Photographers Block?

[Shaun Palmer]

Is it a thing? I have been into photography as a hobby since I was 20ish, I'm now in my thirties. I quite often go out and take a set of photos and when I get back I just think why did I bother when I review my images, or when I'm out I just can't seem to focus on what I'm trying to achieve if that makes sense.

Just wondered if anyone else experiences the same thing lol. Image below is just one from Linhope Spout waterfall in Northumberland on a walk for interest

 

[benc98]

I recommend mixing photography with other interests

and/or, buy or look at photobooks - looking through a book often gives me ideas or a shot of motivation

 

[Shaun Palmer]

I recommend mixing photography with other interests

and/or, buy or look at photobooks - looking through a book often gives me ideas or a shot of motivation

Our main hobby is walking/hiking so the camera always comes along lol. Although I haven't read a good book in a while I'll have a look

 

[swanseamale47]

I think most photographers who have been taking pics for any length of time run into a "block" of sorts. My issue is I've "burned out" all my local places and just dont have time to go further for shots. You can only get so many pics of say an old wooden jetty before you think... Nahhh! Done it already.
I find setting myself a chalenge helps. maybe get 3 pics of leaves, or people or whatever. Or shooting with a different lens, maybe only shoot with a 20mm. makes you look for something different.

 

[lindsay]

This is exactly why we run the DPOTY and 52 challenges on TP, in order to provide that bit of a push to get people shooting to a limited brief, which can sometimes lead to a broader enthusiasm.

 

[Graham W]

It happens, don't fight it...I live on the edge of the Peak District and walk there a lot...always take a camera, get home , load them up and think...so what.
I take a camera because it's "What I Do".
Go some where you've not been before or try something new...or just take some time out.

 

[gman]

I got it for a while, ended up selling my gear but it didn't take long to miss it. Maybe try aiming for more 'golden hour' shots to see if that helps with inspiration? Also, I'm noticing a bit of camera shake, are you using a tripod?

 

[GreenNinja67]

Take a trip to Eryri (Snowdonia).

Guaranteed to get the old photo juices flowing again.

 

[ashishtamhane]

I have been into photography as a hobby

Take a break and put down your camera for a while. You can’t force a hobby if you don’t enjoy it.

 

[flook999]

shoot a project on a theme, print it, hell maybe even join in the next zine exchange Having a project, for me at least, brings focus to my photography and a reason to get out there and shoot. Printing it gives me something tangible as a reward

 

[ecoleman]

Our main hobby is walking/hiking so the camera always comes along lol. Although I haven't read a good book in a while I'll have a look

I’m going through this right now.

The problem is the better you get the more critical you are of the photos you take and the photos you do take are perhaps a bit more considered. I often go for a walk and never take the camera out of the bag.

We walk a lot and I rarely take the camera with me anymore when we walk as I find I just don’t get the time I want at a composition.

These days if we walk, we walk. If I want to take photos I go out by myself which gives me more time to just wander around looking for a composition or allows me the time to just sit an wait for better light without having to worry about the wife and dogs.

 

[Kell]

This is exactly why we run the DPOTY and 52 challenges on TP, in order to provide that bit of a push to get people shooting to a limited brief, which can sometimes lead to a broader enthusiasm.

I would echo this absolutely.

Having a set theme can really help you think about the same old subjects in a different way,

I've done it the last three years and while it can sometimes feel like a chore, shooting to a 'brief' of sorts does get you thinking.

 

[Harlequin565]

when I'm out I just can't seem to focus on what I'm trying to achieve if that makes sense

Yeah, this is really common in my experience.

If you don't know what you're looking for, how are you going to find it?

Having a reason to take photos can kick start things again as has been mentioned above. Either working to forced themes (like with the 52 and POTY challenges) or a theme you decided yourself (like with the Zine exchange, or just starting a thread in the "Personal Projects" forum, or even something off TP like an LRPS/ARPS or a photography night class) will get you hunting for things that relate to that theme. Also, all of them "finish" at some point too, so you get a sense of satisfaction from completing it. That can often be enough to get you going again.

 

[Plain Nev]

I think most photographers who have been taking pics for any length of time run into a "block" of sorts. My issue is I've "burned out" all my local places and just dont have time to go further for shots. You can only get so many pics of say an old wooden jetty before you think... Nahhh! Done it already.
I find setting myself a chalenge helps. maybe get 3 pics of leaves, or people or whatever. Or shooting with a different lens, maybe only shoot with a 20mm. makes you look for something different.

I hear you Wayne. I don't know about challenges, but I can certainly identify with the rest. I try not to let it get me down. But then a lot of it is of my own making. I have far too many cameras, and feel compelled to shoot them all. So you very soon hit a brick wall. I think eventually I'll stick them all in drawers and ignore them, with only two, or three for regular use. That would be my way of dealing with it.

 

[Shaun Palmer]

Hi all

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. It would take a while to reply individually but some great advice and wisdom shared

 

[Shaun Palmer]

I got it for a while, ended up selling my gear but it didn't take long to miss it. Maybe try aiming for more 'golden hour' shots to see if that helps with inspiration? Also, I'm noticing a bit of camera shake, are you using a tripod?

Hi Graham

For this particular shot I was knee deep in the pool trying to rest my tripod on a few uneven rocks, I tried ha

 

[myotis]

Our main hobby is walking/hiking so the camera always comes along lol. Although I haven't read a good book in a while I'll have a look

How about "documenting" your walks. So, instead of thinking about individual pictures. think about a producing a photo story of each walk, which could end up as a zine or.a slldeshow. This should still produce good individual pictures, but eases the pressure a bit.

At the other extreme, if you don't already use a tripod, I find that the "ritual" of getting the camera out of my bag and setting it up on a tripod focusses my mind, and links me to the subject, in a way I can't easily duplicate when using the camera handheld. As part of this ritual, I use my iphone (using the "Viewfinder" app) to quickly explore possible pictures, before setting up the camera. I use prime lenses and the viewfinder app, helps me choose which lens to put on the camera.

With this second approach, I seem to ether quickly dismiss a potential picture. or I get so engrossed in trying out different compositions and viewpoins (iPhone then fine tuning with the camera) that many minutes can quickly pass without me noticing.

This second approach only really works when I'm on my own, and I;m happy enough to only make two or three photographs per trip. Occasionally, I don't take any pictures, but that’s; fine as I still enjoy the experience of being out and exploring potential pictures.

 

[droj]

To me it's about looking - looking for what I can extract from somewhere. (All photographs are extracts, bounded by their edges.) It can be a kind of hunt.

To me it requires emotional engagement. The picture has to mean something, at least to me. So look with feeling, but at the same time engage the intellect - judge the light and how it translates exposure-wise to the chosen medium (b&w / colour film, or digital). Think viewpoint, framing, focus (including dof), and exposure. Aesthetics and technique are bound together.

We learn by doing. Experiment - you're allowed to throw some away afterwards!

 

[droj]

And do look at lots of other people's photos, and critique them with your head and heart. If an image works to stimulate or satisfy - how does it do that? You don't have to aim to copy anything, but you can imbibe possibilities, inhabit the genre of photography at large.

Another thing is that life often lurches along in phases. That's natural. We can have sabbaticals from a given pursuit.

 

[NPUK]

I quite often go out and take a set of photos and when I get back I just think why did I bother when I review my images, or when I'm out I just can't seem to focus on what I'm trying to achieve if that makes sense.

What is it that's making you think "Why did I bother"... Is it that you don't like your photos ? or is it that it feels a pointless exercise eg. with no end result ?

 

[Kell]

I totally get what you mean though.

We went out a couple of weekends to do a walk that we've done several times before.

The light wasn't great, I didn't see anything I'd not seen before. I took maybe 20 shots while I was out, but deleted nearly all of them when I got back.

 

[gman]

You could also try finding a particular niche to focus on and master, such as B&W, architectural, panoramic, street etc?

 

[ShinySideUp]

A reason I do the TP challenges (I'm a bit behind on the 52 but there is something on the way).

A year or so ago, I went through the 'fed up of this' period as I was always unhappy with my photography results. I even went so far as having the whole kit and caboodle packed up and ready for collection by LCE and I was just going to use my Fuji X100V for the occasions when I wanted a camera. At the last minute, I cancelled the collection and I'm so glad I did. In the end, I traded in my Fuji (not happy with the occasionally sticking viewfinder curtain), bought myself a couple of different lenses, started again on the challenges and my interest is on the go again. I often take a camera with me now.

Do the challenges here on TP, they aren't competitions and you can jump in anytime.

 

[Plain Nev]

Lately I have reinvigorated my enthusiasm somewhat by simply looking at things differently. Things that you might normally shoot up close and personal benefit from stepping back and seeing them in the context of the wider environment. Often new compositions will appear you might not have thought of.

 

[JDP]

I know exactly what you mean, I think it is a thing.

I have something similar, I have been doing photography since 2006, I should be better than I am. I kick myself as my terrible shots.... I then put the camera down for month if not years and then when I pick it up again I make the same mistakes a beginner does, get annoyed and the camera get's dusty again! It's a bad cycle really, trying to improve it. I try an invigorate myself by doing workshops, which is great and reminds me why I enjoy it... But at the same time, my field craft also sucks, and as for someone who wants to do wildlife, not great! ha.

I personally need to work out how to make friends who're also into it so there's no excuse!

 

[ShinySideUp]

I have something similar, I have been doing photography since 2006, I should be better than I am.

I have been playing chess all my life, on and off, but my rating is under 1000ELO (which is pretty grim unless you are a beginner with an excuse) but I love playing the game but nothing comes easy. As with chess, so it is with taking the definitive photograph, I like the trying, if I won every time it wouldn't be any fun.

 

[jerry12953]

I get it too. I've been doing it for so long now that I need a challenge or an objective to motivate me. I hardly ever take a camera along on a walk "for the ride" now, whereas I guess that was what I used to do in my earlier days. Some years I barely pick up the camera throughout the whole winter - living in a grey and dismal Wales as I do. But I do feel that my thought processes have moved on a little during each break and I may tackle new subjects in a slightly different "light".

 

[Phil V]

I have something similar, I have been doing photography since 2006, I should be better than I am. I kick myself as my terrible shots

I’ve seen a bit of this attitude lately and it’s bonkers.

Photography is a skill, it requires knowledge and practice. That can be obtained in a very short amount of time with sufficient drive, or never without the necessary application.

My uncle was the only ‘keen’ photographer I knew growing up, and to be brutally honest, by the time of his death in his 80’s he’d never taken a photo with any attraction beyond that for family history.

But I’ve also worked with photographers who have become successful pros within a couple of years of starting.

The difference is largely down to attitude, btw I have owned a guitar for 15 years, and it gives me no pleasure at all, I still can’t play and I’m certain it’s not because I’m incapable, more that I can’t be arsed.

 

[Micro-four-thirds]

My answer was to take up wildlife photography. You never know what your going to see when you go out and that for me adds to the excitement.
Yes I go out a lot and don’t see much but when I do it makes it so rewarding. Plus it encourages me to take my camera everywhere, I never seem to be able to forget the day I walked home from work and had a fox walk alongside me for about 30ft stop and yawn then lay down by a tree and Sod’s law I didn’t have a camera on me. It was an amazing experience.

 

[myotis]

But I’ve also worked with photographers who have become successful pros within a couple of years of starting.

The difference is largely down to attitude, btw I have owned a guitar for 15 years, and it gives me no pleasure at all, I still can’t play and I’m certain it’s not because I’m incapable, more that I can’t be arsed.

It's a good comparison, as you need tremendous effort and enthusiasm to become a good musician. On the few occasions when I have gone to lessons to play a musical instrument, I was expected to practice at least an hour a day, plus at least one "big" session a week of practise, and at least one session a week playing with others. Fortunately, this was far too much effort for me, so the world has largely managed to avoid my guitar, clarinet and bagpipe playing !

I think, the problem (and the joy) with photography, is that the "cost of entry" is so low (in terms of effort). It's just too easy to start producing pictures without fully realising just how difficult it is, and never learn how much effort and enthusiasm is needed. This is in contrast to your guitar playing, or, for example, painting, where playing a recognisable tune or drawing a recognisable picture of your granny is difficult, By the time you have have learnt the discipline needed to learn the basic skills of being a musician or a painter you have also become skilled in the "discipline" needed to become an "artist".

Ansel Adams, spoke about how important the discipline learnt while training as a concert pianist was to his photography, and Cartier Bresson spoke about how essential it is to practice your photography every day.

And while not comparing myself to either of the above, I find a big difference in my relationship to photography when I've been taking photographs on 20-25 days of the month compared to the months where I've only managed out 5-7 days.

With the high effort months I get into a "flow" and both the technical and creative elements just come more naturally, and with less conscious effort. I really enjoy my high effort months.

As an aside, it;s interesting that it's only during the "low effort" months that I contemplate replacing ny D750 with a Z7, during the "high effort" months it never comes into my mind.

 

[Phil V]

o the world has largely managed to avoid my guitar, clarinet and bagpipe playing !

 

[Ed Sutton]

I think, the problem (and the joy) with photography, is that the "cost of entry" is so low (in terms of effort). It's just too easy to start producing pictures without fully realising just how difficult it is, and never learn how much effort and enthusiasm is needed. This is in contrast to your guitar playing, or, for example, painting, where playing a recognisable tune or drawing a recognisable picture of your granny is difficult, By the time you have have learnt the discipline needed to learn the basic skills of being a musician or a painter you have also become skilled in the "discipline" needed to become an "artist".

Whatever happened to the Punk ideology "It's easy, it's cheap, go and do it!" Or as Lou Reed said, "Any more than two chords is jazz!"

There is no need to be technically proficient to make good music or take good photographs. The attitude that it is holds people back. Add on a fear of failure, an impression ath tcertain skill levels have to be attained, and they're doomed. Failure is a big part of the creative process. Everyone makes more rubbish than good stuff.

Essentially you need a couldn't give a s*** attitude. Mess about with your instrument/tool. Make a noise, take some snaps. See what you can do. Enjoy it and do it a lot. Work within limitations and it's surprising what you can produce.

You really do need to want to explore your medium/media of choice from a creativity perspective, not a technical one. Without that drive you're just going through the motions and more interested in the idea of being a photographer/musician/artist. Hence people becoming blocked.

Trying to think your way out of a blockage doesn't work. "Working through it" is what you have to do. You put your head down, make work (usually crap) and eventually you come out the other side with a new direction. If you're afraid of failing you can't do that. Digital is so cheap to make crap with there's no excuse not to 'work through' when you're stuck.

 

[ShinySideUp]

As the years have gone by and I've got older, I find I take my camera out more often than not. If I go to Plymouth for a general wander I'll have my camera with me and we have recently joined the National Trust and I never go to a stately home without my camera. I've only just started with NT interiors but my first effort, that I quite like, is in this month's DPOTY challenge.

I would like to do wildlife photography but really have no idea where to start. I have the gear: D850, Sigma 60-600mm, decent tripod, what I don't have is the wildlife. You'd think, considering where I live, in rural Cornwall, that I'd see loads of wild things, but I'm always out and about and apart from the odd buzzard or very distant rabbit, there's nothing. Of course, I usually have the dogs with me, on long leads, so that might have a bearing on the matter.

 

[myotis]

Whatever happened to the Punk ideology "It's easy, it's cheap, go and do it!" Or as Lou Reed said, "Any more than two chords is jazz!"

There is no need to be technically proficient to make good music or take good photographs. The attitude that it is holds people back. Add on a fear of failure, an impression ath tcertain skill levels have to be attained, and they're doomed. Failure is a big part of the creative process. Everyone makes more rubbish than good stuff.

Indeed, much of what you say reflects what I was including in my aside to "and the joy". ie that the ease of taking photographs means so many more people can enjoy photography without needing high levels of skill. And digital makes it so much less expensive to fail.

Essentially you need a couldn't give a s*** attitude. Mess about with your instrument/tool. Make a noise, take some snaps. See what you can do. Enjoy it and do it a lot. Work within limitations and it's surprising what you can produce.

I agree, and again digital is great for this.

You really do need to want to explore your medium/media of choice from a creativity perspective, not a technical one. Without that drive you're just going through the motions and more interested in the idea of being a photographer/musician/artist. Hence people becoming blocked.

I agree, but I suspect I see the creative and the technical as being more closely connected than you do, I think that technical skills can open up creative options and reduce creative frustrations. The problem, as I see it, is where achieving technical excellence becomes an end in itself rather than a tool to help achieve or explore creative vision. I therefore think that a lack of technical competence, can act as block to creativity. Even if the bigger problem is almost certainly too much focus on the technical.

Trying to think your way out of a blockage doesn't work. "Working through it" is what you have to do. You put your head down, make work (usually crap) and eventually you come out the other side with a new direction. If you're afraid of failing you can't do that. Digital is so cheap to make crap with there's no excuse not to 'work through' when you're stuck.

I see this as the most important part of the disciplined approach I wa advocating. ie making the effort to regularly get out there and take photographs

 

[Ed Sutton]

I agree, but I suspect I see the creative and the technical as being more closely connected than you do, I think that technical skills can open up creative options and reduce creative frustrations. The problem, as I see it, is where achieving technical excellence becomes an end in itself rather than a tool to help achieve or explore creative vision. I therefore think that a lack of technical competence, can act as block to creativity. Even if the bigger problem is almost certainly too much focus on the technical.

There's technical competence and technical mastery. All I need to know is what I need to know.

A lack of technical competence can be a spur to creativity as it forces you to find a way round a problem using what knowledge you have.

I have a friend who tries really hard to take landscape photographs with his 'proper' camera. He does all the stuff he thinks you are supposed to do - tripod, filters, careful exposure. -but he reckons he takes 'better' photos on his phone. He isn't technically minded and gets frustrated to the point of not using his camera when he makes asilly mistake. Everyone makes silly mistakes now and then. I certainly do!

I'm sure that he's over-thinking when doing things properly instead of looking for a picture and going with his instinct. I've tried to get him to put the camera in P mode, leave the tripod and filters at home and try that. But he doesn't. The annoying/sad thing is that he does have a pretty good eye for composition. But the technical side baffles him.

I think this is where a lot of newcomers to photography get stuck, trying to master the technical side before learning to 'see' photographs.

 

[myotis]

There's technical competence and technical mastery. All I need to know is what I need to know.

Isn't technical mastery reaching the level of technical competence necessary to make the kind of pictures you want ?

A lack of technical competence can be a spur to creativity as it forces you to find a way round a problem using what knowledge you have.

I agree

I have a friend who tries really hard to take landscape photographs with his 'proper' camera. He does all the stuff he thinks you are supposed to do - tripod, filters, careful exposure. -but he reckons he takes 'better' photos on his phone. He isn't technically minded and gets frustrated to the point of not using his camera when he makes asilly mistake. Everyone makes silly mistakes now and then. I certainly do!

Lots of people are taking "serious" photographs with camera phones, and it's a great tool for exploring ideas. Having said that, I've only ever taken half a dozen photographs on my phone.

I'm sure that he's over-thinking when doing things properly instead of looking for a picture and going with his instinct. I've tried to get him to put the camera in P mode, leave the tripod and filters at home and try that. But he doesn't. The annoying/sad thing is that he does have a pretty good eye for composition. But the technical side baffles him.

My Olympus + 12-200 zoom that lives in the bag I carry everywhere is on P-mode .

I think this is where a lot of newcomers to photography get stuck, trying to master the technical side before learning to 'see' photographs.

"Seeing" photographs is still, and always has been, the difficult bit, and it's great that modern cameras make the technical bits so easy that you only need to develop your craft as your vision dictates.

 

[Ed Sutton]

...it's great that modern cameras make the technical bits so easy that you only need to develop your craft as your vision dictates.

Indeed it is. Auto ISO and cameras that can 'shoot in the dark' have made a big difference to me. I checked the ISO on a recent photo of mine and at 18,000 it had less noise/grain than the shots from a roll of 1,600 ASA slide film I once tried. It's witchcraft I tell you!

 

[Ed Sutton]

Has Mike Johnston been reading this thread? https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html

 

[LeeRatters]

I quite like to go out & look for a 'set' of images. If I'm not out for a particular image at sunrise for example.....

Either several compositions featuring the same subject. Or different subjects linked by shape or colour etc which is why I quite often like to visit certain areas or villages.

Urban Bristol (actually the same street!!) - I know it might not be everyone's cup of tea.....

*** by Lee, on Flickr

*** by Lee, on Flickr

Or Castle Combe (same property)

*** by Lee, on Flickr

*** by Lee, on Flickr

*** by Lee, on Flickr

 

[James J]

The block is avoided by investing time in a few different types of photography. I focus on bird photography in the colder months when atmospheric distortion is much lower and there’s more diffuse light and then landscape and macro in the warmer months.

There’s some theme based competitions on here that are a great way of thinking about photography in a different way. Making the most basic and mundane everything days and making them interesting.

I often look at other photographers images as you never know where inspiration can come from!