I quit!

[Hybridatomsk]

Go outside and don' go home until you have taken at least 5-10 shots with your camera. >< I hate artist's block! Maybe some fresh air will do you go. If that doesn't help just wonder around the town or city until you see something that inspires you.

Trust me, it works for me. Good luck,ne?
-Hybridatomsk

 

[K_Pugh]

Only thing about heading outside is that sometimes it's difficult to get a good number of photographs, sometimes you head home with only 15 or so people shots, that can be quite frustrating for the photography point of view but it's great fun getting out there and looking at the world in a slightly different manner trying to find that candid shot. Doing that alone might give you inspiration, lighting, poses, gestures, etc..

I put my camera down a few years back and i wasn't really getting anywhere and i never had a field that i was 'interested' in, i don't particularly like doing landscapes, or architecture, or taking pics of my same dog every day, etc etc..

After i picked the camera up again (recently) i think i've found a corner that really interests me and i've probably learned more the last few months than i had before. So putting down the gear can sometimes be good but obviously we'd rather not! lol

I've never done studio portraits, or even people portraits on any level apart from street so i can't help there.

 

[abraxas]

Maybe go out and take unflattering pictures of ordinary people and get radical on the processing? Screw up the pretentions. Life isn't always beautiful and pleasent. Push on the sides of the box and see if it collapses. Vent. Boxes are easy to climb back in.

-Best to you.

 

[That One Guy]

for what reason do only shoot people in the studio?

I do some location photography but not enough of it. Really what I need to do is get a style I guess.

Ditch the studio and focus on semi-candid portraits in more natural setting? Ditch the lights and devote yourself to working natural light. I think it could be alot of fun for you.

Actually I do some natural light photography.

I think you need to make some time for your own work. Studio portraits don't have to be boring. Photographing people for the sake of photographing them, knowing them, and telling their stories is a very refreshing break from staged crap.

I'd be happy to lend a hand with your learning how to post-process well if you want.

Thank you Alpha I might take you up on that offer to help with post. You are right. I do need to do MY own work.

Go outside and don' go home until you have taken at least 5-10 shots with your camera. >< I hate artist's block! Maybe some fresh air will do you go. If that doesn't help just wonder around the town or city until you see something that inspires you.

Trust me, it works for me. Good luck,ne?
-Hybridatomsk

Thank you

Only thing about heading outside is that sometimes it's difficult to get a good number of photographs, sometimes you head home with only 15 or so people shots, that can be quite frustrating for the photography point of view but it's great fun getting out there and looking at the world in a slightly different manner trying to find that candid shot. Doing that alone might give you inspiration, lighting, poses, gestures, etc..

I put my camera down a few years back and i wasn't really getting anywhere and i never had a field that i was 'interested' in, i don't particularly like doing landscapes, or architecture, or taking pics of my same dog every day, etc etc..

After i picked the camera up again (recently) i think i've found a corner that really interests me and i've probably learned more the last few months than i had before. So putting down the gear can sometimes be good but obviously we'd rather not! lol

I've never done studio portraits, or even people portraits on any level apart from street so i can't help there.

Thank you

Maybe go out and take unflattering pictures of ordinary people and get radical on the processing? Screw up the pretentions. Life isn't always beautiful and pleasent. Push on the sides of the box and see if it collapses. Vent. Boxes are easy to climb back in.

-Best to you.

Very true Abraxas. Thank you

 

[platano]

Try Naked women, im sure you wont be bored then. jk I usually just jump on my motorcycle with my camera and drive around, even tho my photos are not great, they are good to me Just break your routine do something weird like travel to another country or something.. just sayin....

 

[cdanddvdpublisher]

One of the most important things that any photographer can do, really, is to get out there and to reclaim the passion. If being in the studio gets you down, get outside; if shooting buildings isn't your thing, try to avoid it (unless of course there are some great things that you are shooting in front of the building ). Worst case scenario, try setting up a project that's fun for you - shoot 50 shots of something blue, for example, within a day - just to take your mind off of the "normalcy."

 

[Chiller]

Been there a few times. I have almost packed it in as well. I find when I get in my funk, I shut down the internet, especially the forums. It can bring me down, with all the BS here and on the other places
I go out alone, without my cam, maybe take a cycling trip, get things off my mind. I dont take my camera with me, and usually by the time I get back , I wish I had of.
Try taking pics of something other then studio work, something more relaxing, and for you...not or anyone else.
Unless this is your living, you can do what you want. Personally for me, I dont want to be a photographer, and have no intention of being pro. I do it for fun, so the pressure is not as much as it would be for somebody who relies on it.
Take care...good luck with your venture.

 

[Senor Hound]

I am so sick of what I do (cookie cutter portraits). My photos are crap. My post work is crap. My artistic thinking has went to hell. I spend my "off" time reading and re-reading books on lighting ratios, poses, technical books, etc. During a portrait session I am thinking about lighting ratios and technical stuff, not how to make the photo more artistic. I feel that I am held prisoner in my studio and the rules of portrait photography are the guards. My technique has not improved in the last 2 years. Almost all of the photos I have posted on here are test shots that I have thought about keeping because who wants to see another portrait studio portrait? They are BORING!!! I haven't picked up my camera in 3 weeks out of fear that I will just churn out another boring, lifeless, portrait.

I have tried different things in the studio. Using one light, different lighting angles, etc. All still boring.

I see photos from some of my fav photogs on here like:
Abraxas, Craig, Michael Law, Rick Waldroup, Tempra, just to name a few, and I think "why can't I do something like that?".

I live in a small town of about 50,000. Our city is known for it's architecture, but I can't bring myself to photograph a building. It just doesn't appeal to me. I like photographing people, they are strange animals but I can't capture them in their true form in the studio.

My photos don't stand out from the pack. They are the usual stuff you can get at any portrait studio. No one will see a portrait, that I have done, and know that I did it. They have to ask "who did your portrait?" and the response is "Um, I don't know. That one guy".

I know this post is rambling and I probably didn't get my feelings out the way I wanted to but I am in a sort of meltdown stage right now.
I need to break out of the box or sell my stuff (not kidding).

I think you should quit. Life is way too short to spend it doing things you don't enjoy. Every day past you can never get back, so if photography is causing you this intense of a negative feeling, you shouldn't keep going. But I have a feeling deep down inside you don't want to, or you would have quit already. Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye.

I have a feeling it has nothing to do with the photography, really. It has everything to do with doing the same thing over and over day after day. Variety is the spice of life, and you need some right now, that's all! When you go to your job, put in your time, leave, rinse and repeat, you really feel like there should be more. Like you're missing out on something. And from what you posted, this is what I get you're feeling. Instead of it being about life in general, its about your life of photography. The same rules apply, though.

The best advice I have is to step away from the professional side for a while, if you can. You said its supplementary income... can you live without it? Can you walk away from the professional side and make photography about you again? I think you're simply burnt out on your job. I have a feeling the warm fuzzies and rush of getting a good shot will come back when you make it about what YOU want to do, and not someone else. You just need to be a little selfish right now.


I may not be a good photographer, but I understand people, and I understand what it feels like to feel stagnant. IMO you need to get back to your roots. What made you start loving photography in the first place? What drew you to it, and how can you (if you can) recreate that feeling? I think once you figure this out, you'll find that thrill that has disappeared lately.

 

[S2K1]

Something I'd like to do and it may be a crap idea, but I might as well throw it out there. But you should set up a backdrop, and a posing chair or whatever you'd do and bring it outside. Pose them normally, but go wide enough that you get the background too so it's obvious you took a backdrop and set it up on a city street or something. There's going to have to be some planning to accomplish it, but I think it'd be a way to set yourself apart and be unique.

 

[eravedesigns]

My advice is simple...go back to the basics for a bit with no studio lights and no pressure and just shoot portraits in natural light maybe outside or in the persons natural setting. Get in touch with the roots of portraiture :thumbup:

 

[That One Guy]

Been there a few times. I have almost packed it in as well. I find when I get in my funk, I shut down the internet, especially the forums. It can bring me down, with all the BS here and on the other places
I go out alone, without my cam, maybe take a cycling trip, get things off my mind. I dont take my camera with me, and usually by the time I get back , I wish I had of.
Try taking pics of something other then studio work, something more relaxing, and for you...not or anyone else.
Unless this is your living, you can do what you want. Personally for me, I dont want to be a photographer, and have no intention of being pro. I do it for fun, so the pressure is not as much as it would be for somebody who relies on it.
Take care...good luck with your venture.

Thank you Chiller. You are also one of my fav photogs here. I agree that it is time for me to do my own work.

I think you should quit. Life is way too short to spend it doing things you don't enjoy. Every day past you can never get back, so if photography is causing you this intense of a negative feeling, you shouldn't keep going. But I have a feeling deep down inside you don't want to, or you would have quit already. Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye.

I have a feeling it has nothing to do with the photography, really. It has everything to do with doing the same thing over and over day after day. Variety is the spice of life, and you need some right now, that's all! When you go to your job, put in your time, leave, rinse and repeat, you really feel like there should be more. Like you're missing out on something. And from what you posted, this is what I get you're feeling. Instead of it being about life in general, its about your life of photography. The same rules apply, though.

The best advice I have is to step away from the professional side for a while, if you can. You said its supplementary income... can you live without it? Can you walk away from the professional side and make photography about you again? I think you're simply burnt out on your job. I have a feeling the warm fuzzies and rush of getting a good shot will come back when you make it about what YOU want to do, and not someone else. You just need to be a little selfish right now.


I may not be a good photographer, but I understand people, and I understand what it feels like to feel stagnant. IMO you need to get back to your roots. What made you start loving photography in the first place? What drew you to it, and how can you (if you can) recreate that feeling? I think once you figure this out, you'll find that thrill that has disappeared lately.

Thank you

Something I'd like to do and it may be a crap idea, but I might as well throw it out there. But you should set up a backdrop, and a posing chair or whatever you'd do and bring it outside. Pose them normally, but go wide enough that you get the background too so it's obvious you took a backdrop and set it up on a city street or something. There's going to have to be some planning to accomplish it, but I think it'd be a way to set yourself apart and be unique.

Any suggestion is not crap to me. Anything can help. Thank you

My advice is simple...go back to the basics for a bit with no studio lights and no pressure and just shoot portraits in natural light maybe outside or in the persons natural setting. Get in touch with the roots of portraiture :thumbup:

In a way i was starting to get back to the basics by using one light. I agree that natural light portraits would also be great. Thank you.