Welcome! If you’re here you might be looking for a small way to be more creative every day, or just sometimes. You might be looking for a way to be more mindful, without having the time or energy for a dedicated mindfulness practice. You might simply want to explore the world around you and find new ways to look for wonder and joy.
This started with a series of five daily prompts to encourage you to mindfully explore the world with your camera. You can also find a new, monthly prompt over on our Instagram. The world you explore might be the great outdoors or it might be a tiny corner of a single room. You might work through the prompts one day at a time, or do them all at once. You don’t even have to do all of the prompts if you don’t want to. These prompts are for you, to use in what ever way helps you to look at the world a little bit differently.
I am a mindfulness teacher and photographer… here are some ideas that I researched for myself to share with you all. Enjoy🙏🏽
To get started, all you’ll need is a camera or a camera phone.
If you’re using a camera, I’d recommend you change your settings to auto and don’t worry too much about what your final images look like. Mindful photography is about the process of exploring and being present, rather than overly focussing on the final image itself. Have fun playing and creating and noticing the world around you, in this present moment.
If you’d like to share the images you create using these mindfulness photography prompts, you can tag me on Instagram just hover your phone over the image below other mindful photo takers can check out your pictures.
Here we go…
Begin at the beginning.
Before you consider each prompt, it’s a great idea to get yourself in the right frame of mind, to help you to tune into yourself and the world around you. Here’s a five minute mindfulness exercise you can do to get started. Alternatively, if you’d rather just head straight into the prompts, that’s fine too and you can skip this part.
If you feel comfortable doing so, you can close your eyes for a few minutes. Start by taking a deep breath. Breathe into your belly and then let it all out with a big sigh. Take a few moments to bring your attention to your body. Are there any areas of tension or tightness? Where can you feel contact with the floor or what ever you’re sitting on? What ever you can feel in your body, just witness it without judgement.
Now take a few moments to bring your attention to your thoughts and feelings. What thoughts and feelings are present? What ever thoughts are feelings are there, just witness them without judgement.
Finally, bring your attention to the sounds you can hear around you. Start with what you can hear close to you. Maybe it’s the sound of your own breathing or your clothes rustling as your chest rises and falls. Then bring your attention to the sounds further away. What ever you can hear, witness it without judgement.
You’re now ready to open your eyes, and bring that same non judgemental awareness and observation to your first mindfulness photography prompt.
Mindfulness photography prompt 1: Look Up
Lie down.
Move around.
Change perspective.
Think about the neglected underneath of objects you interact with daily.
Look above.
Get underneath.
What can you see when you only look up?
Mindfulness photography prompt 2: Abstraction
Look for shapes
Look for shadows and light
Capture fragments of the whole
Shoot through other objects
Change perspective
Look for patterns
Make recognisable objects unrecognisable
Look for groups of objects that occur naturally or create groups of objects of your own choosing
Collect things that have something or nothing in common
Find objects organically or seek them out
Find different ways to arrange and display your collection
Photograph the process of collecting, as well as the collection itself.
If you’d like to read more about abstract photography and get some ideas, head here.
Look for the beauty in the things we’re told are ugly.
The pattern made by spreading mould.
Industrial architecture.
Decay.
Objects that are designed for function, not form.
Look for the ugly and observe it as though it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.
Create one image that represents how you feel in this moment. Don’t over think it.
Maybe you feel energized or still or tired or brave or frustrated or cheerful or safe or tense or bored or curious or impatient or confused or happy or lonely.
Tune into yourself, pick a feeling and create the first shot that comes to mind. It doesn’t matter what the end result LOOKS like, all that matters is your experience of process. How do you feel today?
ॐDebie Lee's🪷Healthy Living Mindfulness ॐ 