Ebbing enthusiasm for photography?

Before I start, I'll just clarify that my enthusiasm isn't ebbing, but quite a few people I've talked to online seem to be going through a lull. I thought I'd try to work out what may cause this and attempt to provide a few suggestions.


First of all, the causes...

* Subject familiarity - this is where you have concentrated on one genre for a long time.
* Too high standards - this is where you've "mastered" a subject and know exactly what you want, and if conditions don't allow you to "better" what's been done before, you don't see the point in going out.
* Technique frustration - you just can't seem to get the shots you want and give up
* Idea droughts - you head out with the camera full of enthusiasm, but you just can't find anything that grabs or inspires you.
* Being held back - sometimes the people you go out taking shots with may have different ideas and goals that stop you chasing your own ideas.
* Not enough time - work and family commitments mean you appear to have too little time to take and process photos.


Well there's a few reasons I've experienced or heard of for people letting their camera gather dust.

I know lots of landscape photographers who have had a good few years carefully honing their skills, watching weather forecasts for good light, perfecting their processing techniques to make the most of a beautiful landscape. It's probably the most popular subject in the hobbyist domain; you get out somewhere nice, fresh air, exercise, photographically relaxing (no people issues or movement to deal with) and you can usually get "something" from the shoot; so it's no surprise that that it's popular.

But I think from the very nature of it being undemanding photographically, you do loose that feeling of progress after a while. The technical side does take time to mature, but once you've worked out where to focus, which filters to use and that F11-F16 is probably best, there's not a lot else to do technique wise.

So that's a classic example of subject familiarity creeping up on you.

I've had that with landscape, but the bigger problem I had was Too High Standards. When I was starting out I'd go out in all conditions, flat light, rain, storms and sunshine because I was learning and it was new and fun. Then as I progressed, I was more aware of the light conditions to the point where I'd just not bother to go out unless it looked like we were going to get fantastic light. Heaven knows how many shots I've missed because I thought the light wasn't going to be of a good enough standard, then an hour later it'd changed and I'd missed it. There is no such thing as bad light, just a poor choice of subject in the available light!

So the cure for these closely linked problems is to broaden your horizons, to branch out into 2 or 3 genres that can be practiced in different circumstances.

For example...

If you're a landscaper and not having much luck with the weather, if you took up street candids as a second skill and maybe still life as a third, you'd then have 3 bases covered.

Landscape for good light
Street for greyer days
Still life for when it's raining or too horrible to go out.


Technical Frustration is common when learning how to go from full auto on the camera to Av, Tv and M. It's also there when you first use filters, when you take shots for HDR, when you first convert RAW files, when you get a speedlite for the first time, and when you get second speedlite to try some off camera flash work.

I see people getting inspired from work they've viewed on the web, then getting annoyed with themselves when they can't re-produce the effect. They can spend hours, days and weeks trying to perfect a "look", but I'd question whether this is the right way to go about your photography.

First off, the best way of getting around Technical Frustration that I've used extensively is the "experiment till it clicks" technique. It's what it says on the tin. With digital exposures being effectively free, we can learn from trial and error, from being curious and experimenting and seeing what happens. Rather than spending hours trying to emulate a Dragen portrait, a portrait style which already exists and will soon be out of fashion, why not get out there with your camera and try new things. Go out into the garden, you don't need to travel to do this.

Learn about focal length effects by standing a coke can on your dust bin and shooting from your widest angled lens to your longest. Then do the same, but start off with your widest lens close to the can so the can fills the frame, then as the lens gets longer, move backwards so the can stays the same size... see what happens around the can.

Put your camera on a tripod and shoot the same can at all the different apertures on your camera and see how the background blur changes to sharpness as you get smaller apertures.

When you learn this way, the technical side of things becomes embedded in your subconscious mind so it becomes like second nature - it's a bit like driving a car. You can talk whilst driving because the skill is subconscious, were it not you'd have to concentrate so hard on changing gear, using the pedals, indicating etc. that you'd not be able to talk.


Idea droughts hit us all, writers get writers block and sometimes we just don't see anything we think is worth taking a photo of.

The cure for this is to give yourself a project. A purely personal project with the goal of producing a series of prints or even a self publish book at the end of it. Books these days can be as little as £10 so it's not a pie in the sky idea any more.

If you're lacking inspiration, this project will give you a reason to go out and take photographs whilst you wait for your "mojo" to return.


Being held back does happen when people who meet regularly are either at different levels of skill or want to pursue different areas of photography. This happens from time to time, it manifests it self with you going to places you'd probably not choose yourself or waiting around for ages when you're ready to move on.

The cure for this is not to stop going on shoots with your friends and find a new set of friends! As a hobby, photography is often more enjoyable with 1 or 2 others to talk to when on a shoot - and they can become models in shots that need human interest!

What I'd suggest if you feel you're being held back is to try to get out alone with the camera, maybe at lunch times or in the evenings, and in that time do something you want to do, but something that you know the others probably would not buy into. Make some stunning images from the outing and show them to your friends - this may well ignite a flame of enthusiasm in them and inspire them to give that subject a try.

It's certainly more friendly than abandoning people.

If they are holding you back because they work slowly, then that's trickier to cure, but I'd suggest some coaching in technique could help speed them along. Talk them through what you do and see if it sinks in - maybe they are metering incorrectly and struggling to get the exposure right and taking loads of shots. See what the issue is and see if you can help - and if not, either put up or.. well... lessen the frequency of your activity!

Not enough time is the perennial excuse for just about every hobby failing. It means that you've lost enthusiasm to such an extent that you're not actively looking to pursue your hobby.

The converse is this... when you're full of enthusiasm you will have your camera with you more often than not, you may take it with you at lunch time and see if there's anything you can photograph on your way to the sandwich shop. Then on the way home, you may take a detour through somewhere pretty or where there's wildlife to be found. you'll clear a day a week/fortnight to meet up with friends to take photos...

In other words, when you're in the zone, you're constantly looking for reasons and time TO DO your photography, when you loose your mojo, you stop looking for these opportunities.

So the cure... well most people have a lunch break. Take your camera out then. Most people commute to work - you can stop for 5 minutes on that journey and take photos then. Walk the dog? Then take the camera with you. Working away from home - you'll be bored in the hotel at night, so go out after dinner and get some shots if its a safe area.

It's best to get a buddy though - someone you go out with that's on the same wavelength. It's then a bit like having a training partner at the gym. Even when you're nor up for it, you go to the guy so as not to let down your buddy who will need your help on the weights, for example.


So there's some common reasons for stopping taking photos and some practical solutions that have worked for me over the years.

The main thing that keeps me going, and I cant emphasise this enough, is to keep moving on, progressing, trying new tools, techniques and finding out things for yourself as far as possible.

Photography is the perfect hobby for many personality types, but if you are the curious and creative type, then don't stagnate - there's always something new to try.