From all over the place. If I see an image, situation, prop or pose that I really like and if it’s possible I take an image and store it on my dropbox. I also keep ideas in mind when browsing the internet.

I use a few apps on my iPod that help me save images to my dropbox. Like Pocket and Evernote but the most useful app I’ve found is IFTTT. With IFTTT i can create recipies that automatically gather items that I’ve marked as interesting and save it to my dropbox.

So when an event or photoshoot comes up I delve into the pile of images on my dropbox and sort through them based on content. Then I sepend some time browsing like pictures trying to distill the essence of why I like the images.

The hardest images to get inspiration from are the ones where the location plays a lot into why I like the image. Yeah the couple sipping coffee at Parisian coffee shop might look cool but without a lot of effort I’m not going to be able to pull off Paris here in Michigan. What I’ll end up having is couple drinking coffee which could still be cool but if I only liked it because of Paris I’ll be disappointed.

My favorite inspiration are poses, there are only so many ways a human body can contort.  Surprising poses or popular poses used creatively catch my interest.

I don’t have a lot of props (I don’t even have a candle that I can light ;0) but sometimes I see a prop being used that makes me want to get something similar. My candlestick holder is one of those. I saw it being used on a drawing that I really liked (liked enough that I bought the original from the artist) and I had the thought of recreating the image. I haven’t yet recreated the image but it is on my to-do list.

When I have gone through my stack of images what I’m left with are ideas and generalities. From these I build my inspiration.