Stuck in a rut

[Fitzy1201]

Hi All,

I have somehow got myself into a photographers rut. I cant seem to take photos like I did when I first started. I don't know whether it is because I am more critical of the images I take or whether I need to try something different or what.

My question is, has anyone else had this happen to them and how did you overcome this obstacle?

I found a couple of '30 day challenges' on Pintrest last month but I never really got any momentum/motivation to take a photo per day under the different categories.

Thanks
Andrew (Fitzy)

[Mary Anne]

We all get like that at times Andrew, I have lost my mojo too though I will get it back eventually, it just happens
It could be because you are critical of the photos, just keep posting them on the Forum you will soon find out.
Or you could save up and buy yourself a longer focal Lens and go out and shoot the Birds that works for me

Do hope you get your Mojo back soon

[ameerat42]

Yes, it happens. I think you might be onto something with:
"...I don't know whether it is because I am more critical of the images I take or whether I need to try something different or what....
(Maybe it's "progress"?)

Ride it. Think about it for a while until you move past it, and then, after you have found your new self...

--You can tell us the good news

[Hawthy]

Travelling somewhere different does it for me.

[richtbw]

It has happened to me a few times. Is it because we spend time on other things - like there is always something that needs fixing around the house. This week will see me finishing painting the outside of the house (fascia, gutters and down pipes etc). Have promised myself to team up with the camera, as there are some "projects" I've been planning to do - whilst painting.

[farmmax]

There are times in my year there is no time to take photographs. I don't mind the enforced break. I think it does more good than harm. It means I can pick the camera up again in my quiet times and have new fresh ideas and enthusiasm.

Don't try and force yourself to take photos. Then it becomes a chore.

I think the travelling to new places is a great idea, but for me that is not much of an option. If you have the chance to travel - take it.

Another idea is to try a branch of photography you have not really explored before. eg macro, night photography.

For me entering a few competitions can help. It gives me a date and incentive to aim at, and I keep an eye out for interesting subjects. It even means dragging myself out to some local events to get some different photographs.

Do you have a local camera club or group which you could join? Mixing with enthusiastic photographers also helps the mojo.

[Glenda]

I think this is fairly normal for most photographers. I know I tend to lose interest around my local area as I seem to have photographed everything around here so many times. We travel a fair bit which, with so many new subjects, always enthuses me. Farmax's suggestion of a new subject, or joining your local camera club is a good one. Our local camera club has a monthly comp with two different themes per month. Often it is something I don't shoot a lot so forces me to explore new techniques and also look for interesting subjects which suit the theme. I know I couldn't stick to a photo a day challenge - I have tried once, but it soon becomes a chore rather than a pleasure and hence IMO does more harm than good.

[Fitzy1201]

Thanks all for the advice. I might try a few different branches of photography as Farmmax suggested.
And the goal for middle of the year is to go for a drive from Toowoomba down to the Great Ocean Road and visit a few places in between so that is a perfect example of travelling to new places (money permitted) haha.

Regards
Andrew

[Geoff79]

I also agree with those who have mentioned travel, if it’s a possibility. I live in a beautiful area, with a lot of options (and no time)... but I still get a little uninspired to really get out to places I’ve been many times before. Nothing in the world gets my photographic mind more excited than an upcoming holiday in a new place.

I’ve barely taken a photo of anything bar my children since my last holiday ended on the 13th of January. Admittedly, it’s because I’ve been so tied up in sorting and processing those photos, which is a gigantic rut inducer.


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[John King]

Andrew, I know that feeling too.

I recommend two books to help. Both are cheap and readily available.

1) "Photography and the Art of Seeing" Freeman Patterson. I have both 4th and 3rd editions. The 3rd edition is only available s/h, but I prefer the photos. The text is all but identical in both editions. This book specifically addresses loss of 'seeing'.

2) "The Photographer's Eye" Michael Freeman. Subtitled "composition and design for better digital photos". An excellent text demonstrating all sorts of alternative compositions.

Both have helped these aspects of my photography immensely.

A more learned and technical text is "The Photograph Composition and Colour Design" by Harald Mante. Still cheapish, and well worth reading, even if heavier going than the first two I mentioned.

Hope this helps a bit.

[arthurking83]

Andrew, I know that feeling too.

I recommend two books to help. Both are cheap and readily available.

....

I don't do the book thing(some say I can hardly read anyhow! ) ..

.. but I do recommend that you take more time to critique others image to help you with working out what it is you want from yourself(in terms of photography).

Also try different things.
my example is I was a mad, keen, trigger happy, landscape-ing type. My work(the one that didn't really pay the bills properly) a few years ago was complimentary to this particular genre too tho.

I had to change jobs, to a more static type(stuck in a depot), so I had to make a more concerted effort to go out to do landscapes .. and I slowly dropped off that scene a little bit more every year.

At the depot tho, we had a customer that had a small area where she stored flowers, and every week she'd leave the products that were unsaleable out for us to take home.
The other guys used to take them home to their wives, and I'd take them to do some macro work on them. The side benefit was that my daughter loved the flowers too(so was her job to look after them).

The point I'm trying to get across tho is don't force yourself. Allow it to let you evolve to do more of the things that just pique your interest.
This is where taking a bit more time to critique will come into the equation too.
As you shuffle through the various image threads on the site, and find yourself stopping at certain images to offer some critique, I dare say you may find a pattern start to appear in the types of images you stop to offer your thoughts on too.

Hope this makes any sense, and if so hope it helps too.

[Nervine]

Rut's suck. Been stuck in one myself for nearly a month now

[ameerat42]

Rutten when that happens!