At some point in your photography, there will come a time when you might hit the proverbial “creative wall.” If you shoot long enough, this will inevitably occur and it can be frustrating. So how do you deal with it? A fair question and yes it has happened to me. This block can occur in many different ways.

Perhaps your block is finding that when you look at your images, they all seem to have the same look or mood and even though the subject is different, they have a very distinct similarity. Maybe your in a particularly quiet period where the emails or calls for jobs aren’t coming in like it used to and your wondering, is this all worth it? Or, maybe the sales of prints or request for images have slowed down.

It would be easy to give in, or acquire the mindset that it just isn’t meant to be, but we need to push back against those thoughts and find once again what makes us happy. Here is where drawing inspiration can be very helpful in reversing the doubts. Personally, I draw inspiration from other photographers work like Ansel Adams black and whites, or John Muir’s landscapes among others and will try to recreate their images.

This creative endeavor is quite often what I need to re-energize my drive. It is a creative thinking process for me from the deconstruction of the original photograph, looking for things like light, exposure, composition, and dodging and burning to get to the final image. I find that in doing this, not only does it help me look forward to shooting again, but in the process, my images become better as I am learning from the masters of our craft helping me become a better photographer.

If you find that you are having a difficult time getting motivated or questioning yourself, go back to your roots and recapture that feeling you had when you first jumped into this creative endeavor. Go back to who you admire and draw inspiration