What do you do if you lost inspiration?

[renzokuken]

Hello fellow CSers,

i'm a student who got my first dslr over a year ago.
worked at event jobs and finally saved enough for a 500D
before a DSLR or photography entered my life, i was a very very boring person
a couch potato and someone who just troll across forums

the first 6 months of my time with my 500D, i bring it for shoots at least once every week. during each trip, i will spent at least 3hours shooting religiously, with my eyes scanning continuously for interest subjects to pop up.

As time goes by, i got really into it and went shooting for my school events and even a few small company event for my friend.

As i'm in my final year, the school term got busier and i neglected photography since last November. My composition got typical, and my eye for photography seems to have flown away. i rented a 24~70L f2.8 recently for CNY and was looking forward to shooting with it. it has been awhile since my DSLR came out of the dry cabinet.

that's when discovered that my photos ended up bland and typical. that zest for photography was gone. it was as if i forgotten how to shoot, how to frame, and lost my own interpretation of "interesting" subjects.

Dear CSers, please tell me how i can get that zest back in me.

Sadly, i'm still not done with my assignments yet

 

[Reportage]

what did you want to accomplish with your photography in the first place? When you remember that, engine should restart liao.

 

[zaren]

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=844780

 

[giantcanopy]

I take a break and come back another time.

 

[adamadam]

i bbb more gear

 

[wootsk]

i bbb more gear

:thumbsup:

 

[allenleonhart]

yo renzo. squall here. ur my limit break. :bsmilie:

aiya. see more photos, look at accomplished photographers and get the inspiration. each time i hit a limit, i see other ppl photo and copy. and then improve from there

 

[oLYNXo]

Don't lose your interest just because you have not been shooting and your shots have deproved. Draw an organiser and plan your time wisely, hopefully every week you can have at least 3 hours of free time to improve your shots. Faithfully follow that organiser and you would not have to complain about having the lack of time to shoot.
Good luck =)

 

[Octarine]

Why do you need other people to get something back inside yourself? The key is within you, nobody else. You have started photography, ask yourself why. Find out the real reason, do plenty of soul searching. Only if you find the real driving factor you will see how to move forward.
Similar to a relationship: the quality comes when the first excitement is over. No professional photographer is always at peak creativity, they all have their ups and downs. Focus on your school first, get proper results. Once that is done just grab the camera again.

 

[gundamseed84]

You may want to take a look at certain A Photo A Day projects over the years. There are a number of people trying their best to find some ideas once a day or once a week. Maybe those will give you some inspiration or at least some goals you want to achieve.

At least that is something that works for me as it makes me see certain things in a different way. Like a piece of trash on the floor might be trash to other people but sometimes I will stare at it and think : Hmmm..that might be not bad a composition. Then I will feel like taking pictures of something really simple.

It need not always be something 'chim' like landscape photography of a beautiful scene, etc.

Or set some themes for yourself, like how to you want to tell a 'story' say on people celebrating CNY, I am sure now there are many things to shoot.

 

[davee78]

It's a good chance to unlearn and relearn? Its a good sign isn't it? Rather than being satisfied with what you have achieved ?

Taking a break always helps to consolidate and then move forward again..not just in taking photos but almost everything in life. Good luck with the "sabbatical" break:thumbsup:

I sold off everything last year (to relearn) and till now I am still camera -less :lovegrin: I use my handphone to take photos for fun now, whenever I need to take photo... until the day I feel I want to try again:bsmilie:

 

[wilb87]

Photograph came out looking bland? you can work on your post-processing skill

i see many people burning out early, bringing their huge camera packs everywhere they go, shooting at everything they see. not that it isn't good, but sometimes it is good to just relax.
i have seen many people going oversea but they totally neglected their family, only concentrating on shooting photographs.

 

[alzidaney]

there are sunny days and there are rainy days. there are good days as there are bad days. it'll come.

 

[Alpina]

personal opinion, just ride the wave.
i stopped photography for 6years and came back stronger than ever.
don't worry too much, concentrate on your studies first.

 

[Sivakis]

Photograph came out looking bland? you can work on your post-processing skill

i see many people burning out early, bringing their huge camera packs everywhere they go, shooting at everything they see. not that it isn't good, but sometimes it is good to just relax.
i have seen many people going oversea but they totally neglected their family, only concentrating on shooting photographs.

I've been guilty of that in the past!

Everytime go for event with my wife, she'd end up being my "gear porter" while I go recce around for location and shoot, leaving her to either sit alone or stand in the back while I shoot.

Nowadays I ask myself - Do I REALLY need to bring the cam along? If not, I just leave it behind and enjoy myself. Sharing the actual moment with my missus is more valuable than sharing a pixelated graphic on my monitor at home

 

[sebastiansong]

that's when discovered that my photos ended up bland and typical. that zest for photography was gone. it was as if i forgotten how to shoot, how to frame, and lost my own interpretation of "interesting" subjects.

You can NEVER lose inspiration.
Once inspired you will only be driven by your craft. Self rejuvenating.

You, however, have tried to equate your photographs with your level of inspiration. Being inspired does not guarantee great photographs. Great photographs are strange beasts, often strange combinations of timing, location and luck. Being inspired, however, means being committed despite the odds.

Depending on your time and resources, you could
1) shoot with friends (the key is to have fun; you will appreciate the friendship and group dynamism)
2) attend a class
3) watch films or documentaries or even listen to music
4) go borrow or buy a book (you don't need to read about photography to become good, just expand your horizon and grow as an individual)

Being open to the world and its people is crucial to becoming inspired.

 

[renzokuken]

yo renzo. squall here. ur my limit break. :bsmilie:

aiya. see more photos, look at accomplished photographers and get the inspiration. each time i hit a limit, i see other ppl photo and copy. and then improve from there

how come is it allen and not squall

btw laguna is your dad!! just sharing this bit of small fan-knowledge

copying makes me feel bad as well
i need to do more than just copying other photographer's composition
i need to develop my own!! but yea... many artists do draw inspiration from each other

 

[renzokuken]

You can NEVER lose inspiration.
Once inspired you will only be driven by your craft. Self rejuvenating.

You, however, have tried to equate your photographs with your level of inspiration. Being inspired does not guarantee great photographs. Great photographs are strange beasts, often strange combinations of timing, location and luck. Being inspired, however, means being committed despite the odds.

Depending on your time and resources, you could
1) shoot with friends (the key is to have fun; you will appreciate the friendship and group dynamism)
2) attend a class
3) watch films or documentaries or even listen to music
4) go borrow or buy a book (you don't need to read about photography to become good, just expand your horizon and grow as an individual)

Being open to the world and its people is crucial to becoming inspired.

a very interesting way of defining things

inspiration can't be lost, akin to how one won't forget how to ride a bicycle after learning it for the first time

perhaps losing motivation/interest is of a better word to describe how i feel

i will attend a class someday definitely

personal opinion, just ride the wave.
i stopped photography for 6years and came back stronger than ever.
don't worry too much, concentrate on your studies first.

6 years
it's quite shocking that you came back to photography again after such a long gap
admirable :thumbsup:

Photograph came out looking bland? you can work on your post-processing skill

i see many people burning out early, bringing their huge camera packs everywhere they go, shooting at everything they see. not that it isn't good, but sometimes it is good to just relax.
i have seen many people going oversea but they totally neglected their family, only concentrating on shooting photographs.

they forgot to include themselves in the picture ; be part of the picture , part of the moment

thank you all for replying
i guess this is what a forum is for, encouraging people in this cyber-community

 

[boilerplate]

Take a long break, however long you want. And return! During that long break, continue to look at works of friends and others. Spot the mistakes, spot the champions, but keep quiet. When you return, I'm sure you will have plenty of inspiration

 

[alvinlin]

hi TS,

was trying to figure out if u meant passion or inspiration =)

my guess is you have not lost that passion the minute you started this thread, so i reckon u meant inspiration, how to re-ignite it and make your shots interesting again, at least to yourself, I do not know how pro are you at now to feel so limited, as there are limitless works out there you can mimick or improvise, if you feel you have tried and perfect everything there is out there, maybe cover new genres or shoot in a way that you never believed it will work or even against, it might not turn out nice, but it might be a platform/transition to new perspectives and hopefully breakthrough beyond your own guidelines, then finetune it from there to another perfection of a new style, your very own, hopefully inventive and inspiring others to come. hope i am making sense to you =) i be looking forward to your future works!