Reading mode: Light Dark

How to overcome a creative rut ?

Go to last post
Pick one lens (a single focal length work best for this) and only use that for at least a month. Strangely putting restrictions on one's self can make your photography better. You don't spend any time thinking about what lens to use and you become more creative with what you have. And shooting becomes a more natural act.

I bought the original X100 when it came out and being restricted to its lens limitation made me a lot better photographer. However YMMV.

Try it and it it does not work for you I will double your money back!

--
Zack S
"May the Focus be with you"
Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/10025089@N05
 
Last edited:
Photography is not always so very creative. Sometimes it is just trying to understand how your camera really works - or how you can technically use it. Sometimes it is just recording things around you, Sometimes a boring family gathering.... Sometimes you want to tell a story, but there is nothing to tell.

BUT usually the bad or boring times just go away. And if you have luck you want to do something - and you notice it was almost creative. Some day you really want to tell something.

I just came from Tel Aviv and i think there are a lot of stories lying hidden in the sand - i did not find many, i just took snapshots. Creativity - well , ;-) - some day













--
Kari
I started SLR photography in 1968, first DSLR was Canon 40D in 2007. Now Fujifilm X-E3 and the new 80D are my favourites - also 6D for landscapes and some portraits.
 
Sofa strategy: Get on pinterest, start searching for images you like, build some inspiration boards - then go shoot them

Street strategy: Walk for two minutes, stop, find an image to shoot in the next 60 seconds, repeat.

Equipment strategy: Pick one lens, shoot with it for 30 days, do NOT change lenses during that time.

Sofa strategy: Get a paint swatch color palette from your local DIY store or online. Then challenge yourself to go shoot subjects within that palette for a week/month. Take it with you or a copy on you phone as reference.
 
KariP said:
Photography is not always so very creative. Sometimes it is just trying to understand how your camera really works - or how you can technically use it. Sometimes it is just recording things around you, Sometimes a boring family gathering.... Sometimes you want to tell a story, but there is nothing to tell.

BUT usually the bad or boring times just go away. And if you have luck you want to do something - and you notice it was almost creative. Some day you really want to tell something.

I just came from Tel Aviv and i think there are a lot of stories lying hidden in the sand - i did not find many, i just took snapshots. Creativity - well , ;-) - some day



Click to expand...
Second one is really good!

I cropped it maybe for better effect, maybe not:



Modern vs traditional?
Modern vs traditional?



--
Tom Schum
Copper: Mankind's favorite electrical conductor
 
Tom Schum said:
KariP said:
Photography is not always so very creative. Sometimes it is just trying to understand how your camera really works - or how you can technically use it. Sometimes it is just recording things around you, Sometimes a boring family gathering.... Sometimes you want to tell a story, but there is nothing to tell.

BUT usually the bad or boring times just go away. And if you have luck you want to do something - and you notice it was almost creative. Some day you really want to tell something.

I just came from Tel Aviv and i think there are a lot of stories lying hidden in the sand - i did not find many, i just took snapshots. Creativity - well , ;-) - some day



Click to expand...
Second one is really good!

I cropped it maybe for better effect, maybe not:

Modern vs traditional?
Modern vs traditional?
Click to expand...
Well, with a longer lens i probably would have cropped it like you did . The guy standing alone with a mobile device was also part of some story of our modern life ;-) and i did not want to go closer to disturb them. They (all 5 ) were all together practising acrobatic things, taking videos and those two were also practising some romantic things ...

Nice late afternoon before sunset

--
Kari
I started SLR photography in 1968, first DSLR was Canon 40D in 2007. Now Fujifilm X-E3 and the new 80D are my favourites - also 6D for landscapes and some portraits.
 
KariP said:
Photography is not always so very creative. Sometimes it is just trying to understand how your camera really works - or how you can technically use it. Sometimes it is just recording things around you, Sometimes a boring family gathering.... Sometimes you want to tell a story, but there is nothing to tell.

BUT usually the bad or boring times just go away. And if you have luck you want to do something - and you notice it was almost creative. Some day you really want to tell something.

I just came from Tel Aviv and i think there are a lot of stories lying hidden in the sand - i did not find many, i just took snapshots. Creativity - well , ;-) - some day



Click to expand...
Great photos ! Thanks for sharing :)
I live like 20-30 minutes from TLV !

--
cheers,
www.nathansva.com
 
Heyiamnate said:
KariP said:
Photography is not always so very creative. Sometimes it is just trying to understand how your camera really works - or how you can technically use it. Sometimes it is just recording things around you, Sometimes a boring family gathering.... Sometimes you want to tell a story, but there is nothing to tell.

BUT usually the bad or boring times just go away. And if you have luck you want to do something - and you notice it was almost creative. Some day you really want to tell something.

I just came from Tel Aviv and i think there are a lot of stories lying hidden in the sand - i did not find many, i just took snapshots. Creativity - well , ;-) - some day



Click to expand...
Great photos ! Thanks for sharing :)
I live like 20-30 minutes from TLV !
Click to expand...
Yes , i noticed that. And i wanted to send some very fresh images from your neighbourhood - instead of sending some from my own neighbourhood, that you will never see ...




Some winter years ago in Helsinki ( now there is no snow )






Hanko, sailing on ice






Boating in the spring, Hanko - Baltic sea






My archipelago jeep - nothing creative ; - )



--
Kari
I started SLR photography in 1968, first DSLR was Canon 40D in 2007. Now Fujifilm X-E3 and the new 80D are my favourites - also 6D for landscapes and some portraits.
 
Heyiamnate said:
Thanks ! Hope you enjoyed in Israel :)
Click to expand...
Yes !

We stayed about a week in Tel Aviv and made a one day visit to Jerusalem.

J. is very interesting and very strange , but we really enjoyed the modern rather relaxed atmosphere in Tel Aviv ( and food and our long walks around the city , boulevards , beaches and Bauhaus architecture and so on)
 
The other name for "rut" is "comfort zone." Get out of your comfort zone. Take a focal length prime you don't use much - one you are not comfortable with. Maybe as someone else recommended buy one. Set the camera to manual everything and go out and develop the skill craft on a genre you don't normally practice. Force yourself to develop a new skill.
 
Some years ago I became part of a group on the internet, we became good friends and met for a weekend in a hotel two times a year, however we used to set subjects and just made remarks on the images we all shot. I have mentioned this before on this forum but when I became a chairman of a camera club I introduced a monthly comp of set subjects ( the winner of the monthly then set the next subject) and it gave us all something to go out and shoot and membership and the amount of monthly entries sky rocketed. Just a thought if you can find a local club or even a group on the internet.

Dave
 
Old Timer63 said:
Some years ago I became part of a group on the internet, we became good friends and met for a weekend in a hotel two times a year, however we used to set subjects and just made remarks on the images we all shot. I have mentioned this before on this forum but when I became a chairman of a camera club I introduced a monthly comp of set subjects ( the winner of the monthly then set the next subject) and it gave us all something to go out and shoot and membership and the amount of monthly entries sky rocketed. Just a thought if you can find a local club or even a group on the internet.

Dave
Click to expand...
If you went and took formal training in photography from an art college or university, the typical class would involve lectures and assignments. After an assignment - where you were sent out to photograph a given subject matter - people would hang their prints on a cork board wall and there would be a directed peer review of the work. Sometimes it even got heated - but the instructor was there to keep it between the rails.

This type of feedback is the best way to learn and progress in developing your skill. It is difficult to become a good photographer, painter, etc. in a vacuum.
 
Identify a subject, technique, style, or skill that you don't feel confidant in your ability to shoot and then shoot nothing but that until you've figured it out to your satisfaction.

Sometimes, a short break, say two or three days, where you do something else that you love and completely ignore photography will allow you to see and appreciate your work more clearly when you return to it.

Creative work has ups and downs. Often, dissatisfaction with your work is a precursor to a step up in quality. So, recognizing that you aren't able to be objective about your work means accepting that you are not always going to like or be proud of what you do. Just keep on working. Dissatisfaction means you are seeing things in your work that you don't like, those are the things to focus in on and work to improve.

That's all I've got. Hope it helps.
 
What I noticed for me is the following :

1/-The photos i take when I am with people usually go to the trash, I need to be alone

2/- My best shots are usually the unexpected ones, when I walk at random without particular purpose

3/- I am the kind of guy that cannot produce good shots on commands/demands apart events or portrait

4/- My best shots are produced when I am just conducted by my intuition

5/- Last the success is a kind of probability when chance, intuition and skills meet together

Finally carrying always a of gear without a prefixed purpose is the best way to get some great shots...sometimes, many of my great shots were produced when walking at random

I am not interestd by photos that are images or noce postcards

The good photo is the one that produces mood

May be this will be of some help for you

Bob
 
Sometimes you just gotta produce pictures and figure out the creative part later. You can't rely on motivation or inspiration--it comes and goes.

That's the pro life anyway. Have to produce under deadlines and pressure--no time for the right emotion to come along and help push.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top