"Be inspired"

Mon, Apr 26, 2010

Perhaps you’ve been told that to find success you just need to “be inspired.” But perhaps like many people, myself included, you feel true inspiration seems at times elusive. For a long time the glib comment of “be inspired and shoot for yourself” haunted me. As a photographer I am constantly trying to create great work that makes me feel as giddy as a school girl when I shoot it. But there was always the nagging question of how can I be inspired? Where do I find inspiration? And how do I apply it to my work? One of the things that really put it all into perspective for me was an Almost Alone Workshop with Australian photographer David A Williams. David introduced me to the work of a lot of great fashion photographers including Norman Parkinson. My business is mostly wedding photography, so being inspired by fashion photographers from the 1950s was a wonderful opportunity to see and do something different. Think outside your specific field of expertise for inspiration and explore things like music, movies and fashion. You can find inspiration by browsing through art books at your local library or bookstore and browsing images at Google.com. Google is your friend. Just type in an artists name in Google and you’ll get numerous related images to view. I really enjoy Norman Parkinson’s work. A new book on his work, Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour has become my latest source of inspiration. (In the coming posts I’ll talk about more sources of inspiration.) To follow through on my inspiration I did that one thing that every photographer should do. I went out and practiced. I planned a shoot with a friend that included her pulling out all her vintage clothes. It became my most recent little personal project. Personal projects are very important to artists for many reasons. For me, they develop my creative vision, allow for artistic freedom and hone my skills. And most importantly, they keep me inspired to look for something new and different in all the work that comes through my studio. Stephanie Zettl Stephanie Zettl is one of the top St. Louis wedding photographers and owner of Zettl Photography. She thinks that large hats are spiffy and pearls never go out of style. Stephanie Zettl & Chuck Arlund will be teaching a workshop together June 7 &8 in St. Louis, MO. For more information on how you can walk away from a workshop feeling like you were both inspired and mastered the technical application, please visit the Zettl Photography Blog.