We all feel stuck sometimes. Stuck at work, stuck in our own thoughts, stuck trying to write a blog post and most certainly as photographers we all get stuck with what to photograph. We feel weāve lost our creativity, our mojo, our muse has gone on vacation and we sit there at our desk wondering what to do or we sit there and force ourselves to try to do something, anything.
This whole month Iāve struggled with writing, as in I have not written one article yet this month. Having just returned from a fairly epic trip I have not been out with my camera at all either. Too many images sitting on my hard drive that I still need to go through. Yesterday I had enough of sitting at my desk staring at my screen doing nothing. So I did something about it.
Get out if you’re feeling stuck
I got up, grabbed my camera, and my Tamron 100-400mm lens and I took it out in my backyard. Yes, my backyard. Iāve actually talked about this before. I shot 55 images in my backyard. Were they all good? No. Does it matter? No. Itās the process of getting up, getting out and doing.
If youāre struggling with anything, just go do something else. Go for a walk, read a book or watch some movie. Taking a quick break can help us reset our brains, forget about the struggle for a bit and when weāre done, we feel refreshed, have a new outlook or have new ideas.
Do something different
The other thing I did yesterday to shake things up a bit was to edit all of these images with the Luminar. Quick and easy edits. I didnāt delve into the tools and options all that much but it was so easy to use just by finding a preset I liked and tweaking it a bit. Using a new tool made me think about what I wanted for each image and where I could find it in the software. It jarred my brain a bit which is what I needed.
Using editing software and apps can also be a great way to ignite your creative spark again. Try something completely out of your comfort zone. Iām sure youāve seen those twirly images try that or the tiny planets. Go have fun. Let your imagination run wild.
We are all in this together
Some of this may seem personal for a photography website such as Photofocus, but in the end, we all go through much of the same things in one way or another. What are you struggling with? This is a great place to ask questions. We have an amazing staff of writers here with years of experience in just about everything who are more than willing to help you out. Post your questions in the comments here; Iāll pass them on to someone who can answer them if I canāt.
Or join us in the Photofocus Community and let’s have a discussion about it.
Changing your environment maybe a release from “a block”. Unfortunately, that is not always an option. When “life” has you pinned in a corner,your options are limited, if you have any at all. Just one persons opinion.
Dave – changing your environment could be as simple as going into the next room of your home, walking outside, or just sitting in a different chair even. We all have limitations to deal with, life, money, people but there is usually at least one thing we can do to help ourselves out of the rut.
Wonderful article.
Thanks Cathy – hope it’s helped you if you needed it!
Wonderful article.
Thanks Cathy – hope it’s helped you if you needed it!
Changing your environment maybe a release from “a block”. Unfortunately, that is not always an option. When “life” has you pinned in a corner,your options are limited, if you have any at all. Just one persons opinion.
Dave – changing your environment could be as simple as going into the next room of your home, walking outside, or just sitting in a different chair even. We all have limitations to deal with, life, money, people but there is usually at least one thing we can do to help ourselves out of the rut.
Wonderful article.
Thanks Cathy – hope it’s helped you if you needed it!
Changing your environment maybe a release from “a block”. Unfortunately, that is not always an option. When “life” has you pinned in a corner,your options are limited, if you have any at all. Just one persons opinion.
Dave – changing your environment could be as simple as going into the next room of your home, walking outside, or just sitting in a different chair even. We all have limitations to deal with, life, money, people but there is usually at least one thing we can do to help ourselves out of the rut.