Movies that Inspire My Photography

Everyone gets inspired, that’s a fact. From our everyday choices to our big life decisions. For creative people they need inspiration more than most. We need to constantly be churning the mill wheel to move forwards.

For me, I find inspiration in films. This started when I was about 12-13yrs old, every movie I watched made me want to be the protagonist - very impressionable as you’d imagine with a teenage boy. But it was Hollywood that was applying the pressure, unwittingly.

Copyright Orion Pictures 1986

It Started in the 90’s

Some of the films I remember clearly were A Few Good Men (1992) and Platoon (1986) - both military stories, which had me getting all the info about joining the army. Then there was the X-Files (1993 onwards), though strictly speaking not a movie, but its long-running saga split my mind about being in the army or in the met police.

That was until I saw Twister (1996) and then all I could think about was meteorology - seriously, this is how my teen years went. I lost count of the amount of career changes I had imagined! This was until I figured our what the real influence was…

Copyright 20th Century Fox 1993

Copyright Amblin Ent. 1996

Movies Changed My Life - I Wanted to Create

…It was the movies themselves. It wasn’t the content, it was the art of cinematography that was inspiring me. The visuals, audio, the whole creation of a story was what I was looking for - so that’s how I got here.

After years of college and university education studying film, media and the moving image I was all prepped to hit the film set for real - until I realised, there wasn’t a big enough film industry in the UK (outside of London) in the early 2000’s. So I shifted my skills to the best alternate - photography - the grandfather of cinematography. If you can read an image, you can read a film.

5 Movies that Inspire my Photography

But let’s move up to 2020. What type of films inspire me now? Dramas mostly, true life ones more specifically. Here is a list of powerful films I’d recommend any creative artist to watch. They’re not solely for visually inspiration, but for a re-alignment in thinking, appreciation of others, iconic moments and soulful conversations. All of which feed a creative person is someway.

1. Her

This is Spike Jonze’s supposed response film to Sofia Coppola’s interpretation of their relationship (see number 3). The story is based on a falling in love with his computer’s OS. Set in a semi-futuristic metropolis. One scene around 20 mins in gets me.

2. Macbeth

Many times has Macbeth been played out on screen and stage but this is the most visually dynamic. Refer to it as a cinematography masterpiece with a storyline somewhere in it. The craftsmanship is most apparent in the final battle of Birnam Wood.

3. Lost in Translation

The combination of Bill Murray and screen starlet Scarlett Johansson feels more of a father/daughter bond than anything else. The soundtrack, the mix of urban and rural locations alongside the beautifully understated script requires your attention.

4. Pecker

Edward Furlong plays the photographer we all want to be - the overnight success. His playful innocence with his camera gets everyone’s attention (good and bad). It goes to show how photography should be seen and where we should be careful.

5. The Big Short

It’s not a visual masterpiece but a humbling story if you ever want to ground yourself or need some realignment. Realising that money solves no problems and the only important things are the ones who love you back. Watch out for Steve Carrell’s character (Mark Baum) talking about his brother’s suicide.

That’s my list, do you have any go-to movies that you find inspiring, refreshing or motiving that I should check out?