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Renewing Creativity
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Sometimes I get into a funk about my pics... You know how it is when it feels like you've taken the same shot a million times and there's nothing new around to shoot.
What do you do in those times to renew and refresh??
Posted at 10:36AM, 23 August 2007 PDT
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Try choosing a lens you almost never use, or use a prime instead of a zoom. I love to shoot ultra wide, but every now and again I feel a little bored with it, so I pull out my 75-300 mm and walk around with that. Just keep shooting through the apathy, it will break eventually.
Posted 58 months ago.
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Well, one idea is to participate in our monthly photo assignments on The Digital Story, and really push yourself to try something different. This month's assignment is "intersection."
Also, take on a project that you wouldn't normally do, but one that interests you. Wedding photographers have to do this sometimes to keep from getting burned out on events. So they will take on an animal portrait series for example.
Posted 58 months ago.
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good ideas, I bought a fisheye recently and have had so much fun with it. I bought the Tokina 10-17 ( there are just a few which will give a true 180o fisheye with the crop sensor cameras like the Canon 350 xt that I use) . joanlvh
Posted 58 months ago.
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When I get that way I put on my 50mm f/1.8 and take all my shots inside and out, high-light and low-light. This forces me to really think about what I'm doing and work harder to get what I want — gets me out of the "zoom rut."
Posted 58 months ago.
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nikonluva [deleted] says:
I go back to film every now and then, and put the ol' Minolta SRT 101 to some good use, and give the DSLR a break.
Posted 58 months ago.
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Thanks for all the suggestions. They are all good and in fact I already try to do most of these on a regular basis. In fact I rotate through all of my lenses pretty well every week. It may be worth a try to use a different lens for a particular type of shot (eg. a tele instead of a wide for a landscape).
I think for me what I really need is to stop to think about what is around while I'm shooting and shoot something completely different than what I would normally shoot.
For example I shoot a lot of landscapes and birds (because I happen to have a long daily commute through the prairie) and after awhile they all start to look alike. So I need to try something like macros or panoramics, or even just shoot the mud in the ditch instead of the landscape....
Somehow I need to change it up so that what I'm shooting is different, even though I'm in the same place.
Posted 58 months ago.
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Sean
Since it is my advocation and not my vocation, I have the luxury of just putting it down for awhile. I have stretches where I feel the same way and sometimes I find it best to just put it away. Photography (art) shouldn't feel forced or the joy goes away and you get what you say you are getting, same o'l same o'l. When the spirit moves again, I see things in a different light (no pun intended) all over again.
The other thing I do sometimes is to just go macro. There is never a lack for new subjects when I zoom in rather than out. As far as 'shooting through the apathy', as someone suggested, I don't find that works for me very well.
Shutter time is obviously at the core of what we love, but there is so much more. I do a lot of reading (books and online) about all kinds of things photography and it has really improved my techinques behind the lens, post processing and especially printing. Sometimes I think I enjoy learning and playing with new techniques in post processing almost as much as I do taking pictures.. sometimes, almost :-)
Don't know if this helps but I find it useful when I'm in the doldrums.
Rusty
Originally posted 58 months ago.
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rustyrhodes edited this topic 58 months ago.
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