Overcoming photographer’s block

We’ve all been there. Out of inspiration or motivation. Not knowing where to start, undecided on ideas, feeling bad about the gear – my camera is so outdated or i wish i had that awesome lens, then i’ll get inspired and start shooting again. I’m not good enough and the photos i upload on social media barely get any likes!!  Excuses, excuses… I’m guilty of all of those myself, so in this post I’d like to share some tips that personally helped me to tackle these frustrating moments.

• Stop photographing

I decided to start with the most radical one 🙂 Yes, just stop it, abandon your camera for a few days. Try to seek inspiration elsewhere: music, films, books, cooking etc whatever works for you. Don’t touch your camera until you miss it so much that you absolutely have to pick it up and start taking photos of everything.

• Look at your old photos

Have a dig in your photo library and analyse your early work. Notice the progress you’ve made. You’d be surprised. You might even find some hidden gems in your archives that you dismissed in the past. Some photos need time to age like wine.

• Go on photo walk with a friend

Whether your friend is a photographer or not, it helps. You feel each other’s presence, interact, stop for a coffee or a beer, enjoy the day. Take a camera with you, relax and let the images come to you, don’t think too hard. Plus, if you feel like a creep on streets with your camera by yourself, having someone by your side helps to boost your confidence level.

• Learn from the best

Avoid social media, unless your facebook page is complete with Magnum Photos posts – do avoid it. Look at photography books, find a photographer whose work you really like and investigate him. Look up his projects and interviews. Use the magic of internet – it’s all there for you. Magnum official site is a real treasure chest . There also photography collectives like In Public or Heavy collective that are absolutely worth checking out.

Most of all – keep busy. If you’re out of ideas for photography, write a blog article, like I’m doing this very moment. If you don’t feel like writing, take photos of your daily routine or of your kid ( family member ). Don’t take things too seriously and have fun.

Again, these are the tips that help me to get out of photographer’s rut, I hope you found some of them helpful to you too dear reader.

How do you tackle this problem? I’m interested to know about your ways, please, don’t hesitate to comment 🙂

That’s all for now, big thanks for reading and till next time!

Yuri

All images by ©yurirasin 2016