8 Places Where Photographers Can Find Inspiration Online

Running out of inspiration happens to every photographer. These online platforms, tools, and media can help you rekindle your creativity.

As photographers, we all go through those amazing spells where everything we touch—or point our camera at—turns to gold. But on the flip side, we’ve all experienced those dour periods where we struggle for inspiration and worry that we’ve lost our magic touch.

Sometimes, your best source of inspiration is consuming content that motivates you to get up and go. Thanks to the internet, you’ll find several places to do that. This article outlines eight places you can reignite your creative spark.

1. YouTube

YouTube has grown into a superb resource for photographers, and you’ll find several inspiring channels to help you start taking pictures again. The platform has creators within almost every photography niche you can think of, and their content varies from tutorials to vlogs and everything in between.

You can use one of several methods to seek photography inspiration from YouTube. If you haven’t upgraded your skills for a while, for example, look for how-to content for a new style of picture-taking or to assist the post-production process.

Even if you can’t travel long-distance, you might find that photography vlogs inspire you to pick up your equipment and visit somewhere new in your local area. As an alternative, why not try setting up a YouTube channel of your own? Besides being an enjoyable hobby, you could inspire others later down the line.

2. Pinterest

Hundreds of millions of people use Pinterest monthly, and seeking inspiration from others is one of the platforms’ main draws. You’ll find content for several niches on Pinterest; the articles and videos you click through to are often as inspiring as the visuals you see on boards and pins themselves.

Pinterest is a good place to look for photography-specific inspiration, such as how-to articles from fellow creators. If you’re traveling somewhere soon, you can also use the tool to find pictures that others have taken—while simultaneously researching quirky cafés and restaurants.

You don’t need to pay to create a Pinterest account. If you’ve got a creative business, you might want to consider using the platform as an additional source of traffic to your website.

3. Behance

Adobe created Behance specifically for creators; as you can guess, it’s an excellent place to find inspiration if you’re a photographer.

Behance has some pretty comprehensive tools for finding ideas as a photographer. You can narrow the search options to focus specifically on photos, which is handy considering that graphic designers and other creatives also use the platform.

When using Behance, you can also look for content created with specific Adobe tools—such as Lightroom. Click on the Discover tab and select Lightroom.

You can use Behance for free if you’ve got an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. If you want to inspire others, you can use the tool to create a website or portfolio of your own.

4. Instagram

You might find Instagram a toxic place that makes you feel miserable if you misuse the platform. But you can make your experience positive, and while the network focuses more on video content than before, you’ll still find plenty of inspiration for your photography if you know where to look.

To find photography inspiration on Instagram, you should strive to only follow accounts that inspire and motivate you. Before adding new users to your feed, go through your current following list and unfollow any accounts that make your experience on the platform worse. If you’re not interested in unnecessary drama, muting stories and posts are also options.

Once you’ve overhauled your current list, look for creators you admire elsewhere. If you like what they post on Instagram, hit that follow button. You should also consider searching for accounts that inspire you rather than scrolling on your home feed and using the Explore page, as both can easily distract you.

5. Flickr

Flickr might not have the same level of clout as was once the case, but the platform is still a powerful tool for photographers. You can find millions of groups on Flickr, in addition to a vast pool of photos.

If you don’t have an account, you can still use Flickr to search for images that might inspire you. The engine lets you find numerous photos without needing to log in, along with accounts and groups—though you’ll need to create an account to follow or join.

You can create a Flickr account and use the platform for free. If you want to get more out of Flickr, you can upgrade to PRO for $8.25 per month (monthly plan) or $71.99 per year (annual subscription). Both subscriptions’ prices exclude tax.

6. Twitter

If you were active in the photography space in 2021, you’d have noticed that many photographers spent more time on Twitter—either as an addition to Instagram or to replace their accounts. You should consider joining them because Twitter is an excellent place to find inspiration for your creative pursuits.

Twitter is very photo-friendly, and you can upload higher-resolution images without needing to worry as much about compression (though file size limits might constrain you). You can also connect with your favorite creators and find new talented photographers to build rapport with.

Try to use your Twitter account for photography purposes only. The platform can get pretty toxic, especially with politics. If you want to avoid falling down a rabbit hole of negative news and arguments, consider hiding your trending topics.

7. 500px

500px is arguably the best place for you to seek inspiration. Unlike Behance, it focuses solely on photography; more than 15 million photographers use the platform.

On 500px, you can find pictures and creators that’ll inspire you without creating an account. You can use the Discover dropdown menu to see new uploads, in addition to images that the editor has chosen to give exposure to. You can also see images that other users find popular.

If you sign up for a 500px account, you can become a more active community member and find inspiration without trying as hard. Beyond the free tier, you can buy an Awesome subscription for $6.49 per month or Pro for $12.99 (monthly subscription). Annual plans drop the monthly fees to $4.99 and $9.99 per month, respectively.

8. Podcasts

So far, the platforms we’ve mentioned in this article focus primarily on visual content. Sometimes, stepping away from pictures altogether can give you new berths of creative inspiration; podcasts might help you reignite that spark you feel like you’re missing.

Regardless of whether you use Spotify or Apple Music, you’ll find hundreds of podcasts to help you become a better photographer and improve your creativity. As a starting point, look for shows that you like in the following categories:

• Photography
• Creative entrepreneurship
• Interviews with inspiring people

Reignite Your Creativity

Photography is one of the most rewarding hobbies or careers, but we can sometimes run short on inspiration as creators. Fortunately, you’ll find plenty of places to rekindle your flame online; our article has only touched the surface.

If you feel like you’re still not inspired after trying the solutions in this guide, try stepping away for a while. You’ll come back refreshed and ready to produce fantastic work once more.

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