Welcome to Time Out with Tanya, where I’ve put my fast paced graphic design career on hold in favor of adventures in motherhood. I’m capturing every moment on camera and you can come along, if you’d like. Sign up for my weekly email here so you’ll never miss a Time Out.

Ok, my friends, how many of you are in a creative rut? I must admit, I feel creatively stuck these days. Unless I’m getting paid for a job, I rarely pick up my camera, not even to photograph my kids! And that’s sad, because since I was 12-years-old, photography has been a source of joy, exploration and creative expression for me. Somehow the fun has gone out of photography over the last year or so and I’m determined to get it back.

I love my job writing here at SLR Lounge and I want to keep inspiring you all to get out there and create. So, I made a list of 100 ways to be a more creative photographer and I’m going to do them all! Who wants to join me? I’ll be writing about my experiments here and also posting to Instagram using the hashtag #100ways2B. Follow along and let me know what you think. Here’s my list…

1. Read a Book (or 5)

2. Take a Class

3. Join a Workshop

4. Download a Tutorial

5. Get a Mentor

6. Be a Mentor

7. Teach a Workshop

8. Create a Tutorial

9. Teach a Class

10. Write a Book

11. Try a new technique

12. Try a new medium

13. Try a new lens

14. Try a new camera body

15. Try a new background

16. Get out of your comfort zone

17. Try a change of scenery

18. Take a photo walk

19. Take a walk without your camera

20. Meet someone new

21. Join a photo club

22. Join a facebook group

23. Enter a photography contest

24. Judge a photography contest

25. Ask for a critique

26. Play “pretend” with a child

27. Keep a dream journal

28. Brainstorm alone

29. Brainstorm with a friend

30. Take a drive

31. Start a personal project

32. Volunteer

33. Travel to a new place

34. Travel to an old place

35. People watch at a cafe

36. Go to the craft store

37. Go to the hardware store

38. Go to the book store

39. Go to the mall

40. Go to an antique store

41. Hire a model

42. Ask strangers to be your impromptu models

43. Photograph your parents (before it’s too late)

44. Photograph your grandparents (if it’s not too late)

45. Photograph your children in an intentional way

46. Look for shapes

47. Look for colors

48. Look for lines

49. Look for textures

50. Look for reflections

51. Study the light

52. Study the shadows

53. Study the midtones

54. Shoot in black and white

55. Shoot with film

56. Frame your subject 100 ways

57. Go to an art museum

58. Visit a local gallery

59. Have a showing of your work

60. Recreate famous images

61. Capture motion

62. Ask your subject for ideas

63. Shoot what you love

64. Shoot something new

65. Play dress up

66. Try a new lighting setup

67. Play with fire

68. Shoot by candle light

69. Shoot in the city

70. Shoot in the country

71. Shoot from above

72. Shoot from below

73. Make a video

74. Study design

75. Study architecture

76. Study fine art

77. Collaborate with other creatives

78. Collaborate with left-brainers

79. Study the human form

80. Shoot something that makes you feel uncomfortable

81. Shoot in bad weather

82. Add animals to your photos

83. Keep the camera at your eye

84. Shoot the same subject from 10 different angles

85. Shoot a surreal concept

86. Study popular culture

87. Study history

88. Try a new editing technique

89. Create a composite

90 Try multimedia collage

91. Get your hands dirty

92. Photo illustrate a story

93. Photo illustrate a concept

94. Shoot a surprise assignment in 15 minutes or less

95. Use paint in a creative way

96. Take 100 creative Instagram photos in one day

97. Have a food fight

98. Shoot in or around water

99. Shoot from a moving vehicle

100. Create your dream photo shoot

I would love to see what you come up with too! Post your photos using the hashtag #100ways2B and I’ll keep an eye on what you’re doing. Maybe we will feature you in a future article. In the meantime, if you want to get a jump start on trying something new, consider experimenting with textures from the SLR Lounge Photoshop Paper Textures Collection. Click here to view more details.