Getting out of the Photography Funk

I'm not sure what the photography version of writers block is called. Photographer's Block? Motivation in photography comes and goes. Periods of great productivity don't last forever, however hard we try. When motivation does fade it can lead to frustration, which in turn lowers motivation further, and it can be difficult to get back into the groove. Some feel they need to visit new locations, travel somewhere, or buy new gear.

Its something that I've encountered many times. The cameras sit idle in the cupboard gathering dust, while the excuses mount:

• There is nothing new to photograph around; I've photographed everything there is here.
• If only I lived in <insert random city/location here> everything would be better.
• I need to travel somewhere interesting.
• If only I had the latest <insert random brand here> camera. Then I'd be motivated.
• My camera is getting old. I need to upgrade.
• I never have any time.
• The weather is always terrible. Its too cold. Its too hot. Its raining.
• I don't know what to photograph.

There are many great sites that provide lists of ideas and photography assignments to break the drought. 365 (photo a day) projects are popular, but can be challenging to maintain throughout the year. I've tried ... and failed.

Where I have had success getting out of the photography funk, is to create photo sets. Photo sets are mini photography projects consisting of 3 to 5 photos on the a consistent theme. It can be over any time frame, but shorter I find works better. Whilst serious photography projects can span many months, even years, photo sets can be as short as a hour, or span multiple days. It's also a good idea to print out and display the photos.


A couple of example photo sets that I have undertaken are presented below.

Photo Set #1: Shearing Shed

Shearing Shed is a set of three images taken over a weekend. I focused on creating three unique shearing images from inside a single shearing shed. I put some constraints on the set, in order to focus my effort. The images needed to be identifiable as related to shearing (i.e not abstracts), they would be black and white, and the images needed to have the same orientation (i.e. all portrait or all landscape).

I took many shots and then selected the three that were strong images on their own, but also went well together. I printed and framed the images, displaying them in three identical frames, side by side.

Photo Set #2: Sand Dunes

Taken on an iPhone 4 in less than a hour, this was a very short, but nonetheless worthwhile photo set project. We were surf fishing at Almonta Beach, near Coffin Bay, but the salmon hadn't bothered to show up, so things were pretty quiet. I didn't have a camera on me, so I used my iPhone to take some close up photos of the dunes. Once again I set a few parameters; black and white, square format, a set of four photos, and no sky. I wandered around for 30 minutes or so, looking for interesting shapes and lines. From 20 odd images, I selected four. I did have plans to get them printed onto small canvas' and displayed in a 2 x 2 arrangement, but I haven't got there just yet.

As Woody Allen once said "80 percent of success is just showing up", so just getting out with your camera, is the first important step towards getting back into the flow.