how i use music to inspire my photography

i am often asked what things inspire my photography.  how do i come up with ideas for my photos?  most of the time, it is just pure determination to portray ordinary and everyday things in a beautiful and simplistic way.  but to be honest, music has been known to play a huge roll in my photography inspiration.  there are times when i hear a song and think, “how can i portray those lyrics through a photograph?”  and sometimes it is vice versa.  sometimes i take a photograph and think, “this photograph really reminds me of a song that i love.”  either way, music definitely inspires my photography.

to me, music has not only been an inspiration for my photography, but also for my life.  i am a lover of country music because it tells the truest of stories.  and i feel the same way about photography.  i believe that photographs tell the truest of stories too.  so photography and music seem to go hand in hand for me.  i find them both to be therapuetic.  i tend to turn to my camera as a way to express myself and i turn to music to help me get through life, whether life is handing me a happy or a difficult time.  not to mention, music has had me dancing in my desk chair during endless editing marathons.

to read more about what things inspires me, be sure you check out my post “tips to inspire your photography when you’re in a rut.”

it’s those songs with powerful lyrics that really inspire me.  the songs that make me strongly feel one way or another, whether they are feelings of excitement or feelings of sadness.  i love that music can really spark my emotions, whether i am trying to keep up with iggy azalea as she sings, “fancy,” or i am tearing up to luke bryan’s “drink a beer,” because i too had just lost someone in my life.  it makes me feel that, if a song can bring out such emotions in my heart, i want my photography to do the same.  this is why i am always doodling song lyrics in my daybook!

today i am sharing just a few of the countless photos i have taken that were originally inspired by a song.  below you will first find the lyrics that inspired my creativity, followed by the photograph that resulted from the inspiration.  be sure you share what inspires you in the comments section!

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i’m what i am and i’m what i’m not.  i’m sure happy with what i’ve got.  i live to love and laugh a lot.  and that’s all i need.  – “never wanted nothin’ more” by kenny chesney

i thank God for my life.  and for the stars and stripes.  may freedom forever fly, let it ring.  salute the ones who died, the ones that give their lives, so we don’t have to sacrifice all the things we love.  – “chicken fried” by zac brown band

i’m holding your hand and we’re on the boardwalk.  there’s heaven right here on these streets and these docks.  – “beat this summer” by brad paisley

you get your hands in it.  plant your roots in it.  dusty headlights, dance with your boots in it.  you write her name on it.  spin your tires on it.  build your corn field whiskey bonfires on it.  you bet your life on it.  makes you wanna built a ten percent down, white picket fence house on this dirt.  – “dirt” by florida georgia line

i’m so fancy, you already know.  – “fancy” by iggy azalea

the broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight.  maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time.  – “broken” by lifehouse

oh how the good ones go too soon, but the good Lord knows the reason why, i guess.  sometimes the greater plan is kinda hard to understand.  right now it don’t make sense.  i can’t make it all make sense.  so i’m gonna sit right here on the edge of this pier, watch the sunset disappear and drink a beer.    -“drink a beer” by luke bryan

let your heart, sweet heart, be your compass when you’re lost and you should follow it wherever it may go.  when it’s all said and done, you can walk instead of run.  but know matter what you’ll never be alone.  never be alone.  – “compass” by lady antebellum

what inspires your photography?  be sure to share your inspiration in the comments section below, i would love to hear about it!  to read more about the things that inspire my everyday photography, click on over to an article i wrote for click it up a notch called, “5 tips for photographing your everyday.“

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