Who inspires you, and why?
Sunday 1 November 2020, 16:08 by Elvira Smit | 5,459 views | 0 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
Everyone stands on the shoulders of others. But whose shoulders are you standing on? Who inspires you, and why? That says something about your own creative preferences.
So it is useful, and fun, to get to work with all those types. Here is a five-step guide to doing that.
Sometimes you see reflected in others what you would like to be or do yourself. They might be your friends or famous people. Or perhaps it is something broader: maybe it is a book, song or building that you get excited about.
I recently took a look at who my gurus are, why they are my gurus, and how that can help me in my creative development.
I did not set any boundaries for this; anyone can go on the inspiration list. Want to get started yourself? Then follow these 5 steps:
1. Write down who and what inspires you
Grab some Post-its and a pen. Write down all the people, films, works of art and, for all I care, one-pan meals that inspire you. Use a separate Post-it for each name or thing. You do not need to think about it yet, just write down whatever comes to mind.
I only wrote down my so-called mentors. A great diversity of names emerged: from writer Simon Carmiggelt to physicist Richard Feynman, who could even explain quantum mechanics clearly, and director Alex van Warmerdam.
2. Name what attracts you to them
Now write a few keywords or sentences on each Post-it that sum up why you find that person, film or whatever inspiring.
For example, this is what I wrote about Richard Feynman:
- Can make boring things funny
- Can explain something difficult in an easy, and fun, way
- Is curious, he also played the bongos, for example, and loved cracking open safes
3. Group them
Right, now you can start moving things around. Who belongs together? Do not let their profession limit you: a writer can easily go together with a photographer, as long as what appeals to you about them is the same. The keywords from step 2 can help with this.
Are all your mentors happily sitting in a little group? Great! Now you can give them a group name. What do they have in common? Try to sum that up in a title.
Here is the result of my grouping exercise:
5. Look at your groups. Look at yourself
Now place your groups around an imaginary dinner table. Which table would you sit down at first, and why?
When I took a good look at that dining room, the first thing I noticed was that there are actually remarkably few photographers there. And perhaps that is right for this point in my life. I spend much more time writing about photography than taking photographs myself.
So I mainly look at the group of four that can make something complicated simple. They are all writers who can also tell a compelling story. And what they do, I want to do too.
That is why I would most like to join them at the table. To learn how to write and talk about photography even better.
About the author
Ik heb een eigen fotografieblog, Kronkeling. Daar schrijf ik om de week twee artikelen. Over hoe je je blik kunt scherpen, je creativiteit kunt aanwakkeren, en over fotografen die mij inspireren. Geen technische zaken, wél over hoe je leert kijken. En dat blijkt nog een hele klus. Een mooi startpunt zijn de Kronkeltips, die vind je hier.
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Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about PhotofactsPhotofacts is made possible in part by
