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Archive 2009 · How do I get out of this rut?

form
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p.1 #1 · How do I get out of this rut?

This last week has really gotten me more than usual, but overall I find myself in a place where....

I still want that creative eye, but it eludes me. I feel like there is some definite formula that separates the great photographers from okay shooters like me. The formula would include lighting, compositional aspects, and processing styles. I can appreciate excellent work, but it's like looking at a foreign language to me: Beautiful, impressive, but I can't figure out how or why it's good, and how or why they made it.

How can I really wake up? It seems like I'm at a total impasse. Great photographers can visualize the scenes, know the angles, imagine the shot the way it will come out really nicely, catch the flaws before they ruin the photo, isolate the best parts, and seamlessly and naturally create excellent photos. How can I learn to do that?

Apr 16, 2009 at 01:33 AM

RedWhiteandRed
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p.1 #2 · How do I get out of this rut?

form wrote: Great photographers can visualize the scenes, know the angles, imagine the shot the way it will come out really nicely, catch the flaws before they ruin the photo, isolate the best parts, and seamlessly and naturally create excellent photos. How can I learn to do that?

Practice and avoid hollow praise.

Apr 16, 2009 at 01:35 AM

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p.1 #3 · How do I get out of this rut?

But practice What? If I don't know what to look for or how to achieve it, how can I get it right except by accident? And if I get it right by accident it doesn't teach me how to repeat the success. That's why I feel frustrated.

Apr 16, 2009 at 01:47 AM

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p.1 #4 · How do I get out of this rut?

Not everyone has that advanced eye. I am not sure everything you want can be learned. Its like dancing. Some people are just better at it than others.

Apr 16, 2009 at 01:49 AM

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p.1 #5 · How do I get out of this rut?

Red has a good start there. To that I will add: trying to do everything well simultaneously is extremely difficult and some might even say impossible. This is why most of the great photographers practice one of two approaches: either delegate certain aspects of the shoot to subordinates or distill the work to a high degree of specificity.

You might be wise, especially as you try to improve, to focus on a specific area of photography and create situations where the other areas are less prominent. Part of the genesis of Avedon's austere white backdrop and aggressively simple lighting was his desire to create a situation where he could focus entirely on evoking the right expression in his subject. Avedon couldn't have done what he did if he was fussing with the lights constantly. The style was in part an effort to remove distractions for the viewer, but partly out of necessity due to the purity and specificity of his approach.

Pick the thing you want to work on and simplify everything else.

Apr 16, 2009 at 01:54 AM

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p.1 #6 · How do I get out of this rut?

That's a very interesting thought, but I don't really understand how to put it into practice. Does this mean that if I want to capture emotion in a couple, I focus on light and expression and remove background/etc? What if I want to focus on environment, or the story? How do I put focus on those things without, say, blurring the purpose of the image? I've never really been good at any level of complex storytelling in photos, which is another part I always want to work on but don't know how.

And what are the predominant focus points during a wedding? Emotion of the day, and what else?

Apr 16, 2009 at 02:02 AM

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p.1 #7 · How do I get out of this rut?

form wrote:
I've never really been good at any level of complex storytelling in photos, which is another part I always want to work on but don't know how.

Read comic books. Seriously. They do a magnificent job of storytelling with photos. Study the composition, angles and lighting. You'll find a series of wideshots, close ups, reverse shots and detail shots that when seen one after the other, tell a story without necessarily needing to read the dialog.

Apr 16, 2009 at 02:13 AM

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p.1 #8 · How do I get out of this rut?

Good idea. And obviously this doesn't mean Archie comics for the lighting.

Apr 16, 2009 at 02:21 AM

atbawrps
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p.1 #9 · How do I get out of this rut?

Practice looking for good light.

Apr 16, 2009 at 02:29 AM

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p.1 #10 · How do I get out of this rut?

How do I know what's good light? Based on what I've seen, any light can be good if you know how to use it properly.

Apr 16, 2009 at 02:50 AM

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p.1 #11 · How do I get out of this rut?

RedWhiteandRed wrote:
form wrote: Great photographers can visualize the scenes, know the angles, imagine the shot the way it will come out really nicely, catch the flaws before they ruin the photo, isolate the best parts, and seamlessly and naturally create excellent photos. How can I learn to do that?

Practice and avoid hollow praise.

Well - there is bad and there is good. Occasionally people come across things or endeavors that are not quite the right cup of tea.

But - practice.

I have photographed maybe thousands of people. Avedon did Navy ID photos.

Apr 16, 2009 at 03:21 AM

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p.1 #12 · How do I get out of this rut?

John Power wrote:
Not everyone has that advanced eye. I am not sure everything you want can be learned. Its like dancing. Some people are just better at it than others.

I cannot pass an opportunity to agree fully with John Power.

Apr 16, 2009 at 03:23 AM

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p.1 #13 · How do I get out of this rut?

form wrote:
How do I know what's good light? Based on what I've seen, any light can be good if you know how to use it properly.

I agree with you that any light can be good light - depending on how it's used. How it's used, to me, means posing to take advantage of the highlights and shadows the light creates.

So maybe you just need to practice posing people?

Apr 16, 2009 at 03:25 AM

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p.1 #14 · How do I get out of this rut?

General advice - learn the formalist rules: the simplest one is to give it room or cut it off decisively. Do things on purpose. Work from a point of view.

Stuff like that - and do it over and over and over again - thousands of bazillions of times.

Or, study hard and be a dentist who enjoys photography. Then again there is the possibility that you are far too hard on yourself and making better pictures than you think. But practice anyway.

Apr 16, 2009 at 03:34 AM

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p.1 #15 · How do I get out of this rut?

I'll offer the exact opposite piece of advice....walk away for a little while. Maybe you're burning out and getting frustrated, it's a vicious cycle. Put the camera away for a week. Go fishing, go hiking....do something none photography related.

If you can take a longer break without financially hurting yourself...that might be good.

Dave

Apr 16, 2009 at 04:14 AM

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p.1 #16 · How do I get out of this rut?

RedWhiteandRed wrote:

Practice and avoid hollow praise.

That's nearly impossible on these boards. 98.7% of the people won't speak the truth since it might come back to bite them when they post garbage and get negative feedback. Their ego will get crushed. It must remain a big full of $hit happy board.

Apr 16, 2009 at 04:25 AM

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p.1 #17 · How do I get out of this rut?

there are plenty of things to work on but that in itself can be overwhelming-why not make a short list of things you want to improve? be specific-then, prioritize-decide what thing you will improve first

ex. lighting: have you read through strobist.com? do you know how to deconstruct a lighting scheme? study books on lighting-study great photographers whose work you respect-learn the terminology and how to set up various scenarios-keep it simple with one light starting out-practice, adapt, learn, grow

then, move on to something else on your list (lighting does not have to be first)-it sounds simplistic, but you have to set up reasonable goals for yourself and work toward those (it takes lots of work but it's worth it)

hope that helps

daniel

Apr 16, 2009 at 04:54 AM

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p.1 #18 · How do I get out of this rut?

Try to find a benchmark of style that moves you and copy it until you understand how to deconstruct and reproduce that style of work. Then apply it to your own vision. Do it with few more styles that touch you and you will be honing the ability. Your vision will eventually take over the skills and get to work for you.

It took me 5 years and hundreds of dives to learn how to light and frame underwater pictures in a way I was happy and proud of my pictures. I did start by trying to just plainly copy the work of others until I understood it inside and out.

Anyone involved in formally learning an artistic discipline will have as homework to make their version of works from a masters. Painting. drawing, sculpting, etc...

I hope that makes a little bit of sense.

Hugo

Apr 16, 2009 at 05:21 AM

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p.1 #19 · How do I get out of this rut?

I'm going to agree with Dave, and Evan.
First, when you are in a creative rut, walk away, give your creative motivation a chance to build up inside you.
But Evan has it right, don't try to do EVERYTHING right. Try to do ONE thing really, really well. After awhile, that will become second nature to you, and then you can work on the next thing.
But photography should bring you joy and satisfaction, maybe just grab your camera and go out and shoot a bunch of stuff you've never tried. Remember when it was all fresh and exciting? bring that back.

Disclaimer: This could all be the cold medicine talking.

Apr 16, 2009 at 05:41 AM

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p.1 #20 · How do I get out of this rut?

Great advise.
And I think you already have what is so essential to getting better: wanting to get better and a portion of self-critique. Maybe even too much of the latter but that is not necessarily bad unless you demoralise yourself.
If you can then analyse where you strengths lie and focus on them in small steps then it will come together. Strength I find is usually closely related to what one is most passionate about because the connection comes easier. I had to discover what I am passionate about in photography - a certain type of light, abstract images etc and then work with that until I learned the techniques needed and how to make this passion work in a shoot. It takes time though!

Apr 16, 2009 at 08:13 AM

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