Losing my creativity

Stephen P

No doubt it happens to the best of photographers and artists. My creativity and interest in photography is waning. I don't know what to photograph anymore, my ideas are drying up and I don't seem to have an interest in wanting to go out and photograph something. It's the one hobby I've ever had that's lasted the longest. I've only just finished my website, I thought my passion would get stronger after it was finished but it hasn't. Perhaps I over indulged in the photography, reading too many articles, looking at too many videos on tips or looked at too many photos. I'm not sure if it's a possible consequence from doing all that, probably not.
Whatever happened doesn't really matter now, what matters now is how do I get my photomojo back?

Any tips, advice or anything else is welcome...

thebaz

Stephen P wrote: »

Any tips, advice or anything else is welcome...

the only tip I could give , is don't force it , let it happen like the weather - if it takes a year or 5 years so be it - unless it is your profession , then you will be forced to keep going - everything in life changes , from good to bad , and back and forth. Forcing photography does not work from my expreience.

DaireQuinlan

Just don't stress it. If you don't feel like taking shots, then don't. Maybe you never will again, maybe you don't have any photo mojo, it was just the novelty of it and the techniques or the gear or something. It's hard to tell. OTOH maybe you'll wake up one morning with a desire to go out and start shooting again.

magicbastarder

you may find that you've exhausted the standard suite of shots which amateur photography magazines seem to revel in, or whatever has piqued your interest till now, and that your eye is refining, and you just need to figure out what new thing will light your fire.

taking long exposure shots of misty waves breaking over rocks (or whatever you've been getting enjoyment from; it's certainly something i enjoyed) is fun, but it can get a bit samey after a while.

Stephen P

Thanks for the replies and advice. Good points there about not forcing or stressing about it. I've been thinking about it a lot, perhaps I need to stop thinking and let it happen.

As magicbastarder said

taking long exposure shots of misty waves breaking over rocks (or whatever you've been getting enjoyment from; it's certainly something i enjoyed) is fun, but it can get a bit samey after a while.

- That hit the nail on the head!

I've done the usual long exposure's with water and light-trails, over-cooked HDR etc...
I've always had an interest in portrait photography but don't own a prime lens so never explored that area. My next lens was going to be a wide angle for landscape, maybe I should get a prime lens for portrait work?

bullpost

I also enjoy photographing different things and like a lots of amateurs for a long time never found an area to specialise in . Truth is most amateur photographers (me) are not particularity creative and are happy to play with gear/visit nice spots/snap family and friends etc.
You need to think about about what type of photos you like and why. I did this some time ago when I lost interest like you. For me I discovered that my favourite photos involve people and now I shoot a lot of street photography and love it. Its out of my comfort zone but there's a buzz in it I don't get from other types of photography.

magicbastarder wrote: »

you may find that you've exhausted the standard suite of shots which amateur photography magazines seem to revel in, or whatever has piqued your interest till now, and that your eye is refining, and you just need to figure out what new thing will light your fire.

taking long exposure shots of misty waves breaking over rocks (or whatever you've been getting enjoyment from; it's certainly something i enjoyed) is fun, but it can get a bit samey after a while.

magicbastarder

i like taking photos of people - friends and family, mainly - which is why you don't see a lot of my shots here.

i've found myself preferring a style which a lot of people might term bland over the last few years; if i was to put a pretentious hat on, i might say it's trying to find something of interest in the mundane (which more often than not results in mundane photos unfortunately). for example, one photo of mine i took recently which i'm thinking of printing and hanging at home is of a public toilet. i can just imagine the reaction from my mum when she sees that.

bullpost

Just sign it R.Mutt and tell her its a famous piece of art

magicbastarder wrote: »

for example, one photo of mine i took recently which i'm thinking of printing and hanging at home is of a public toilet. i can just imagine the reaction from my mum when she sees that.

kelly1

Maybe decide what really floats your boat and concentrate on that?

Stephen P

Sometimes I look at other people's photos and think "why aren't mine like that?". I also look at other, more expensive, cameras and lenses and think "if only I had that lens/camera my shots would be better".

I don't think this line of thinking is good for any photographer. I love my camera equipment, I need to spend more of my time enjoying it instead of lusting after other equipment.

After I set up my website I noticed a lot of my work was landscapes and had half decided that this would be the way to go, this would be "my style", but, at the back of my mind I was thinking "no do street, do portrait, do wildlife".

I have a family birthday party at the weekend, I'll bring the camera and maybe it'll reignite the spark

thebaz

Stephen P wrote: »

Sometimes I look at other people's photos and think "why aren't mine like that?". I also look at other, more expensive, cameras and lenses and think "if only I had that lens/camera my shots would be better".

why not look at it as a challenge , to take photographs with lesser gear , thats what i try to do - I will never have the money to compete with full time press togs, so sometimes you have to work harder to get that shot , but that in itself can be a challenge.

secman

Sound like you got very serious about it, lost the fun factor........ only back at it myself the last seven months after a 20yr break ! Hopefully you won't do the same !



Secman

Stephen P

secman wrote: »

Sound like you got very serious about it, lost the fun factor........ only back at it myself the last seven months after a 20yr break ! Hopefully you won't do the same !



Secman

Yes, I suppose I did get quite serious about it. In my view the website was the icing on the cake, I thought after this things will get better...then, this! Maybe I was hoping for something major to happen because I had a website. I expected too much too soon I think.

genie_us

Hi Stephen

why not join a camera club? There would be plenty there to keep you inspired, I continually learn new things at mine!

http://www.photographyireland.net/list-of-irish-camera-clubs-t27662.html

Stephen P

genie_us wrote: »

Hi Stephen

why not join a camera club? There would be plenty there to keep you inspired, I continually learn new things at mine!

http://www.photographyireland.net/list-of-irish-camera-clubs-t27662.html

Hi, I went along to my local camera club about 2 years ago. While everyone there was friendly and welcoming I just didn't think it was for me. I more or less thought myself what I know regarding photography, I've done a couple of evening courses but am happier when it's just me and camera
I would however, like to go along to one of the boards photowalks, it's a great community here

genie_us

Stephen P wrote: »

Hi, I went along to my local camera club about 2 years ago. While everyone there was friendly and welcoming I just didn't think it was for me. I more or less thought myself what I know regarding photography, I've done a couple of evening courses but am happier when it's just me and camera
I would however, like to go along to one of the boards photowalks, it's a great community here

You could check this link then if photowalks are more what you prefer - http://photowalk.ie/

vintagecosmos

Definitely try a prime lens. It really opened my eyes compared to other zoom lens. You have more freedom with it minus the zooming that is. Especially for indoor and portrait. I use a 50mm 1.8

biko

It could just be the after effect from doing the website? A dip before the next high?

I don't know what style you use now or what interests you have but you could try restricting yourself for a while to a theme.
For instance go with theme "Transportation" in black and white.
That way you will have to ignore other themes but still feel somewhat productive.
And everything you see will be in relation to this week's theme.

Mjollnir

Coming at this from what helped me in music:

shoot things you would never, ever normally shoot. I'm a landscaper. Felt a bit uninspired, so I've just recently started street and macro.

Get out of your comfort zone. Force new eyes upon yourself.

shanered

Sounds like a philosophical issue, maybe you need to find yourself to find the right photos.
Try meditation, try isolation tanks anything to get third eye working that spots the pictures worth taking, each individual is different so it is difficult to tell what you need.

VinDevo

I saw this on fstoppers.com and thought of you!

33 34 ways to stay creative

Stephen P

VinDevo wrote: »

I saw this on fstoppers.com and thought of you!

33 34 ways to stay creative

Thanks for the link! Some very good ideas in that list that I will definitely try and put into practice.

Stephen P

Just following on from my previous posts above...
Things haven't moved much, I'm still in a bit of a rut but the spark is nearly reignited. I made a decision this week that I think will help. I closed down my flickr account, closed down my FB photography page and requested that my pix.ie account be closed. I'm going to use 500px solely for my photos. I maybe wrong but I think just using the one site will help me concentrate on my photography more rather than having to worry about uploading to a dozen different websites. I chose 500px because the layout is really good and the photos on the site are very inspiring.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has done something similar and how it worked out.