Change of heart or just a Photography low?

Corbin Lane

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What do you all do when you lose your inspiration? About an hour ago, I did a shoot for a baker and I just wasn't happy with the pictures at all. They came out good but they are just *bla* almost like I"m being held back or something. It just seams like I lost the spark inside of me, I really like photography I just can't take good pictures.

I've tried all of the normal things that I usually do but It's been getting worse over the last month and I didn't recognized it until now.

So my question to you is. What do you do when you hit a Photography low?
 
I shoot. A ton. Everyday if I can. Eventually it turns around. Find a guru and have them critique your work and focus on what is recommended. Good luck.
 
I try something I haven't done in a long time...

If I have been doing alot of cityscapes, I'll do portraits. If I've been doing product, I'll do some photojournalism... change it up, try something you have never tried before.
 
Its not that your pictures are getting worse but that you are beggining to have more expectations of your shots. Try finding new perspectives, play around with light, stuff like that. Also look at some nice photos online and try to use a new technique that was used in a certain shot. Even if you don't get the image you desired you will learn something new. Also participate in fightclub if you can. This really gets you thinking about new ideas lol.
 
it almost sounds like you're either implying that your shots used to be better, or as Jaszek said, you're just expecting more from yourself. i reached that point about 6 months ago. i started getting really frustrated at the results i was getting. i've been into general photography for about 4 years now and as i said about 6 months ago i started noticing that my shots were as you described... blah.
i basically came to the realization that i can't just pick up my DSLR and expect stellar results. yea i know what all the basic settings do, but i wasn't using them correctly in each scenario. so i started going on weekend trips even if it was just to my parents house. i would snap about 1000 shots and try to determine what made them "blah". then i would go back to the same spot the next weekend and try again. i've basically been doing this for the last 6 months as often as i can and i have really started to see a difference in the end result. i'm still miles away from where i'd like to be but my progress has almost given me new life into the hobby.
i guess my point is... i wasn't practicing enough, or in the right way.
 
Look at some professionals to see how they jazz up their shots. Try different lighting techniques, shoot from different angles, or use different lenses to get different effects. The possibilities are endless.
 
I am exactly like that, nothing i ever photograph is good enough, and sometimes i just get bored of my shooting style, but as destructive thinking as that is we do have some positives that come out of it.... we are the type of people that will continually strive to be better until we are the best at what we do! So just try not to be so hard on yourself at the moment, and try to do more experimenting with new products like say photoshop software, lenses, equipment, ect.. anything to inspire that passion again!! Also, if you live near any parks or citys take a day trip to do some photography shooting, you should be able to get some intresting shots there!! Parks=wildlife, downtown=maybe a derelite look, haha graffitti? Maybe try some shutter speed shots too with people walking around downtown? That could look cool?? Just some ideas, hope that helps :)
 
When I get to that point, I take a break from "photography" and instead just shoot things that are interesting to me, no composing, no posing, just shooting. It helps to clear your mind and let you have a fresh outlook on new things.

take a drive to the countryside, go into the city, go to a park, the zoo and leave your camera in the bag until you see something that YOU like, not that would necessarily make a great shot.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that googling images can sometimes give you an idea of new techniques, poses, etc. I'll also look at other "ideas" posted on the internet to give me more juice when i'm runnin low.
 
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hmm i watch inspirational movies, works everytime.
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Ditto on all the above. Great advice.

Are all of your photos completely *blah*? I bet if you look more closely you'll find something of value there. Look at what you're doing right. I hope you're not throwing your images away. Save them and look at them later for review.

Just my 2 cents...
 
Thanks everyone who helped me. I'm going to do some of the things above, Infact, I did watch some movies that were creative and I'm on my way back to where I was before. I think I just got really bored. Feel free to keep posting ideas because I'm sure that many have this problem.
 
I kind of hit a point recently where I was tired of shooting the same subject matter all the time, so I took some cityscape and bird pics. It helps me to take pics of a variety of things.
 
We all go through this. Typical approaches are:

1. Shoot more, force your way through it.
2. Take a bit of a break and come back in a month or two.
3. Go try to be inspired by something and try again.

Me, personally I tend to do a mix of 1 or 2, depending on how determined I'm feeling.

More specifically, I often make a point to take a break and actually look intensely at the world through an artist's eye, but without ANY intention of taking pictures of anything. I just try to look to see where the beauty and interest is. I guess this might be a mix of 2 and 3, actually.

I often find the next time I pickup the camera that my shots are markedly better.
 

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