Is playing a part of your process?

Play. I talk about this quite often. That doesn’t mean I listen to my own advice though.

I don’t know about you but I could use a little (more like a LOT) of creative inspiration lately.

A reminder to play

This Ted Talk with Dr. Russya Conner might be just what we all need to hear.

Play with no rules. Creativity needs to be practiced and fed.

Putting it into practice

There are many ways to incorporate play into our daily lives. That includes our photography.

Take this fun little exercise I’ve been doing for the last couple of weeks. Every day I find shadows in and around my house, snap a phone photo and post up to my Instagram stories. Just to engage my creative brain.

Here are a few more of those #EverydayShadows images.

.mgl-tiles { display: none; } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5df77 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5df77 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } @media screen and (max-width: 768px) { #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5df77 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5df77 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } } @media screen and (max-width: 460px) { #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5df77 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5df77 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } }

Play and experimentation go hand in hand

Throw out the rules and technical settings that you’re so focused on. Put your camera on Auto. Allow your brain to create, think about other things besides if you’ve got the right shutter speed, etc. This will help kickstart the creativity, I promise.

What type of experimentation? Well, how about multiple exposures and intentional camera movement for starters? These two techniques can be so much fun. Just let go and see what happens.

Here’s what happened when I did it using only my Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens.

.mgl-tiles { display: none; } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5f8b2 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5f8b2 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } @media screen and (max-width: 768px) { #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5f8b2 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5f8b2 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } } @media screen and (max-width: 460px) { #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5f8b2 { margin: -5px; width: calc(100% + 10px); } #mgl-gallery-636fa5bb5f8b2 .mgl-box { padding: 5px; } }

No pressure

Remember, when you’re doing these types of exercises — when you are playing — there is no perfection. These are not portfolio pieces. Do not worry about the outcome, just click away. Try different subjects. Look for different colors and shapes.

Your turn

What are you doing this week to incorporate some fun into your creative practices? I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment and let me know how you’re creating this week.

Better yet, share some of the results of the fun you’ve had in the Photofocus Community.