How to Stay Inspired: 8 Stunning Resources

Personal Brand Photography Inspirations: Bella Kotak

Inspiration is the driving force behind every great piece of art. It’s the spark that drives creativity, and the execution of a vision. Most artists seek out a variety of different inspirations and influences to stay inspired.

Photography is informed by other art forms

 When it comes to photography in general and lifestyle photography specifically, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for finding inspiration – everyone is moved by different things, and what inspires one person can have little effect on another. Still - trying new things is the best way to discover your own inspiration, which in turn will help you to create some amazing images in a style uniquely yours.

For me the most constant sources of photography inspiration are paintings and the work of other photographers I admire. 

Now during the pandemic we don’t get the chance to see portrait photography exhibitions in person as much but last winter’s highlight for me was this show in Seattle:

Stand out Seattle Photography Show

Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail The Dark Lioness

The Seattle Art Museum showed more than 80 self-portraits, celebrated visual activist Zanele Muholi (South African, b. 1972). They use their body as a canvas to confront the deeply personal politics of race and representation in the visual archive. In Somnyama Ngonyama, which translates from isiZulu to ‘Hail The Dark Lioness’, Muholi playfully employs the conventions of classical painting, fashion photography, and the familiar tropes of ethnographic imagery to rearticulate contemporary identity politics.

Major Museums Photography collections

Even with museums still mostly closed round here, there are lots of opportunities to explore online for creative portrait photography inspirations.

I love studying the old masters –so much can be learned from their work about the use of light to maximize beauty and impact in portraits. A good place to start is The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.  They have reopened their exhibitions - if you happen to be in the region - if not: all the paintings are online: Dutch masterpieces  of the seventeenth century—the Golden Age of Rembrandt, Hals, and Vermeer .

For an overview of contemporary photography try The Getty Museum . They have assembled the finest and most comprehensive corpus of photographs on the West Coast including many contemporary acquisitions.

The Smithonian’s   American Art Museum’s collection, ranges from early daguerreotypes to contemporary digital works. Many of the classical masters you know can be studies her – from Ansel Adams to Diane Arbus.

Lifestyle Photography inspiration

And then there is constantly new interesting work to discover on photography websites. I find a huge treasure trove of portrait and even some branding and business lifestyle photography inspirations at sites like Pinterest, Behance, Flickr.com and 500px.com .
Photographers directories like Local Photographers or Photography Directory can be helpful for connecting with local photographers to be inspired by and maybe even find collaboration partners.

Dreamy women photographers

To discover contemporary female photographer’s work I love the artist features on Smugmug - like the amazing fantasy fashion inspired work of Bella Kotak which is shown on the top of this bog, self-portrait landscape photographer Lizzy Gadd or Kristina Makeeva who reimagines the sprawling wilds of Siberia as dreamscapes where anything feels possible.
For an inspiring look at genre-bending work of Black photographers check out “Just pictures” over at PetaPixel .

So much beautiful work to study! But after lots of learning from other artists, in the end my recommendation is to do your own thing, go out, shoot and see where inspiration hits!

To learn more about the benefits of branding photography to your business go HERE. Or contact me with any questions:

I’m Oriana von Specht, a published personal branding photographer and brand strategist. I love working with small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Seattle area, helping them to push past their fears of being seen, and teaching them how to create the photos and brands they imagine. My mission is to give you an online image makeover that boosts your confidence—and your sales! 

Contact me at oriana@purplesquidphotography.com to make your vision a reality!