Are you stuck in a photographic rut? Not sure where to go and what to shoot? Hopefully this article will help get you out and about shooting again.
There are plenty of times when I get creative block. I sit staring at my camera and I really struggle to think of what to photograph next. For me, photography is a release, something to turn to to relieve some of the stresses of our busy lives. I love being out in the open, warm or cold with my camera or drone and just having the freedom to look and when I can actually SEE too that’s a bonus. At times, I take lots of pictures and don’t appreciate at the time their quality. I can come home from a shoot and feel disheartened at what I think I’ve taken only to find that actually there are some great shots mixed in with the rubbish, I just didn’t realise at the time.
So you can see that the block can sit in there (especially if it digs itself wedged in!) right from home, out to the shoot and back again. What can we do to break it?
These images (from a much wider set) came as a result of being stuck on where to fly/capture my drone. Quite a few times this year I’ve driven along the Woodhead Pass from Barnsley to Manchester and noticed how low the levels in the reservoirs are. It came to me suddenly that I ought to capture just how low they were!
Perhaps it isn’t a lack of inspiration that’s driving the brain block but something external to photography. Take a break from whatever you are doing and stop trying so hard. Listen to some music. Read a book. Cook. Bake. I do all of these to relax. Try it and the old creative juices might just start to flow again.
But, what if it’s not that and you need some inspiration on subjects?
The first and most obvious thing to do is just to pick up your camera and start shooting. Indoors or outdoors. Do you have a partner or children? Take them as they go about their business in the house, at work or play. Do you have a car? Go take some shots of that. Up close, far away, get up high (from an upstairs window perhaps?), get down low. Wait until its dark and switch your headlights on. Throw a star filter into the mix too (not sure what they are … look it up!!). Out in the garden I have found no end of interesting subjects to photograph, especially through the great lock down of 2020! Flowers, insects, birds, local cats.
I love long exposures, especially at night. The first time I stood above a motorway on a bridge (in safety of course), took my camera off auto and did some 5-10 second exposures to capture the light trails I was amazed!
Do you normally take pictures of similar things? Are you a landscape person – if so, try people. Or pets. Put yourself outside your comfort zone.
Go for a walk – either in your local area of take the car out – but no pictures whilst driving! If you are going out in the car, have a think about what is in the local area before you set off so you aren’t just driving aimlessly. Google Maps is great for scouting areas before you visit and it has perhaps the most comprehensive database of places and websites (as you would expect!) along with pictures posted from other previous visitors. Look up street photography – a massive subject but immensely popular.
Something else? What about a photo challenge? Do an online search and any number of suggestions will pop up, running for (normally) a week or a month or if you feel exceptionally challenged you can sign up to a 365 day challenge. I have another post about this.
Pick something in your house and challenge yourself to find as many ways as possible to take different images of it.
Perhaps you need to study some of our peers. There are countless photography websites out there waiting to impart their experience and knowledge. Do some searching. Find an amazing photographer and study their work. What makes their images stand out? What styles were successful for them?
Nip to the newsagents and pick up a copy of a great photography magazine – or not; get an online copy and you don’t even have to move.
I think you can see that there is (just about) a limitless amount of inspiration around us in the modern world. If none of the above is working out for you, just search for ‘photo inspiration’.