Ever feel like you're at your limit, and it's way too low?

[Jeepnut28]

Here is an exercise that will help your mind think in different ways, and will help in creativity:

put your camera away for a couple of weeks. dont use it, dont touch it.

then, as you are driving/walking/in and out of various places at work and play.....compose in your head......walk to the park, and compose a shot in your head....as you are passing a building compose a shot in your head.....look at objects and things and think about how you would shoot them......but dont shoot them.....just compose in your head.

after a couple of weeks, you'll be itching to get back to your camera....but you will also of given yourself a new way of looking at subjects and things,

 

[kundalini]

There are some great words of wisdom prior to this entry. I do not attempt to articulate any greater insight to your plight. But if I got it right on the first reading, there are a few words that come to mind.

Youthfulness - You're just a kid and have a predispostion for impatience.

Plateaus - We all hit them at various stages of life. (not exclusive to photography)

Passion - What is yours? Only you can decide what is right for you.

I read this the other night and was quite inspired. Yeah, it was about photography, but to me it was much more. It was a kick in the pants to get off my ass and see what is around me. If I copied and pasted right, youll be at the right place. If not, search the website to figure it out. It's in the "How To" section of Ken Rockwells rant to basically f**k what others think, find your own vision. http://kenrockwell.com/tech/howto.htm

I feel for ya' dude. We've all been there and most of us have the Tee Shirts and scars to prove it.

 

[JC1220]

Fail to grow as a person and you will fail to see. - Me

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Proust

"it is better to think than to do, better to feel then to think, but best of all simply to look" - Goethe

 

[Don Simon]

An important element in development/education is peer pressure. Join an advance photo group. Shooting similar events/situations and seeing what/how others see will help you improve and develop your own style.

Take photo classes at your community college. The pre-req's will be very basic to you but after that there should be challenging courses.

Really, really good advice. I am very glad I took a course in photography when at college, and I miss that environment. It's tempting to think that classes are just a waste of money when you can teach yourself. To some extent you can. Using books or the internet you can teach yourself the technical aspects, to some extent you can teach yourself composition. In fact the teacher at your college may not actually help you learn those things any easier or quicker. But even if you can't learn from the teacher, you can learn from the other students. By that I don't just mean you can look at their prints for inspiration. Obviously that's something you can do on the internet too. I mean you watch them as they go about the process of making that image. You help each other with shots and share ideas. Sometimes you work together on a shot or a project, and I think rather than compromising your own personal vision this is a very good thing... after all great music is not only made by solo artists. I really think it helps to have other people around you to offer the benefits of competition and also of cooperation.

As for getting 'stuck'... IMO technical issues are the easy part... not because they're easy to understand, far from it, but because when your ideas are limited by your technical abilities and knowledge, you know it and can apply yourself to finding out how to solve the problem in question.
Creative problems are another matter. I think most of us at some point (more likely at several points) hit "photographer's block" regarding creativity and inspiration. This is something that's harder to beat because it's harder to understand; how do you suddenly lose the ability to have ideas? More importantly how do you get it back again?
Honestly I don't think there's an answer, at least not a simple one. Sometimes I find it helps to look at the work of other photographers - and for me it helps to see real prints on a wall instead of little images on the web. Sometimes I need to see some art other than photographic... whether that means going to the national portrait gallery or reading a comic. Sometimes visual art is actually the last thing I need, and reading a book is the thing that helps kick-starts my imagination. Sometimes I put all my photographic gear away for a couple of weeks and try to visualise photos like Jeepnut28 said, and other times I actively avoid trying to think in photographic terms. Each of these approaches has helped me at various times, but none is a panacea that works every time... sadly I don't think such a thing exists

Woah that was a long one. Sorry.

 

[nabero]

I feel for you DSLR Noob...I've been at a similar place with my photography lately (just feeling *stuck*). I haven't done much with my camera in the past couple of months--taking that break has me really excited to get my camera back out there and working on things. I'd say keep reading, keep looking around for inspiration...give yourself time...it's not a race

Cheers

 

[table1349]

Noob. Quick question. What books have you read on photography? Who are master photographers that inspire you? Have you read any of their stuff? There is a lot to be said for being born with a natural artistic eye. I believe that you can develop an eye as well. It takes study. Study of those that impress you and an understanding on how they managed to get the results they did. It may sound a lot like homework, but at least it is in a subject that you love.


Sorry, my wife asked me a question when I was typing this and forgot something I meant to add. I too would concur with the wisdom in seefutlung's post. There are several ways to expand your abilities.

 

[DSLR noob]

To be honest...... I haven't read any, and any works by other photographer I see as individual work rather than follow a name. I am very creative and artistic with a pencil and paper, or for design, it's a photographic artist's eye I need. I guess I could use a bit of photographic studying.

 

[The_Traveler]

I got an incentive in a strange way today.

My local camera club is having a juried competition and the winners will be on exhibition in a very nice gallery. I have some pix that fit the subject requirements and some ideas for others - so I'm going to go out and shoot specifically for this competition and show.

 

[crownlaurel]

I'm in a slump, not because I can't improve with what I have. I have a great deal of room for improvement, but I'm in a slump of not liking anything I do lately.

With three weeks of record high temps and red alerts for air quality, I haven't gotten out much lately and when I do and take my camera, I am not at all happy with the results. I see lots of great things I could shoot but it's so hot (104*F yesterday) and humid I don't even have the desire to get out of the car.

I sometimes take my camera with me just in case but I don't leave it in the car so someone who knows what's in the bag tries to force me to take event photos. I'm not really an event kind of girl (not this kind of event photos anyway). A youth rally in a low ceiling church cafeteria with low light in one side and bright mixed light in another is not an ideal photo op and I don't have the lenses I'd need to shoot in that situation and I'm not the kind to move around in odd places in the middle of things so I hate everything I ended up shooting.

 

[Sweetsomedays]

I feel like I don't have the time. I am thinking about photography all the time and I take the camera with me. It just seems like every time I sit down to read something or try to focus on taking some pictures one of my children needs me.
I am so frustrated at times.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I see you're part of Vazaar now - go out and shoot images for the various topics. That ought to keep you busy for a while

 

[Iron Flatline]

...and start a photoblog. Nothing will keep you busier than trying to post an image per day.

You could also participate in the various photomemes and open online competitions. Some of them are kind of lame, but at least it forces you to think about photography, and to create work specifically for it.

 

[Seefutlung]

I'm in a slump, not because I can't improve with what I have. I have a great deal of room for improvement, but I'm in a slump of not liking anything I do lately.

With three weeks of record high temps and red alerts for air quality, I haven't gotten out much lately and when I do and take my camera, I am not at all happy with the results. I see lots of great things I could shoot but it's so hot (104*F yesterday) and humid I don't even have the desire to get out of the car.

I sometimes take my camera with me just in case but I don't leave it in the car so someone who knows what's in the bag tries to force me to take event photos. I'm not really an event kind of girl (not this kind of event photos anyway). A youth rally in a low ceiling church cafeteria with low light in one side and bright mixed light in another is not an ideal photo op and I don't have the lenses I'd need to shoot in that situation and I'm not the kind to move around in odd places in the middle of things so I hate everything I ended up shooting.

It is those events, the one with the horrible lighting, the ones where there isn't a good place to stand, the ones where your equipment doesn't match the situation which are the most challenging. It is you, raising yourself and your photography to the challenge is when you reap the most benefit.

There are many here who have stated take a few days/weeks/months/time off ... I say no. The best way to get out of a slump is to work your way out ... not waiting for some sign from the Gods or the tooth fairy. I cannot imagine telling an editor that I didn't want to go on an assignment because I feel uncreative today. Or not shooting something interesting because of the heat ... yeah you will feel like crap ... smelly, sweat soaked, wet rat looking crap ... but when you're done ... you can say to yourself "I did it!" I beat the heat, I beat the lack of equipment, I beat the crappy lighting ... I (pause for effect) DID (pause for effect) IT!!!! And you will end up with images you never would have gotten otherwise.

I realize that there is a dif between a professional and a hobbiest ... but if you wish to shoot like a pro you gotta act like a pro. To me a pro is one who CONSISTANCY get the exceptional shot day-in and day-out ... and not just when they feel creative or when the weather and lighting are prefect.

Remember, all that is important is the final. Nobody really cares about the effort and pain you endured to get the shot ... all the viewer cares about is the shot. So don't expect to get any atta-girls for your efforts ... only for the results.

Gary

 

[glaston]

There's no reason anyone should feel like this. There's so many levels to photography.
I find that when I think like that, there are certain things that I COULD do but for some reason I believe that I can't do them.
It's for the most part a commitment issue. Where I want to do something, but don't want to start something lengthy due to other things that keep me busy.

For the most part though, refining my abilities in Photoshop leads to new shots.
I have very little interest in taking a photo of something that will remain what it is. I take photos with manipulation in mind.
I also like to composite 3D elements into photos. That requires ALOT of learning and refinement of the craft.
A 3D rendering app is so technical and involved that it would take years to master one version. Which won't happen because before you could master that version, an updated version comes out and there's more to learn.
That is why I am even here at this board, because to create masterful 3D renderings requires a photographers eye, a sculptors hand, and a painters sense of color to simply create stills. Then there's animation which is even more complicated.
It draws on all artistic disciplines, AND technical proficiency with a computer.
Imagine creating a realistic photo from basic geometrical shapes such as spheres, cubes, planes, cylinders.
My camera comes in handy not only for reference images, but to take photos of textures and surfaces to map onto 3D meshes to create the finished work.
The only way to stop improving is to quit entirely.

I will never stop improving because there is too much to learn already, not to mention what becomes possible as computers themselves advance.

My advice to you would be to start doing things that are difficult. Things that you need to advance your skill level in order to achieve.
That's how I improve...

 

[Don Simon]

There are many here who have stated take a few days/weeks/months/time off ... I say no. The best way to get out of a slump is to work your way out ... not waiting for some sign from the Gods or the tooth fairy. I cannot imagine telling an editor that I didn't want to go on an assignment because I feel uncreative today.

I don't remember saying anything about gods or fairies :er: ... it's not about praying for some kind of epiphany, it's just about clearing your head. Many people, when writing many thousands of words under pressure or trying to complete any kind of long assignment, eventually need to stop, go for a walk or something before coming back to it. I don't see why a couple of days of not taking photographs couldn't, for some people, be the photographic equivalent of popping out for a smoke. For some people, like yourself, taking time off maybe completely pointless... for others trying to work themselves out of the slump may be the equivalent of just banging their heads repeatedly on a wall if they can't try to look at the problem from a different perspective. Like I said, there's no magic cure that works for everyone, it's just one approach that works some of the time.

As you said yourself, there is a difference between a professional and a non-professional. Not everyone wants to shoot like a pro. To me a pro is no more or less than someone who gets paid for taking photographs... and I have encountered many of these who frankly didn't deserve to be paid one penny. A good pro is something else, as is a good amateur. Of course I completely agree that creating extraordinary images often requires extraordinary patience and enduring much unpleasantness... that doesn't mean that people aren't at some point going to find themselves unhappy with their work regardless of the effort they put in.