If you think finding inspiration for complete strangers is hard, try thinking of something new to do with your kids! It would be easy if we went somewhere new every day (or even every week) like the zoo or theme parks but let’s fact it – most of our lives are spent in our town. Same old park, same old beach, same old playground. Here are some photos taken in the same location and my inspiration to go there with my camera AGAIN when my brain is telling me “been there, done that”.

We live one street from the beach. Pretty cool when we first moved here but there’s only so much you can do at the beach.

1. Typical – Naturally when you first meet a location, you’ll take the typical photos of enjoying that spot. This is a pretty typical beach shot from when we first started going there, but you can only take so many before it all starts feeling like deja vu!

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2. Props – After I’d gotten sick of the typical beachy photos, I started making sure to bring props with me when we went down there. First it started with props that had something to do with the location but then I started getting sick of that, too!

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3. Abstract – So after #3 got old, I started taking props that had nothing to do with the location along on our outings. In this instance, I just said ‘sit down’ and handed him a pile of old cameras to explore and it worked a treat! Kept him happy for a long time, too!

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4. Surroundings – There’s so much more to the beach then the water. When your location starts feeling hopelessly blah, look for little spots surrounding your location to photograph. This wall faces the sea. If your usual spot is a park, how about areas just outside the park? Is there a tractor in the parking lot? A rugged looking fence? Keep your eyes out for things you’ve gotten so used to that you never considered them to be good locations.

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5. Feelings – Finally, start playing with your old shots again and see if you can give them a different feel from your first time around. Or better yet, take those old, boring same-old-same-old shots and edit them with a totally new feel. Exe: the beach doesn’t have to be soft, dreamy and ethereal. On this one, I went for dark and edgy.

We’d love to see what you can come up with after reading our posts. Did you know that you can post photos in the comments? So go out, try what you’ve read and come back and show us!

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