[Cerebum]

I work in a small market town and I have photographed so much of it. I try to mix things up by using different lenses but I still find myself uninspired. It could just be me. What do you guys do to get yourselves out of the doldrums?

[catfishjohn]

I usually buy another lens, that helps for a day or so. I have lots of lens and an unhappy wife. Good Luck

[mattb123]

For me, some cheap retro gear can be fun and change my perspective on familiar subjects.

Right now I'm trying to figure out a 5x7 view camera from the 1890's. I hope to be able to take some photos with it soon.

I also like to get the Helios 44 on my K mount bodies for some fun flare and bokeh. It can make a familiar subject seem new again. They are also cheap and plentiful.

[UncleVanya]

Try single in or daily in groups? Or try a break. Or take a topic list and figure out what fits and what you can accomplish weekly.

[Ole]

Have you tried macro photography? Close-ups of flowers etc. in different lighting and varying depth of field.

[findus]

I work in a small market town and I have photographed so much of it. I try to mix things up by using different lenses but I still find myself uninspired. It could just be me. What do you guys do to get yourselves out of the doldrums?

I live in a very small town surrounded by forests, so I do a lot of nature shot's .....naturally
So if I feel like there must be more , I check the surrounding towns and cities for events which are interesting and drive there for a shooting.
Sometimes on my drives to those places I find even more new things to shoot.
That's what has been working for me so far.

[BigMackCam]

I work in a small market town and I have photographed so much of it. I try to mix things up by using different lenses but I still find myself uninspired. It could just be me. What do you guys do to get yourselves out of the doldrums?

Just a few random ideas you might consider:

(1) You say you've photographed so much of your town, but have you merely taken general scenic shots, or have you picked individual elements and tried making a project out of them? A not-very-imaginative example might be to photograph only street signs, or perhaps door knockers, or maybe old buildings. Perhaps use just one lens for consistency, and make it harder for yourself by picking a focal length you don't normally use.

(2) Look for free or inexpensive attractions nearby that you can visit (TripAdvisor is a good place to look for these things, otherwise just Google them)... Historical buildings and ruins, parks etc. It also looks like you're not too far from some docks... Lots of boats, machinery, other marine-related things to photograph? You're also very near the Forest of Bowland. Should be plenty of landscape opportunities there, I'd think, and some opportunities for pano stitched scenes?

(3) Take some skyline silhouettes at dusk around your town.

(4) Do you have a garden? If so, set up a bird table and/or bird bath - perhaps some hanging feeders too. See what birds you can attract, and photograph them.

(5) Try some still life and product photography with items around your home. Ornaments, candles, pen-kives, watches, jewellery etc. Lay them on simple backgrounds - pillow cases, clothing, towels, that kind of thing. Pick background colours purposefully, to match or contrast with the subjects. Place your subjects near a window for natural lighting, or use a desk lamp. Buy a cheap bunch of flowers from your local supermarket, arrange them in a vase, and photograph them against one of these backgrounds. Play with the direction of the light, the angles you shoot from, etc. Still life can be a lot of fun, as there's just as much art in arranging the subject as there is in the photography

(6) Following on from (5) above, using a reversing ring and a wide-angle or normal lens, take some extreme macro shots of various objects and textures.

(7) Work on your post-processing. For instance, take some random high ISO shots and learn to optimise your noise reduction skills. Or try converting to black and white and see if you can manually recreate the look of old newspaper clippings, that kind of thing.

(8) There are plenty more things you can do - you just need to be creative and think outside the box. But if you're still lacking inspiration, choose a new photographic skill that you'd like to learn and master, then buy or borrow a good book on the subject, or look up tutorials online, and work methodically through that learning until you've nailed it. It's very satisfying picking up a new skill.

(9) If none of the above does it for you, and you can't think of any other ideas, embrace the slump and take a break from photography altogether. Maybe just for a couple of days, maybe a week, perhaps even a month - until you miss it. There's nothing wrong with doing that. I do it frequently, and it works for me

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Last edited by BigMackCam; 08-14-2018 at 01:07 PM.

[HoutHans]

Just what BigMackCam suggested at 9: take a break and just look and walk around a bit. You’ll see the images and ideas coming to you, i’m sure.

[aaacb]

My suggestions, based on personal experience

1) study the work of William Eggleston, and in general, look at art and photography books.

2) try to have a project, for yourself or for others, for example volunteer to take pictures somewhere.

3) don't buy gear for "inspiration"

[Cerebum]

Just a few random ideas you might consider:

(1) You say you've photographed so much of your town, but have you merely taken general scenic shots, or have you picked individual elements and tried making a project out of them? A not-very-imaginative example might be to photograph only street signs, or perhaps door knockers, or maybe old buildings. Perhaps use just one lens for consistency, and make it harder for yourself by picking a focal length you don't normally use.

(2) Look for free or inexpensive attractions nearby that you can visit (TripAdvisor is a good place to look for these things, otherwise just Google them)... Historical buildings and ruins, parks etc. It also looks like you're not too far from some docks... Lots of boats, machinery, other marine-related things to photograph? You're also very near the Forest of Bowland. Should be plenty of landscape opportunities there, I'd think, and some opportunities for pano stitched scenes?

(3) Take some skyline silhouettes at dusk around your town.

(4) Do you have a garden? If so, set up a bird table and/or bird bath - perhaps some hanging feeders too. See what birds you can attract, and photograph them.

(5) Try some still life and product photography with items around your home. Ornaments, candles, pen-kives, watches, jewellery etc. Lay them on simple backgrounds - pillow cases, clothing, towels, that kind of thing. Pick background colours purposefully, to match or contrast with the subjects. Place your subjects near a window and use the natural light, or use a desk lamp. Buy a cheap bunch of flowers from your local supermarket, arrange them in a vase, and photograph them against one of these backgrounds. Play with the direction of the light, the angles you shoot from, etc. Still life can be a lot of fun, as there's just as much art in arranging the subject as there is in the photography

(6) Following on from (5) above, use a reversing ring and a wide-angle or normal lens, take some extreme macro shots of various objects and textures.

(7) Work on your post-processing skills. For instance, take some random high ISO shots and learn to optimise your noise reduction skills. Or try converting to black and white and see if you can manually recreate the look of old newspaper clippings, that kind of thing.

(8) There are plenty more things you can do - you just need to be creative and think outside the box. But if you're still lacking inspiration, choose a new photographic skill that you'd like to learn and master, then buy or borrow a good book on the subject, or look up tutorials online, and work methodically through that learning until you've nailed it. It's very satisfying picking up a new skill.

(9) If none of the above does it for you, and you can't think of any other ideas, embrace the slump and take a break from photography altogether. Maybe just for a couple of days, maybe a week, perhaps even a month - until you miss it. There's nothing wrong with doing that. I do it frequently, and it works for me

Brilliant. I tend to go out with one lens anyway and have a host of manual lenses. I love the idea of signs. Also I travel through beautiful country and could easily apply a theme I also like the idea of taking photos and ageing or cleaning them. I have light room on my tablet! Time to go nuts. I am going to pin this and keep referring back. Thanks for a brilliant and incredibly helpful post

[UncleVanya]

3) don't buy gear for "inspiration"

I "mostly" agree with this. The one caveat is that if you lack a certain range and have shots you want to try or a new perspective you want to try - this is needed. But don't buy the best and most amazing gear - just buy what you need to determine if this area needs more exploration. I say this as someone who rarely used wide angles and thought they were only so so until I bought a DA 15 and then I learned a lot about how to see wider and compose for that perspective. It was an area I wouldn't have explored had I not gotten the lens and started exploring with it. The same can be said of the 8mm Rokinon/Samyang - I knew I had played with fisheye perspective in my youth but didn't know how to really work with their strengths and weaknesses. I know of people who went the other way - finding they loved telephoto when they hadn't really shot it much before.

I don't suggest buying a new camera body, changing formats, or getting better lenses unless you have specific shots you just can't take without them. Then I suggest renting if possible and testing that way if this is the path you think you need to take - but it isn't for most people the way to get out of the funk. For most this is part of the normal exploration not funk busting.

[Cerebum]

For me, some cheap retro gear can be fun and change my perspective on familiar subjects.

Right now I'm trying to figure out a 5x7 view camera from the 1890's. I hope to be able to take some photos with it soon.

I also like to get the Helios 44 on my K mount bodies for some fun flare and bokeh. It can make a familiar subject seem new again. They are also cheap and plentiful.

I have 2 Helios 44, and quite a collection of m42 lenses. A boke-fest is now on my list

[alamo5000]

I am sort of in a 'slump' myself.

There is nothing wrong with taking a break.


I also definitely think doing things that are against your normal habits help. Turn your camera on full manual mode and get a full manual lens and pretend like it's 1975. You only have 10 shots that you can take all day long. You have to count them. You will find you do more observing than snapping and that helps.


Doing other stuff like macro and all that helps a lot too.


My current slump is caused by external stuff. Job, or rather lack of job, taking care of an ill parent, trying to get back out on my feet, etc etc. It's also so stifling hot outside that going outdoors almost kills me. It was 109 degrees the other day.


You know another thing you can try... it may sound weird but go to the store and buy a puzzle. Get something like 5,000 pieces and put that together in your spare time. Don't be thinking about pictures or photography or anything. Just have some 'zone space'. It really does help.

[shardulm]

Just try to redo everything you did with your DSLR with your phone. It can be challenging and might bring you out of your doldrums. Sometimes you under estimate the powers you already have (to shoot with a DSLR that is) and shooting with your phone will bring those challenges and conveniences (or lack there of) into the forefront. Worst case you will learn when its OK to use your cell phone and when you need your big guns.

[mattb123]

You know another thing you can try... it may sound weird but go to the store and buy a puzzle. Get something like 5,000 pieces and put that together in your spare time. Don't be thinking about pictures or photography or anything. Just have some 'zone space'. It really does help.

If you do get a puzzle, make it Mike Oria's Painted Ladies!