Getting Out of a Photography Rut
I said I was going to put out some content on my website about getting ‘Unstuck’, and I have started to plan out a 6 week series with weekly instruction and exercises. But I’ve also realized that it’s taking a lot longer than I’d hoped to put together a detailed and useful program, and I don’t want to leave you all hanging.
So here are some suggestions from that material, in no particular order. Hopefully you can find a few that might help if you’re feeling stuck with your photography and unsure how to move forward:
Get rid of non-essential, the clutter, the unimportant stuff that gets in the way. Maybe it’s objects, possessions, or maybe tasks or projects that don’t fit with what you want to achieve.
Your art isn’t just what you make, it’s who you are, your generosity, your passion and compassion
Know your purpose
Commit publicly to a project
Celebrate a failure
Do one thing every day that scares you
Figure out what you really like and why
Make a book cover or album cover or movie poster for one of your favorites
Simplify - use a small prime lens, maybe manual focus
Ignore social media for a while
Or just pick the first post on your IG or Twitter feed and engage with that person rather than endless scrolling
Take photos as a gift for someone else rather than yourself
Remember that life is short - have fun, ignore the negative voices
One of the joys of photography is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, whoever you’re with. Photograph that.
Follow the inspiration whenever it comes
Live life. Vision comes from who you are - be someone interesting.
Think of possibilities, not limitations.
Make a list of what you could do that you find uncomfortable. Your comfort zone will shrink if you don’t force it to grow.
When you notice hints of who you really are, what you really love - write the down. Grasp them. Don’t run away, regardless of whether or not they’re currently ‘cool’.
Write a Photography will - what will I leave, to who
Sit with your current work. Print it. Pick two at random each morning and see how they sit together.
Run your own race, not somebody else’s. Define your own success.
Define your mission
Forget what you’ve learnt, remember why you wanted to photograph in the first place.
Cherish time and silence. Protect it.
Write a journal, with photos
Go somewhere new
Daydream
Remember that you’re not the center of the universe. We all get to contribute, but it’s not all about any one of us.
Also, feel free to drop me an email direct message on IG if you are struggling to know how best to move forward. Talking through some ideas and frustrations is often a good first step, and maybe the answer (or at least the next step) might be more obvious than you realize.
