Question:
I’m in a photography rut. 🙁 (after I asked why) No inspiration whatsoever. None! I’ve started to hate my camera, lol. But for real. I haven’t shot anything since December 26th!!!
Answer:
It’s hard to just give inspiration via email… I really wish I could. But you need to find it on your own. When I was going through some rough patches, and as i love urban shooting, I would just grab my camera and go out and shoot. I’d give myself some mini projects each time, like capturing people holding hands, focus on a single colour (reds, yellows,…) and sometimes just on lines that I see. You may only go out for an hour or so, but I feel by shooting with slight specifics in mind will help get those creative juices going. And the best part? It will totally train your eye to pick up on details. People ask how I can walk into a place, look, stop, snap one photo, move on. It’s training. Your eye is a muscle, it needs a workout.
If you have a kid, instead of fun iphone shots (which are cool on their own for snap memories), bring your camera and aim at making portraits or capturing moments a little more…uh…professionally 🙂 I have a friend who was doing this with her daughter and it totally helped give her skills and she is now a pretty damn awesome child and family photographer. I know it already takes a lot of planning with a kid, but when you can, try and bring the big boy camera (or big girl in his case haha) 🙂
You can find a new technique to try out. Timelapses (my current project), HDR (just not too much because it’s pretty fugly imo), macro… whatever floats your boat. The point is to just get out and do. May seem mundane, but you have to start somewhere. Once you get going, the creativity will flow. 🙂
And really…sometimes…you just need to stop. I shoot for a living and end up shooting a bunch for fun. Sometimes, I just need to put the camera away and NOT shoot. Hence, very wordy posts on my blog like this one hahah 🙂 You can take some time and look over some classic works of photographers who inspire you. I love old street photography from artists like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank,
Hope this helps and gives ya a little kick in the butt!