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Did you know that looking at random images can help people overcome a creative slump? Every creative encounters blocks once in a while when they find themselves staring at a blank page, unsure on where to start or lacking inspiration. One of the easiest ways to kickstart our brain is to make use of a random picture—it can encourage creative thinking and help solve problems by forcing unexpected connections. Sometimes a brilliant idea is floating around somewhere and pops into our heads when we least expect it. By scrolling through random pictures, we simply increase our chances of catching one.

For those who might be stuck in a creative rut or are just looking for pure entertainment, we have a list of random pictures shared by the RARE Facebook page. Scroll down to find them, and don’t forget to upvote the ones that got your creative juices flowing (or those that you found simply amusing).

#1

Image credits: RARE

#2

Image credits: RARE

#3

Image credits: RARE

The best advice for any creative comes from H. Jackson Brown Jr., who once said, “Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin, and inspiration will find you.” This means that you shouldn’t wait around (frustrated, I might add) for an idea to hit you, but instead you should actively seek it by doing something, like scrolling through articles associated with it, looking at random pictures or taking a walk.

As a writer who scribbles daily, I find this to be very true. When I’m struggling with an idea or angle for a post, I try not to sit around frustrated because I’m being unproductive and unsuccessful and instead try to peruse various articles on similar topics—usually I get hit with an idea from a word or a sentence another writer wrote getting me on the right track.

#4

Image credits: RARE

#5

Image credits: RARE

#6

Image credits: RARE

Many other creatives use randomness to help their creative juices flow. Similarly, creative writers use visual prompts that can inspire a vast array of ideas for stories. Using images can also be great for developing a daily writing habit by scribbling a story about what you see in a random picture. The more unexpected the photo and the more questions it raises, the better, as the goal here is to get inspired by something that is hiding a bigger picture beneath the surface.

#7

Image credits: RARE

#8

Image credits: RARE

#9

Image credits: RARE

Some photographers also make use of randomness to get out of a photographic rut. For example, photographer Will Moneymaker shared his random acts of photography as a way to get creating again. Unplanned images like snapping a picture of a sunset on a shopping trip or an unusually beautiful oil spill you notice on the way home are a great way to break out of uninspired lulls, according to Will.

#10

Image credits: RARE

#11

Image credits: RARE

#12

Image credits: RARE

“When a photograph comes out of nowhere, it’s like jumpstarting the brain. It’s something that gets us thinking along different lines, breaking our usual trains of thought, and when we start thinking differently, we see differently—we see more than we did before,” he explained.

#13

Image credits: RARE

#14

Image credits: RARE

#15

Image credits: RARE

The way he suggests randomizing experiences to get the creative juices flowing is by using spinner apps on a phone. “These are just like the big spinner wheels that you see on game shows, but you can program the slots to feature whatever you like. Feel free to program one with your favorite locations, then use the app and go to whatever location it chooses. Or, you can input different subjects, different lenses—if the app chooses a macro lens, then see what kind of new macro images you can create. Whatever you can imagine, create a spinner for it and use that to randomize your photographic experience.”

#16

Image credits: RARE

#17

Image credits: RARE

#18

Image credits: RARE

He also offers some other alternatives, like driving ten or thirty minutes and stopping to take out the camera and explore. And for more tucked away, unique places, he suggests using features like Google Maps, Google Earth or Street View.

“However you go about it, it’s all about adding a random element to your photographic process. Find a way to pull yourself out of well-worn creative routines so that you can add some vigor to your creative mind and see things in new ways. Not only will you get some interesting new photographs out of these endeavors, but you’ll have some new perspectives that you can apply to your usual photographic haunts.”

#19

Image credits: RARE

#20

Image credits: RARE

#21

Image credits: RARE

For those who need to problem-solve often but get in ruts with no crumb of inspiration, another way to get a spark of creativity is to again look for random images, but a bit differently. Let’s say you need to come up with an innovative design for a table. Find a picture in a magazine or somewhere else totally accidentally. For the sake of example, imagine it’s an elephant.

#22

Image credits: RARE

#23

Image credits: RARE

#24

Image credits: RARE

Then try to describe the image by writing out the unique characteristics of the object. Next, pick one property, preferably one that is mostly unrelated to your challenge. After that, combine it with the problem you’re trying to solve and force a combination of the two. Stretch your mind and do this for about 3 minutes. This will help you think outside of the box and have all sorts of innovative ideas in no time. Happy creating!