons? It can be anything!
Feeling inspired? You ain’t seen nothing yet! Check out these documentary photo endeavors below, and let the creative juices flow!
whirschi on flickr documents a variety of things for assignments.
markos george on flickr documents people.
ari on flickr documents lots of things, this is his set of stencil and street art.
days with my father is a beautiful documentation of an elderly man in his final days.
Enjoy!
TTFN,
Your resident art student, Em.
