So You’ve Reached a Wall….
I remember when I first started shooting with my Canon Rebel camera. All I had was that body and the kit lens, the humble beginning many of us know. But I took my camera with me everywhere. I shot everything. I shot everyone. I even shot my friends in the cafeteria during lunch. I really, really loved taking photos, and I still do. But then I started to progress throughout the years. I got jobs and found clients. I bought all the gear and lenses I needed. I started to become everything I was hoping to become.
But then came the point when photography felt less like something of a passion and more like my job, because, well, it was. I was shooting three or fourth days a week. Portraits and performances, portraits and performances. Eventually, I stopped bringing my camera with me when I went out with my friends. They noticed, and I heard “Hey, you’re not bringing your camera out anymore. Are you still shooting?” The answer was yes. I was shooting more than ever actually, but I was shooting because I had to and not because I wanted to. I felt so swamped with my work that photography wasn’t fun. It was becoming a chore. I needed to make photography fun for myself again.
And I hit this wall every once in a while. Maybe once a year or every few months. But there’s a few little tricks up my sleeve I can use to put some of that excitement back in. And I think if you’re having the same problem, these will help you too.
#1. Change the Lenses You’re Using
Changing the lenses you decide to use on particular types of shoots can rejuvenate your creativity, revitalizing your passion for photography in the first place.
For example, pre-pandemic, I found myself using two particular lenses more than ever: my 100mm f/2 and my 70–200mm f/2.8. The former I used to shoot outdoor portraits, and the latter I used to shoot performances and studio headshots. I knew my lenses in and out. I knew how they looked, handled, and felt. It was predictable for the most part, and I knew exactly what shot sizes and angles I had to hit. But I instantly found out how much more fun shooting could be again when I decided to slap on a 35 and 50mm just as an experiment. And changing my lenses was a game-changer. Because these lenses were not necessarily “ideal” for my work, I found myself running around a lot more, standing on chairs a lot more, and lying on the ground a lot more to get the right shot. Photography was fun again because I really had to start to problem solve and think about my framing. I didn’t have a play book to reuse over and over. Inherently, I had to approach what I shot differently, and I enjoyed it.
So try this yourself. Shoot on a lens you never really thought would be applicable to a certain style of shooting. Use a wide-angle occasionally when shooting sports. Use a telephoto lens to shoot street photography. Shooting on zooms? Use primes! Shooting on primes? Use zooms! Or pick up a pancake lens! I understand that you should use your bread and butter lenses to shoot your bread and butter work, but maybe busting out a different lens for 5 or 10% of your shots can really spice things up a bit. We gravitate so heavily towards the idea that only certain types of lenses are good for certain types of things. While it’s true that some lenses are far more commonplace and more useful, using a lens with a completely different focal length can make you look at the situation differently. It makes you consider solutions you didn’t think were there. And it’s surprising what this can do. When you finally decide to go back to your bread and butter lens, you’ll find that you’re now attacking the situation differently because you’ve learned to think differently. But most importantly, you’ll be having a lot more fun getting to explore your creativity.
#2. Shoot on a Different Body
You probably wouldn’t think that using a different body would change your photography game as much as a lens would, but it can really change things up a lot more than you think. And it’s more than just going from a full-frame to crop. Even different bodies of the same format can rejuvenate the fun-factor in photography.
Take me, for example. I shoot on the Canon Mirrorless system. Shooting has never been easier for me. Autofocus is great. The electronic viewfinder makes knowing what my images look like before I even take them a breeze. But occasionally, I love to go back to shooting on a DSLR, hence why I still own the 5D Classic. The autofocus is a lot rougher, and the camera is a lot older. But it’s also a lot of fun. I have to focus and recompose often. I have to learn to pay attention to my exposure meter because I know I have an optical viewfinder. And the image sensor itself just produces images with a different, more aged feel. It’s a change of pace, and I love it.
The point from my anecdote is to put down your best camera and pick up something that might be a little harder to use, maybe a little dated, or just handles completely different (think of people who have a 1DX but then shoot on Fuji X in their free time). Older technology is fun to use. Small technology is fun to use. Of course, use your best gear for client work, but when it’s time for you to really enjoy your time shooting, pick up a different body. Feel what it’s like in your hands. Learn to work around the tools it may or may not give you. Maybe you don’t have live-view anymore on the back screen. Maybe you actually have to start using the focusing joystick again. This is probably not as convenient as you’re used to, but sometimes, giving yourself limited or different bodies and learning to work out its shortcomings and quirks can be really inspiring.
It’s also nice to go have fun shooting for yourself and not have to be reminded about photography work with your workhorse camera.
#3. Shoot on Film
Like I said, photography today has become just so unbelievably convenient. The auto focus, the frames per second, the dynamic range, the quality of new lenses. Shooting photos has just never been easier. But sometimes we need to remember how photography all started, shooting on film.
There’s nothing like shooting film on an old camera, even if you’re never done it before. Adjusting the aperture on your lens, loading in a new roll, advancing the lever, setting your shutter speed by twisting a dial. The experience is like nothing else. It feels so manual. You really have to be one with your tool. But most of all, it’s just plain fun. It’s why I went out and bought an AE-1.
And then there’s the anticipation. You can’t see your image right away like you can by pressing the play button on digital. You have to bring it to a developer, or maybe you have a darkroom and scanner. The fact of the matter is that it just isn’t instant. You have to wait for it, but that’s the best part: the combination of anticipation and the sheer joy of getting to see what your exposures finally looked like days later. I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun than shooting on film.
#4. Give yourself Goals and Tasks
Give yourself something to do, whether this is a long term goal or a task you’re giving yourself during a shoot.
My professor, for example, tasked himself with shooting at least one bird from every scientific order. He’s definitely been working on this for years, maybe even a decade or so. But he’s given himself something to do. He knows that skipping a day of shooting is the difference between getting a rare bird or missing it for a whole year again. But hey, he’s got a goal in mind, and he’s having more adventures and more fun as a result.
Even inside of a shoot itself, you can give yourself a task. When I used to shoot basketball in high school, I would say to myself, I want to get this guy hitting a three-pointer or this guy on a layup. It was far too easy to just get someone with the ball at the foul line or dribbling down the middle of the court. I needed to give myself something to put my energy towards, and it made me work for it. But most importantly, I found myself having fun. There’s nothing better than the satisfaction of actually completing the goals you’ve set out for yourself.
So shoot every skyscraper in Manhattan. Shoot every lighthouse in New Jersey. Catch the sunrise on the beach. Find something you want to get done and get it done. When you start listening to the things that you want out of photography instead of what everyone else wants of you, you’ll find yourself having much more enjoyment.
#5. Try out a Different Genre or Technique
So I shoot street photography quite a bit. Sometimes I even find time to shoot every day. But I found out one of the ways to rejuvenate the fun in shooting street was to try to incorporate new techniques in how I approached this type of photography. I use to go out there with nothing more than my camera body and a 28, 35, or 40mm lens. But then, one day, I wanted to make a change. So I also brought an ND filter, and I brought a tripod. And I started taking long exposures on the street. I had no clue about the perfect exposure time. I opened the shutter for four seconds and three seconds and one-fifth of a second. Eventually, I found out I really liked one second. I also found out it was a neat way to take pictures of myself if I put on a timer for a few seconds and let some cars come past me. I incorporated a new technique in how I shot, and it made shooting fun again.
So delving into a different genre or technique in photography is fun because you find yourself having to learn. You’re doing what you did when you first picked up a camera: experimenting. It’s why I loved photography so much when I started. I was learning so much and trying so many new things. You don’t have to make this genre your livelihood, but it’s great to try out new things every once in a while. Maybe you shoot portraits. Try landscapes. Maybe you shoot weddings. Try astrophotography. Maybe you shoot sports at 1/4000s. Try some long exposures on the street. Just because your specialty is in one area doesn’t mean you can’t try anything else. Chances are that you probably already have some useful gear. You might even find out that a technique in a particular genre of photography is useful for an application in another genre.
So the principles of what I wrote ultimately boil down to a few different things. Try out different gear. Give yourself a challenge. Shoot for yourself. Photography is an art, and we need to treat it as such. Art is expressive. Art is creative. Art is emotional. Art is fun. You should enjoy it. Our passions need to stop feeling like work and start feeling like passions again.