Chinese Temple rooftop, Lugang, Taiwan
For creatives, a lack of ideas is very often a seeming disaster, subjectively speaking. Creative blockages, becoming stuck in a rut and simply treading old ground will often be signs of an absence of inspiration and ideas. If you think about it though, a lack of ideas is rarely the real problem. In fact, an overabundance of ideas is probably more common. For every idea you have that comes to fruition, how many have you put into practice only to quit half way through, or at least backburnered for so long that you’ve effectively quit? How many have you simply forgotten about? Having ideas is not the problem but seeing them through to the end often is. So what causes this death of ideas and what can you, as a photographer, do about it?
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Obviously, some of the ideas you have are simply not practical. Demands of time, family, friends, work and financial responsibility mean that for most people, your idea of spending six months floating on a raft down the Amazon photographing indigenous tribes are simply not possible to complete. These kind of ideas cannot be accomplished but not all ideas die for these reasons. For those that don’t, can you think of any approaches that you can take that will make them less likely to die?
One very useful trick you can use is to carry a small notepad and pen with you. An iPad or smart phone works too, but to my mind, writing is still a more natural and easier way of taking notes. Write your ideas down as they come up. It only takes a few minutes (or seconds) to jot down the basics. Then, at the end of the week or some other scheduled time, take out the notes and look over the ideas. Cross out the ones that are simply not realistic and see what you have left. Do some brainstorming and see how it is that you can make them happen. At first glance, all the ideas may seem to be impossible but are they really? Did Spencer Tunick think it would be impossible to get hundreds (thousands) of naked people to pose in public, or did he just go about making it happen?
Social media has probably caused the six degrees of separation concept to shrink closer to three or four degrees. Maybe even less. Use that to your advantage. If your photo idea calls for a Rolls Royce as a prop, crowdsource it. Just because you don’t have one doesn’t mean that someone in your social network doesn’t have access to one. Put out the call. Break down you ideas into smaller, more manageable parts, ask around and you’ll often find the ways and means to make them happen.
Taking ideas form birth to fruition is the work of a creative. What are you waiting for?
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