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11/13/2004 11:35:45 PM · #1 |
| Does anyone else out there get photographer's block? I'm going through a period where I dislike everything I shoot - which is making it murder to participate in challenges. Any suggestions for breaking through? |
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11/13/2004 11:37:19 PM · #2 |
| I can't help you get through it, but I must have a permanent case of photographer's block then because I RARELY like ANYTHING that I shoot. If I don't like anything at all though, it usually means I didn't take enough pictures that day. |
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11/14/2004 12:28:39 AM · #3 |
im going through the same thing now as well. It happens from time to time for me. I find not even touching my camera for a week or so helps. Also I will look at others photos or a few magazines and books and usualy come up with some ideas and break the "block" that way
James |
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11/14/2004 01:40:52 AM · #4 |
I am having a hard time due to the time change and winter closing in. Its dark when I go to work and getting dark when I return home. The only decent light I am able to grab lately is on my way home and that means trying to take photos with my 2 year old tagging along. I've taken some of my best shots that way, but it can be challenging. It also has been overcast and rainy a lot. I've decided that I need to work on lighting and set up shots due to the current conditions, but I don't enjoy it nearly as much. At least not yet. Maybe, if I see some improvement, it will inspire me.
Darlene
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11/14/2004 01:52:09 AM · #5 |
I share your pain. Less than 24 hours to the deadline for the ‘heroes’ challenge and I have not got the shot I want. And the ‘black and white II’ challenge is approaching quickly and I don’t have a shot I like so far. So I say I’m in the same situation. I believe its because I just got a new camera and I’m playing with it instead of trying to get photographs for the challenges.
Message edited by author 2004-11-14 01:52:54. |
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11/14/2004 02:14:33 AM · #6 |
I have found that dpchallenge stimulates my imagination to come up with entries for each challenge but I get photographers block to come up with good ideas that work. I dont know if it's Murphys Law, but I quite often see perfect concepts for the previous challenge while trying to shoot for the current challenge. The biggest error to date & my worst score was putting in an entry just to make up the numbers. I'll try not to make that mistake again...
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11/14/2004 03:45:23 AM · #7 |
Simple...take more pictures. By doing this you will make your chances greater of coming out with a photo you do like. Make a point to take a certain amount of pictures a day, then find the best one of the day. Start a photo-a-day project and keep it going till you feel better about your photo quality. It has absolutely worked for me...now I'm not doing that great in the challenges but I'm taking photos that "I" really like, because I know I'm my worst critique...so if I like it someone, emphasis the ONE in that, else will like it also.
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11/14/2004 08:57:05 AM · #8 |
That's funny, because I'm in the middle of writing an article for a local camera club, explaining ways to get out of photographer's block...
I'll just mention some of the points I will be bringing up in the article in a very summarized way. I'm going to suggest...
- to try shooting with unfamiliar film such as high-speed or infrared (digital users - try capturing subjects that would look good with those effects simulated)
- giving yourself a photography assignment...some project that sounds challenging or interesting, doesn't need to be completed quickly, but give you the push when you get in a rut...
- try the contemplative approach to photography: studio still life..doesn't take a lot to take great pictures in your home with available light or a simple light setup from a hardware store... set up a shot, take control of lighting composition and work it at your own pace. Great for winter!
- alternate framing: try going to locations looking for subjects that fit a panoramic or square frame. The point here is to try anything that will make you look at your subject in different ways.
- like TomFoolery, try Photo-A-Day. You don't have to go for a whole year...but forcing yourself to try and find an image every day could yield some surprising results.
- confine yourself to a small area (a house, park, etc)... and I'm sure you'll find something to capture...We pass by some remarkable images every day of our lives...
- ever try pinhole photography? does your aunt have a polaroid camera she doesn't use any more? Anything different can stimulate those creative juices...
- what do you usually shoot? Nature, people, black and white? Whatever it is, try to shoot the exact opposite... :)
well, there's a sample of what I'll be writing about...
Message edited by author 2004-11-14 08:59:47. |
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11/14/2004 09:03:17 AM · #9 |
I totally understand photographer's block. I didn't even want to pick up my camera for about 6 weeks. I finally chose to go back to 35mm for a while and now I'm complaining about the price of developing but at the same time it really has helped.
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11/14/2004 09:18:07 AM · #10 |
I have some of your feelings. But i think DPC helps me to come over the block. Because every week they give a subject and motivate me. But sometimes i am bored when i didn't find any sufficient subject related to challenge.
DREAMSTIME PORTFOLIO
//www.dreamstime.com/ridvanerkan_portfolio_pg1texttext |
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11/14/2004 09:33:56 AM · #11 |
Why put so much pressure on yourself? Just enter the best photograph that you took for that specific challenge despite what you think at the current moment. Just enjoy the process of photographic creation and inspiration will eventually come to you, even at inoportune times. We live in such a "have to produce" society and the end result becomes the goal, rather than the process. Take a deep breath, relax and go and shoot some photographs.
I have entered some images that I thought stunk only to find that they did rather well. In addition, you may shoot some gems that you do not recognize as such today, but in a week, a month, a year, when you look back on them you find that you love what you see. Don't be so critical of yourself, or rather, don't allow criticism to stomp on your enjoyment. And don't stop shooting! |
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11/14/2004 09:35:29 AM · #12 |
I think we all go through this at one point or another. I was having some serious block for a while. I didnt enter enter any challenges for a long time, I didnt feel like picking up my camera cause I couldnt come up with any ideas. I decided it was time for me to go on a little daytrip and that helped a bit. That was when I took the photo I submitted to Implined Lines and placed 8th, my highest placement ever. That really helped me a lot, it made me realize that I still had it in me and that I really enjoy photography. I'm sure you'll get through it.
June
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11/14/2004 09:37:05 AM · #13 |
Every time I've had "the block" in the past I've been able to lift it with one swift decisive action. This has *never* failed, and in fact has produced my top images 100% of the time. (Must be the pent up creativity releasing itself all at once?)
I get up just before sunrise and head out to the woods. This gives me an infinite set of sunjects (nature) and the best light of the day. It has never failed me.
Now, if you're not into Nature photography, you need to find yourself another target rich environment. I think constraining yourself to a studio can be conducive to blocakge, so it's important to get out and see street life, architecture, nature, etc. Once you find inspiration out of your environment, bring it back home with you.
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11/14/2004 10:30:38 AM · #14 |
| I've heard a speaker at our local camera club say that when he is shooting and feels bored with his shots, he will turn the camera upside down. That unfamiliarity is his hands engages his mind differently, and causes new things to be seen when looking through the viewfinder. I haven't done it myself yet, so I can't testify that it works, but it could be worth a try. |
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11/14/2004 10:37:05 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by dartompkins:
Its dark when I go to work and getting dark when I return home. |
Thats the perfect time to be out and about grabbing night shots. I look for Halloween decorations, illuminated buildings, bridges, lightning storms, illuminated telephone boxes in out of the way places .... the list is endless, Just don't consider night time to be a 'dead' time for photography.
Falc |
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11/14/2004 03:41:47 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by hlswilson:
Does anyone else out there get photographer's block? I'm going through a period where I dislike everything I shoot - which is making it murder to participate in challenges. Any suggestions for breaking through? |
Check out Ron's series of forum posts as he explored the things in his way as he climbed back out of a photographic slump -- several aspects discussed from many different points of view. In the Groove #'s - 1 2 3 4 5 6.
David
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11/14/2004 05:38:25 PM · #17 |
Winter is always murder on my photography.. not to mention my overall, general mood.
Suffering from Seasonal Affective disorder can be a real burden.
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11/14/2004 10:39:25 PM · #18 |
Thanks to everyone for your posts. Today I tried photographing a new subject. I woke up early to photograph the sunrise at the local marina. I normally don't shoot landscapes, so I thought a change would do me some good. It was bitterly cold on the lake but it was the first time I've watched the sunrise in probably 10 years.
On the way home I passed an old schoolhouse with some really interesting brickwork and took some shots of that as well. It was a morning well spent.
Again, thanks to all.
Heather |
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11/15/2004 01:18:09 AM · #19 |
I'm blocking do to challenge result i cannot understand. Don't know how people don't aprciate my attempts on the challenges, people here how live near by and people who i know say there are really great, those are the ones who help me not blocking up but this site sometimes passes that to me! i just get really sad and have sited out some challenges due to that blockaid people here sometimes transmite. sorry to be saying this but its what i'm feeling. Dpchallenge blockaid. ;)
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11/15/2004 09:02:57 AM · #20 |
Originally posted by Discraft:
I'm blocking do to challenge result i cannot understand. Don't know how people don't aprciate my attempts on the challenges, people here how live near by and people who i know say there are really great, those are the ones who help me not blocking up but this site sometimes passes that to me! i just get really sad and have sited out some challenges due to that blockaid people here sometimes transmite. sorry to be saying this but its what i'm feeling. Dpchallenge blockaid. ;) |
This has happened to me before..... but we shouldn't let it. DPChallenge is a great learning tool that also provides some fine entertainment, but you cannot value your photographs based on their success, or lack of it, in the challenges. Your score, or comments, may sting for an afternoon, but then shake it off and move on to your next challenge.
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11/15/2004 09:17:49 AM · #21 |
When I get photographers block, I usually grab a book that will help be reset my perspective. Do NOT grab a book on technique, but find one that seeks to inspire. A couple of examples that happen to be laying on my desk are "The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing" by Philippe L. Gross and S. I. Shapiro and "Home Photography: Inspiration on your doorstep" by Andrew Sanderson.
I'll update with a links to amazon.com or barnes and noble when I have a few more minutes....
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11/15/2004 09:32:40 AM · #22 |
Originally posted by Nusbaum:
Originally posted by Discraft:
I'm blocking do to challenge result i cannot understand. ...[snip]... sorry to be saying this but its what i'm feeling. Dpchallenge blockaid. ;) |
This has happened to me before..... but we shouldn't let it. DPChallenge is a great learning tool that also provides some fine entertainment, but you cannot value your photographs based on their success, or lack of it, in the challenges. Your score, or comments, may sting for an afternoon, but then shake it off and move on to your next challenge. |
This is so true! If I let my challenge results guide me, I would have put my cameras down a while back.
I think the best way to break through a block is not to think about the site, but to put the camera down and go riding around for an hour, looking at what you are missing. As my kids so eloquently put, "Oh, and you, without your camera...so sorry..." |
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