7 Photography Inspiration Tips

Personal tips:

1. Shoot with RICOH GR II

I’ve literally shot with almost every single camera out there and my personal favorite is RICOH GR II. Why? Small, fits in your front pocket, and it makes phenomenal images (both color or monochrome).

Furthermore the integrated flash is the best! It is quick to turn on/off, which can totally open up a new creative world to you (also the ability to shoot super close macro photos).

And this is a tip: shoot more food photos (flash and macro on RICOH GR II). The photos look so epic (positive film JPEG setting, with contrast and saturation increased to the max).

2. Selfies

You’re the best person to photograph. You don’t refuse yourself. You can shoot yourself anywhere, at any time.

Another tip: ask your friend, partner, or kid to photograph you:

You don’t need to just shoot your face. Shoot your legs, limbs, feet, whatever!

3. Shoot in more “dangerous” neighborhoods

Leave the Rolex, iPhone, and wallet at home and visit the more “dangerous” parts of your town to shoot. Generally these grittier parts of town are far more interesting to shoot! This is why I love the RICOH GR II, if someone robs your $500 camera it isn’t a big deal. And small point and shoot cameras don’t attract attention.

4. Shoot everything

I used to self-censor myself too much in photography. I would not allow myself to shoot certain things which I considered “boring”, “cliché”, or “unethical”. Now I’m super open minded; just shoot it, then figure out what to do with it later.

5. Photograph in fancy/rich/bougie neighborhoods

Embrace also shooting in “fancy” parts of town to photograph a different subset of people. Generally in street photography, we only photograph the poor and working class. We don’t photograph the rich enough.

6. Color!

Just shoot colorful things. Color is a powerful visual stimulus, which will inspire your photo vision!

Experiment with your exposure compensation, increase contrast in your post processing, use a flash, and keep experimenting with your approach!

7. Upload your photos to your own blog

Fuck Instagram; upload your photos to your own blog! Your own blog is more fun, interesting, and you have more control!

Whenever I look at my photos in my WordPress.org “media library” I keep on finding new inspiration!

Conclusion

Last and final tip:

When in doubt, just shoot it!

ERIC