N
obodylikesacopycat,
but arthasneverexistedin
a vacuumeither.all artists
will be ableto pointto where
theirinspirationcamefrom
and that’sjustas truefor
photographers.Unlessyouaregifted
withthemostexceptionaleye,it is
unlikelythatyouwillcometo the
medium‘fullyformed’.
Findyourownheroes
Whetheryou’rejuststartingoutin
photography,or you’relookingto take
yourworkto thenextlevel,finding
inspirationin theworkof othersis
absolutelyjustified.and, if youare
hopingto developa styleall of your
own,imitating,or findingstimulation
in, thestyleof otherscanreallyspeed
the processup.
Withtheinternetprovidingan almost
li mitlessarchiveof workfrombothiconic
and contemporaryphotographersof
everygenre,thereis nolack
ofsourcematerialto
provideyouwithsome
inspiration.indeed,
a solidgroundingin
the visualhistory
ofphotographyis a wonderfulthing
regardlessof theaim.
Havingsettledon a genrein stepone
ofthisprogram,engagein someresearch
withinthatarena,lookingatsomeof the
fo undingfathersof theartas wellas
the famousnamesandmoreup-to-date
exponents.theideais to immerse
yourselfcompletelyin theworkof the
artistsyoumostadmire.
Usethetechnology
as partof thisprocess,try
toemulatesomeof the
shotsby chosenheroes.
this may seemlike
pl agiarism,butas we
mentionedearlier,notwo
photographerswillever
ta kethesamepicture,and
the processof attemptingto
recreatesomeoneelse’swork
will actuallygiveyoua greater
insightintoyourownstyle.
analysewhereyourimagevaries
fr omtheonesyouaretryingto copy
- thisis whereyourstyleliesandit is
thesedifferencesthatyoushouldlook
search for
New iNspir atio
38 practicalpHotograpHy
AboveKeeptrackof theimagesthatyouareusingforinspirationby creatinga dedicated
Pi nterestboardof them.Everytimeyouseesomethingthatinspiresyou,grabit!
tip
keepoN
shootiNg
Thebestwayto developyour
own styleis to putin the
work, bothin hoursand
th e numberof pictures
yo u take.
step#2
Immerse
yourself In the
work of artIsts
you admIre
Te
Tiana
V
iTsenko
