Get Motivated to Take Photos Again
Photography is one of those hobbies that can be a little draining at times, especially when the conditions don’t play in your favour time and time again. However, if you let this get you down, you might end up leaving your camera in the cupboard for months at a time … so if you are feeling like you are in a bit of a rut with your landscape photography, there are a few things you can do to help build your motivation.
1 Have your Camera Packed and Ready to Go
If you leave your camera in it’s cupboard or packed away, it will take a bit of time to get it packed, find the memory card and the batteries, and to pack all of the things you need for your shoot.
So if you keep it in your camera bag, with all of the lenses you would need, batteries charged and memory cards clear and ready for some more photos, if you get a nice day or an idea for a photograph or to shoot a location, you will more than likely do it as it is as easy as picking your bag up and going.
I always have my kit ready to go so I can head out in an instant. It’s a bit like having a grab bag for photography.
2 Set Yourself a Photography Task or Project
If you set yourself a project or something you want to photograph, you are more than likely to go out and shoot it when you see somthing that could add to your project.
So make a pledge to yourself to do it. It could be a certain mountain, waterfalls or a seascape. Just anything that will get you using your camera. I am actually shooting a random one this year … telephone boxes … the red ones we used to have all around the uk. There are less and less of them around and as they rot away, one day they will be gone, so I have set myself a folder in my computer, and when I see one, I stop and take a photo of it. It could be on my phone or with my camera … most of the time I try to take them with the A7iii and the 85mm with a nice soft background … a bit random, but it motivates me to take photographs and be out with my camera.
3 What Made You Buy a Camera in the First Place?
If you think back to when you first bought a camera, or you first took that shot that got you intrigued, this was when you were highly motivated to get into photography.
If you can tap into that feeling, this will help with your photography. I think back to my first camera, I’ll look at those photos and I’ll feel a little nostalgic … and this will end up giving me a boost in motivation and help getting me out there taking photographs.
4 If you Don’t Feel Like it … Don’t Worry About it
If you are feeling like you are in a rut … go out without your camera. It might seem a little counterintuitive but this can help with motivation. If you go out without your camera, you’ll be surprised at how many images come to you … and you’ll be thinking “I wish I had my camera with me!”
This will hopefully get you thinking that you will want to go out with your camera the next time you go out. If it does, then you know this is a great way to take a break, recharge and then go on an all new photo shoot.
5 Don’t Worry About the Outcome
When I used to go out to shoot some landscape photographs I would get so stressed when the conditions didn’t do what I was hoping, or if I didn’t get the right settings or mess something up … but now I just try to enjoy the day and be a little less worried about the outcome.
This has helped me enjoy the process a whole lot more, and in relaxing into the process, I have ended up getting better photographs.
So go out and don’t worry too much about what you are getting. As long as you are learning about your camera, about the weather and about who you are as a person, the photos will come, you just have to be patient.
Conclusion
As long as you are getting out with your camera and taking photos, you will be getting to know your camera, getting to know what settings work and what don’t for certain conditions … and ultimately building up experience out in the field.
When you pair this together with a bit of learning through courses, tutorials and books; it is a great way to learn and this in itself will get you more motivated to go and photograph our amazing planet!
The camera clip I always use: Peak Design Capture clip (It's expensive but well worth it!)
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Thanks
Mike