Burned out or caught up in nothing?

[dizzyg44]

Ok, So I've always been more of a technical person by trade, with very little artistic skill......

Maybe I'm getting too caught up in the technical aspect of photography that I'm getting kind of frustrated.

When I first got into it a few years ago and even more seriously in the past year or so I had fun. Didn't really know that much about what I was doing and took quite a bit of pics I liked.

After studying more and more, learning my gear and how everything interrelate I can't seem to come up with anything i want to shoot.

I mean, hell, I can make a nice histogram but squat for an image :er:

I'm going crazy shooting hundreds of images and not keeping a single one. I look back at my old stuff, nowhere near even decent technically, yet I love them.....Why can't I make anything like that now?

More of a vent really, but how do you guys break out of your funk or lack of inspirations?

 

[ann]

this happens a lot.

i would just relax and try not to try so hard.

it does take a bit of time to fit the creative part with the technical information so you are not alone. the technical should just be running in the background of your mind.

Getting stale is also very common and comes and goes .

It is hard to know exactly what gets us up and going again; for some , it may mean just taking a break. Then all of a sudden you will see something that peaks your interest and bang your back feeling more creative.

For others , it may mean trying something totally different , perhaps, some macro work, or street photography, maybe some still life.


Don't dispair, this will past

 

[dxqcanada]

The more you know ... the more critical you get.

I also started out shooting everything that I could point my camera at.
Some of my early stuff was very interesting ... but like you ... technically poor.

I changed my primary subjects many many times ... still life, landscapes, cityscapes, people, artsy stuff ... etc.

Back in my days of film I got caught up in developing film and hand printing in a darkroom ... that got me interested for many years.

I have been shooting for about 20 years now ... I have slowed down ... though now I am shooting Digital, and I have gone back to the beginning of trying to shoot everything since it does not cost me anything.

Try not to think too much ... and maybe it will come to you.

A change of scenery is also good.

 

[Overread]

Yep I will echo what ann said
Also take time to go to an art gallery or buy some photography books (not techical ones just picture ones) or surf the net - there are millions of photos out there. Find a subject that you like and just look at how other people have seen and framed the image. If you have a sound technical understanding and can understand how to get different effects in different lighting situations then half the battle is won - all you need to is keep shooting, keep looking and maybe try something new every so often to avoid going stale.

 

[dizzyg44]

Thanks folks.

I've been scouring the web for weeks looking at examples of other peoples works.

What I've really been interested in is people, portrait work, but no real place to do this. I even recently bought a light kit and made a backdrop, but no real room to set it up in our tiny little house.

That and I also really suck at PP. I know that I'm not going to make that perfect shot straight off of the camera, but I still want to get it as best as possible before PP. When I first got interested growing up I was used to film and enjoyed the dark room as much as shooting, but the digital darkroom so to speak does nothing for me. It's been so long since I've done any of that I can't remember most of it.

a sad observation about where I live, Charleston SC; For such a place that's saturated with photographers and artist we don't have crap for local resources for equipment, learning etc. You want to try a new lens before buying? nope, all we have is a few Ritz camera's and Best Buy, ugh. My brother came down to visit and wanted to have his film developed while he was here. I can't remember what type it was offhand but I remember it being just 35mm B&W, not a single place would take it! ugh

 

[Iron Flatline]

Let weekly competitions inspire you:

Moody Monday

Tuesday Challenge

Lens Day

Photo Sharks

Theme Thursday

Photo Friday

VFXY Photos

Shutterday

See It Sunday

Macroday

... and so on...

For inspiration, check 1x.com

 

[Eldrich]

What?! no mention of Fight Club, or the brand new Boxing Turtle right here in your own back yard?

 

[JerryPH]

Go to an art museum, look at some 200-300 year old paintings.

 

[Iron Flatline]

What?! no mention of Fight Club, or the brand new Boxing Turtle right here in your own back yard?

*Ahem*... right.

Also, participate in Fight Club.

WTF is Boxing Turtle?

 

[Joves]

Buy a new lens. A fisheye might help you and, dont think about it so much. Just relaxx and shoot for the pure pleasure of shooting.

 

[Fiendish Astronaut]

I think it's difficult to remain creative whilst still learning the technical aspects. After a while you'll forget about the technical side because it will come to you naturally and your artistic side will begin to come back to you. I found that happening with me and I think it's a natural stage to go through just as Ann intimated in the first reply.

As for looking at other people's work to foster your creativity - I think everyone works differently. Well I say everyone works differently. Perhaps it's just me! Because I find it impossible to create something truly original if I've drowned myself in other creative work. Some artists and writers talk about the methods they use for staying creative and the big one is "restriction". But they also extol "exile". In many cases it may be a physical exile such as a musician or a writer holing themselves up in a cottage on a remote island. But for some it means exiling themselves from other creative work of a similar genre. Imagine trying to write a murder mystery whilst reading an Agatha Christie novel during your down time? Impossible! Well that's what it's like with me and photography (not to such an extreme extent but still...) Hey that might just be my mind might working differently; instead of taking inspiration from work I may just end up trying to emulate it! So my advice is: look at what you're doing differently. Have you immersed yorself in the world of photography since those heady creative early days? It could be that you're trying to copy or judge yourself against other peoples photography and just confusing yourself - or actually doing a good job with your images but feeling dissatisfied because it's like the other stuff you're seeing!

I could be completely wrong about all that last stuff, but it's just my two cents...

 

[Ejazzle]

What did you used to really enjoy shooting the most? my guess is that you have drifted away from that one certain thing that you really loved to shoot. Go and shoot whatever it was and rekindle that little flame burning inside you!

 

[paranoidandroid13]

I bought this book not too long ago, and it has given me some really good ideas and inspiration. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Photo-Idea-Index-Jim-Krause/dp/158180766X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233889303&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Photo Idea Index: Jim Krause: Books[/ame]

 

[sabbath999]

I got so burned out (I was shooting weddings and working at a newspaper) that I just sold all of my equipment and walked away from it... I probably didn't take a single picture for 10 years.

I bought a simple point & shoot camera to take a few vacation pictures several years back, simply because I didn't want anything technical just snapshots. It rekindled my flame, but I decided as I started getting back into photography that I was only going to take pictures of things that I love... things that I am passionate about.

I love animals in all their various forms, I love plants and I love nature. I love history. I love Hawai'i.

My photographs are just for me, personally, as a way to not only record but artistically interpret what I love.

I would make two suggestions for you.

First, go out and buy yourself a new camera. Not a fancy 5D or D700, but rather a simple, cheap point & shoot. Make sure it is a CHEAP one, something like a Kodak Z1012, don't spend more than $250 on it. Put the P&S on P mode, and start taking pictures. Don't look at the histograms, don't look at ANYTHING technical at all. Look at what you are shooting.

This will help you find your eye again. If you can take good pictures with a P&S (I have regular sessions with my $120 Z712 Kodak all the time) then you can take fantastic pictures with good equipment.

Second, think about the things in life that you are passionate about. You have them. Shoot only those things that you love. If you love food, shoot food (in some way, whether it be the actual food, or pictures of people eating, or diners, or whatever). If you love movies, look for old movie houses), if you love cars then shoot some aspect of automotive stuff.

If you are wrapped up in trying to be Photoshop perfect, then close the progam entirely and don't use it. Use something else. Start with Picasa, it's free and very limited... see what you can do using Picasa only. Try trial periods of other software as well, but DON'T use photoshop or lightroom or whatever your usual stuff is.

You can't get out of a rut by doing the things that put you in the rut.

If you are thinking "how can I not use Photoshop on my pictures?" then that's your problem... Photoshop is just one of many, many tools out there... if you are burned out, change tools. Change subjects.

If your pictures suck as you use other equipment and other process, then so what? They will only suck because you are not used to the process, not because you are bored and uninterested in the subject matter...

 

[dizzyg44]

Thanks for everything guys......

Finally had a little fun today shooting, nothing good technically but I like what they were.

I was sitting there down at the battery in downtown Charleston picking my brain, people with cameras everywhere......Then it hit me, photograph the photographers.......

I posted a few in the people gallery.....

Anywho, thanks again for lending an ear