| Author | Thread |
|
|
10/30/2006 07:25:24 AM · #1 |
| I seem to have lost my creativity, back in May. And I'm not sure how to get it back--any ideas? Have any of you had a similar rut and found a way out? Share, please! |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 07:44:35 AM · #2 |
Take heart! Creativity isn't something you loose.
Your vision of world around you is currently blocked like writers block. It happens to all of us and how we adapt, keeps us going.
This can be a good thing in the long run but frustrating as it is, can be a way to step outside your normal realm and attempt something new. Some of the things I do when I feel like I have lost my way is study the master painters, or someone I wouldn't think I would like. I also tend to jump from hobby to hobby. I also quilt and paint ceramics. I want to learn to slump glass and woodworking. Learning something new that isn't photography can bring you down a new path in photography as well.
Keep your chin up, something will come to you sooner than you think!
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 07:45:38 AM · #3 |
Every time I'm feeling a bit uninspired I start surfing other photographers' websites, and after seeing a few hundred inspiring images I find that I desperately want to shoot.... anything and everything.
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 07:52:38 AM · #4 |
Ever tried journaling, or the sorts of things described in 'the Artist's way' ?
Often it is other things in life that get us so caught up we don't have the spare brain time to come up with creative ideas.
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 07:53:10 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by idnic:
Every time I'm feeling a bit uninspired I start surfing other photographers' websites, and after seeing a few hundred inspiring images I find that I desperately want to shoot.... anything and everything. |
I keep meaning to start collecting those sorts of images. Just pull them down, dump them in a private space to go look at for ideas & inspiration. |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 07:54:54 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
I keep meaning to start collecting those sorts of images. Just pull them down, dump them in a private space to go look at for ideas & inspiration. |
Yup, I have a folder on my desktop called "Inspiration" where I put my favorites.
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 07:56:00 AM · #7 |
The trick to getting past writer's block is to write about writer's block. The trick to finding your creativity is to look for it, and to take pictures of this search.
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 08:03:38 AM · #8 |
Like a drug dealer, I've been pushing my video montage's as a way to spark creativity.
Here
I initially used Lou Reeds Take A Walk On The Wild Side but it didn't fit much of what I shoot, too agressive and a bit gnarly. I'll revisit that song in due time as it will force my eye to certain subject matter.
Think of music that might fit a slideshow for your images. Helter Skelter by The Beatles might not suit a collection of family images but it could fit a harsh grunge theme. So again, choose music that fits a theme that you shoot or wish to shoot and hopefully it will drive you somewhere cool.
If you're a PC user Photostory3 is great, easy to use and free. |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 08:08:59 AM · #9 |
Find an area of photography you feel you are weakest and attack it like you just started photography. It opens up whole new areas of thought. And even the technical side of photography can be a very creatively inspiring experience.
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 08:21:40 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by Cutter:
Find an area of photography you feel you are weakest and attack it like you just started photography. It opens up whole new areas of thought. And even the technical side of photography can be a very creatively inspiring experience. |
That's a really powerful way to move through creative blocks. Quite often kinda scary though. In fact, what can be the best approach is to find the thing in photography that you are most scared about doing - and go do that.
Find the thing that you quickly dismiss or gets you all knotted up inside and focus on taking those pictures for the next month.
Then see where your creativity is.
Message edited by author 2006-10-30 13:22:44. |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 08:29:56 AM · #11 |
| Get jazzed about something. Remember what it is that excites you, and have your camera nearby. posthumous said it well. |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 08:41:14 AM · #12 |
I have a friend that grows these mushrooms... I get SO CREATIVE when I eat some of those with my salad!
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 08:47:41 AM · #13 |
ok, but seriously...
When I'm drifting to sleep, I think of one thing - then I try to think of the next thing that is the farthest from the first - so a hammer first, then what is farthest from a hammer? Maybe a squid. Now what is farthest from a squid and a hammer?
My brain seems to start really cranking creatively by my trying to force it to be random -
I know it's weird, I'm in therapy.
My journal is a real pal for talking things through that are blocking me - think that was mentioned...
Music videos sometimes.
Any site that Amercian_horse plunks a link down in the forums gets me going.
Shooting with someone new - a new model or a new photog bud helps too at times, or chatting with fellow artists about what they're passion of the moment is - asking lots of detail - usually helps.
Going and doing something for someone else - so I stop focusing so much on me - really helps.
How's that?
I don't really eat shrooms BTW.
Message edited by author 2006-10-30 13:48:12.
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 08:48:38 AM · #14 |
| I listen to Miles and Coltrane ... |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 09:41:50 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by sammigurl:
I seem to have lost my creativity, back in May. And I'm not sure how to get it back--any ideas? Have any of you had a similar rut and found a way out? Share, please! |
What gets me started it thinking about the beauty in the little things. I take something that is insignifigant in the world and start to realize how truly complex that little thing is. Then I begin to be able to see the beauty in any object around. That gets me creative.
I also try and listen to some music that was creativley inspired (not mass market carbon copy stuff). And then I also try and look at art from artists that I admire. A trip to the art museum? |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 10:18:57 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by sammigurl:
I seem to have lost my creativity, back in May. And I'm not sure how to get it back--any ideas? Have any of you had a similar rut and found a way out? Share, please! |
Art is a medium for communication. If you are trying to create art with your photography, then you need something to say. Is it possible that you just don't have anything to say at the moment?
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 02:53:00 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by pawdrix:
Like a drug dealer, I've been pushing my video montage's as a way to spark creativity.
Here |
that..that was real good. :) |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 03:03:43 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by pawdrix:
Like a drug dealer, I've been pushing my video montage's as a way to spark creativity.
Here
I initially used Lou Reeds Take A Walk On The Wild Side but it didn't fit much of what I shoot, too agressive and a bit gnarly. I'll revisit that song in due time as it will force my eye to certain subject matter.
Think of music that might fit a slideshow for your images. Helter Skelter by The Beatles might not suit a collection of family images but it could fit a harsh grunge theme. So again, choose music that fits a theme that you shoot or wish to shoot and hopefully it will drive you somewhere cool.
If you're a PC user Photostory3 is great, easy to use and free. |
That was great. Which track of music is playing in that clip?
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 03:09:28 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by sammigurl:
I seem to have lost my creativity, back in May. And I'm not sure how to get it back--any ideas? Have any of you had a similar rut and found a way out? Share, please! |
I know how that feels. Being tied up at work and with duties at home, that can be a problem sometimes. I figure in addition to trying something new as already suggested, which is a great idea, I'd just go out and find something to photograph, this way you're still taking photos and not under that pressure to think up of what to shoot here you have to find and train your eye to see things. That may inspire you in a different manner.
Message edited by author 2006-10-30 20:11:17. |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 03:24:07 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
The trick to getting past writer's block is to write about writer's block. The trick to finding your creativity is to look for it, and to take pictures of this search. |
Don - this is right on the mark - at least for me when this happens.
I myself really enjoy landscapes, wildlife, and anything outdoors. So when I get photo block, I simply find an interesting place outdoors and take a seat WITHOUT my camera. I try to take in everything around me from the largest to the smallest. Then after a few days, I return to that spot WITH my camera and usually have a good shoot.
|
|
|
|
10/30/2006 03:24:40 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by Techo:
Originally posted by pawdrix:
Like a drug dealer, I've been pushing my video montage's as a way to spark creativity.
Here
I initially used Lou Reeds Take A Walk On The Wild Side but it didn't fit much of what I shoot, too aggressive and a bit gnarly. I'll revisit that song in due time as it will force my eye to certain subject matter.
Think of music that might fit a slide show for your images. Helter Skelter by The Beatles might not suit a collection of family images but it could fit a harsh grunge theme. So again, choose music that fits a theme that you shoot or wish to shoot and hopefully it will drive you somewhere cool.
If you're a PC user Photostory3 is great, easy to use and free. |
That was great. Which track of music is playing in that clip? |
That was a Scott Joplin rag called Solace which was also used in the movie The Sting. I thought it might be a little too Ken Burns or corny but it does work IMO.
To stay on topic those slide shows have been so much fun putting together and feed into other avenues of creativity that make it all the more interesting for me. In 2005 my shooting was all over the place, so it's been nice to settle down to what I enjoy shooting and I also like having a small body of work with some continuity. Street and Street Portraiture seem to be my thang but if that becomes tedious or I want to learn something else, I'll move on but for now I'll focus there. Again, the montages I've been thinking about help keep things fresh and drive me eye....kind of heighten my awareness to a certain vibe, subject matter, a look/feel based on music.
Message edited by author 2006-10-30 20:33:20. |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 04:48:52 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by sammigurl:
I seem to have lost my creativity, back in May. And I'm not sure how to get it back--any ideas? Have any of you had a similar rut and found a way out? Share, please! |
Yeah! I spent most of the summer feeling guilty about neglecting my camera. So I started re-editing images that didn't interest me very much when I took them. They are a little better than I thought. I started feeling a little better about things. Now I'm exploring the macro settings on my camera. I'm not worrying about art or finished product. Just seeing how close I can focus. I Like plants, so they are my main subject. Things seem to be coming together.
I would suggest small well defined projects that aren't focusing on finished images. Creativity does come and go, sometimes faking it helps. Maybe just go through the motions. |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 04:49:24 PM · #23 |
|
|
|
10/30/2006 04:59:56 PM · #24 |
| i too have lost my creativity...just have no motivation to post any picks....oh well...maybe it will come back to me! |
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/09/2025 07:10:58 AM EDT.
