L L F M D: There is a difference between inspiration and copying.

12. There is a difference between inspiration and copying.

This can be a difficult one, peanut. It is a fine line, but it's an important one to learn because it applies to so many different things. Whether it be art, photography, writing, dance, music or just who you want to be, we create because we are inspired by something. Figure out why you are inspired by something, and then use that to create something all your own. You can utilize someone else's idea, but the result should be something different. Put you into whatever you are doing. Create something instead of recreating it.

Looking for inspiration? Look somewhere other than the genre you will be creating in. When I am looking for photography inspiration, I generally find myself looking to nature or song lyrics or scripture, not to other photographs. Does that mean that I'm not inspired by other photographs? No, of course not. But when I'm inspired by another photograph, I try to figure out what it is about that photograph that draws me in. I try to create that intriguing element, not recreate the actual image.