How to stay inspired when everything's been done?
That is a question I asked myself many years ago as I was getting started in photography. Back then, I was pouring over the mountain of great work, original ideas and then-current work in magazines. As a student I was in awe of what the pros were producing. I was fortunate to study under [Jose Picayo] [1], who by then already had a remarkable career in fashion photography. His opinion was to merely look at fashion shoots in magazines and try to copy exactly those shoots. Copycat? No, not really; as a student I learned that just by trying to copy those images I got inspired, and went off on my own tangent. The logistics of producing a photo shoot and the actual choices that present themselves by just doing it, offered, as I soon found out, infinite ways to be unique. Little by little, I built up my own repertoire of taste and aesthetics. Many times I saw work that inspired me and then when it came to taking pictures of certain subjects, some of those images stayed in my mind, but new possibilities presented themselves by just doing it.
Over the years I have worked for, with, and now mentored some amazing photographers and I have seen this incredible path again and again. Just doing it does absolute wonders. The images are almost always new! How is it possible to surpass the current work now? Just do it - to borrow from Nike's tagline. That, and loud music! Christian Oth [1]: http://www.josepicayo.com/