Fed up

SnappyHappy

SnappyHappy

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690
Name
Craig
Edit My Images
Yes
Guys,

Been fed up with my photography the last little while.

My subject is my two little daughters, and i'm just getting, well almost bored of doing the same old stuff.

My goal is to document their lives as best and as interesting as I can. Suppose i'm doing 'ok' at this. Take today :

Messing around the old bandstand with eldest, doing some shallow dof with the old iron work of the bandstand, was fine, just....duulll....yawn.

Even bought an ND4 from the Jacobs thread earlier lol maybe head down the canal do some slow shutter stuff very early morning with some narrow boats this week, something with a bit of atmosphere, sounds funny as i have 2 very dynamic subjects normally!!

Thinking about just using my 35 1.8 and nothing else for a while and just maybe going 'simple' for a bit.

Tonight my plan is to do some low key stuff later with the sb600 on the youngests first pair of 'real' shoes :) just mess around with the light, simple stuff if you know what I mean....(do this after her bedtime, just pics of the shoes with something in context beside them) Just bored!

Did a few 5 second exposures of them sleeping last night, was fine, again, got so many of them.....

Anyone the same?

Might just put the camera down for a few weeks, never really felt like that before :( Only positive i can think of is that the seasons are on the change, and maybe get some nice colours, interesting light....

Cheers.
 
Yeah, they do indeed, Gramps...bit worried all the pics will appear same old same old in years to come though...just thinking how i could get more interesting photos in general i suppose. Maybe a phase.

Took a couple of snaps earlier on the iphone, actually just more fun (for me), than with the d90 as odd as it may sound...
Cheers anyway.
 
Not living up to your user name by the sounds of it :thinking:
 
Look forward to taking some shots of them messing about with the leaves in autumn and also be prepared to be photographed with them infront of the lens and not just behind it - you are afterall part of their lives. I always struggle to take an "excemptional" shot of my children.

It sounds like you want that perfect shot yet you sound like you're using more complicated techniques than you really need? Maybe take some basic ones along with other techniques and go from there.
 
Yeah, maybe get fed up looking for that 'perfect' shot i think rather than photography in general, find myself getting like that very easy with this hobby...
Going for a new approach starting tomorrow, go back to simple composition and care less about cluttered backgrounds etc (which is quite silly)...enjoy it more again
 
Why not experiment with your post processing, try something "out there" from your norm settings. it might give you inspiration for shooting some more images..
 
Just go out and have fun with your daughters doing things they enjoy and take your camera with you, I'm positive you will get some brilliant shots along the way as you focus on them rather than any technique/process.
 
Post processing is something i dont do very much of, and is a good idea - thanks. I always shoot jpg, and i'll switch to raw for a bit as well, and do some PP work...be a change
Yeah i hear you, gramps - will do, cheers.
 
SnappyHappy said:
Yeah, maybe get fed up looking for that 'perfect' shot i think rather than photography in general, find myself getting like that very easy with this hobby...
Going for a new approach starting tomorrow, go back to simple composition and care less about cluttered backgrounds etc (which is quite silly)...enjoy it more again
Click to expand...

I think you have answered your own issue there, go back to just taking pictures for fun and that "perfect" shot might come quicker and more often without you realise
 
SnappyHappy said:
My goal is to document their lives as best and as interesting as I can. Suppose i'm doing 'ok' at this.
Click to expand...

A good goal.

SnappyHappy said:
Messing around the old bandstand with eldest, doing some shallow dof with the old iron work of the bandstand, was fine, just....duulll....yawn.
.
Click to expand...

And here's your problem. You want to document their lives.. so stop posing them! Let things happen. Maybe put down the DSLR and pick-up something smaller for a couple of weeks. Less intrusive, more spontaneous.
 
I know the feeling. Our daughter was born 10 months ago and opportunities to shoot anything other than her are few and far between. I shot a mate's wedding a couple of weeks ago and though it was a bit daunting, it was great to finally get to use the camera in anger!

I don't have any great ideas to help you out but it does sound like setting yourself a few challenges isn't a bad idea. I think mine is going to be a black and white film project.
 
Alastair said:
A good goal.



And here's your problem. You want to document their lives.. so stop posing them! Let things happen. Maybe put down the DSLR and pick-up something smaller for a couple of weeks. Less intrusive, more spontaneous.
Click to expand...
spot on here
just enjoy your time with them ,id just record the moment rather than try to create it
 
My youngest is also 10 months, Graham :) its a great age (wot age isnt), but i remember with the eldest (4) how much they change around 9 months - turning to toddlerdom ;) was doing a few shots of narrow boats last week, far from exciting, but its like a different discipline compared with kids. Had time to think and get the shots set up etc, bit of a novelty just having time to think lol
Think that i think to much about it, dont get me wrong my time with them is very precious and i know it, just sort of reached a plateau with the camera for a bit...even leaving it a home more than i used to, not like me!! :)
Looking at nikon 1 system again, dont see me ditching slr though....second camera maybe
All good ideas above, cheers
 
Maybe try something else as well,just have a little break from photographing your daughter,get out with your camera on your own,then you can come back to then hopfully with a fresh set of eyes :)
 
SnappyHappy said:
Might just put the camera down for a few weeks, never really felt like that before :(
Cheers.
Click to expand...


Sometimes this is the best route, throwing more money at the problem by buying new gear or attachments/filters ect won't help, as you will still be in the same position, bored with your current subjects.

Go out without the camera for a few weeks, soon you will be spotting potential pictures left right and centre, without a camera to capture the moments, then when you do pick up the camera again, you will feel refreshed and ready to try again with something new to photograph :thumbs:
 
I think we all go through it. Photographer's block.

Been there many times. Got bored photographing the kids, the cat, the missus, even when she posed nude ... well, i didn't get bored those times, just switched to alternative methods of fun :P


There's no harm in putting the camera away for a week, or 3 ... it'll come back to you. Rediscovering in your own time can be like starting out new, all over again ;)
 
You've not mentioned what you're planning on doing with all the photos you take. Do you have an end goal? Are you working on projects within the scope of documenting their lives or are you just capturing anything and everything? Are you or anyone else looking at the photos as you produce them?

Maybe have a think about the end product. So far, for my daughter, I've compiled a number of photobooks for periods of her life since birth. There aren't any specific themes used, but it's nice to see the photos on paper. Things like these will make nice gifts for the people who care about your kids too.

Another thing I've done is to create face movies using Picasa (desktop). Really interesting to watch the results creating a time lapse video is easily done using photos you have already taken. Here's an example I just found. I've got enough photos to make several-minute long videos at 24FPS with each frame being a different photo!

Have you checked out other photographers for inspiration? Try http://www.petapixel.com/2010/10/01...son-lees-creative-portraits-of-his-daughters/. There was another one which I'd heard about recently, but can't remember where. :thinking:
 
With my Kids I just take my cameras out with me on walks in the forest and take "snaps of them" I try not to pose them, although the eldest does sometimes ask so I do for her.
 
The best pics of my daughter were totally spontaneous. When I say best I dont mean technically perfect photographs I mean the ones that really capture her essence like the one below.

caracold1.jpg


This is destined to be on the wall.

CHEERS
 
Cagey75 said:
when she posed nude ... well, i didn't get bored those times, just switched to alternative methods of fun :P
Click to expand...

Nice idea cagey :)

With the photos, i make up books (blurb) of around the 100 best (last book was 200 pages had that many i was happy with). Get a book ordered every 3 months or so and get it onto the bookcase, i'm a form believer in getting the pics off my computer as most never see the light of day. Works quite well.

I would say only 5% are posed, but just noticing a lot are same old same old - ok, shows them growing up (thats good, dont get me wrong), just feel they lack excitement (my photos, not the girls, they're always hyper :) ) in my head i probably spend to long going through a sub conscious list and sometimes miss the moment :(

Going to chill out with it, cheers all a good few ideas here ;)
 
Are you attempting to do this on a daily,weekly or whenever you can manage it basis? My mate`s Dad did a short video diary of him and his sister which was done weekly but on no particular day, did it up to the age they left home which was about in their mid 20`s. Have you thought about letting the kids take the odd shot or two of the things they find of interest as well? Get them a small cheap compact between them so they can include pictures of the rest of the family enjoying themselves. Having something to look back on in years to come and trigger those memories does not have to be just about the two of them imo.
 
Hi, Craig.

Is it photography in general you're getting tired of or just photographing your daughters? If it'sjust your daughters, how about just cutting down the frequency of shoots with them? If you've been snapping them on a daily basis, maybe try just once a week at the weekend, although you'll obviously want to keep some sort of camera handy for when they do something cute or pass a landmark like first proper steps. Do you have a compact/bridge? I've recently bought myself a superzoom bridge, the Fuji HS30 and am extremely impressed with the handling and features, although I have yet to do any prints from it. Start up time is more than acceptable at around a second from switch on.

Looks like Richard has the same idea as me but beat me to the actual posting. I was trying to find out the official start up time of the HS30 and had to switch on my netbook since he manual isn't on this machine yet.
 
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Just fed up getting the same(ish) pics i suppose. Started pixel peeping a while back if i'm honest, and i do a lot of indoor shallow dof stuff at 1.8, pic will head straight to the bin if one eye is slightly missed, and i mean slightly...That side of the habit, i dont really like and want to try and get away from my perfectionist side (photography brings that out in me i find :( ) if i find myself doing it, i put the camera down now lol
would take pics at least 5 days out of 7, kids dont mind it (wouldnt do it if they did) and dont want to turn it into a task as such. Reckon i'll head down the marina later with the CPL (please sunshine) and do some boats lol
Was thinking about picking up a little Nikon 1 or something, but don't know. Just a grab-and-go solution (d90 isnt huge but all the stuff with it sometimes) Help cut down on all the bulk of dslr etc when you have kids stuff as well, we'll see....really like look of those x100's or om-d's....must. Not. Buy. Lol

Did start picking up a few other books recently actually, just for some inspiration, so yeah thats a good idea. Dont want to try to hard though if that makes sense, just get away from all that....

Cheers.

Ipad typing arghh
 
Rich, like your idea, thanks. Eldest has a 'toy' camera big pink thing 2.0mp takes sd cards so will give that a whirl, cheers. Just after 'happier' photos (not that i dont have them) if that makes sense, get away from that pixel peeping stuff, but its damn difficult when you've picked it up....very bad habit i'm finding...great for landscapes etc maybe, rubbish for kids....
 
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