It’s been about a year since my last post. I’m not proud of it, but I needed the time to recover.
If you’d like to know what happened, keep reading. If you’d like to hear my thoughts on how to get through a photography funk, click here and I’ll take you there.
MY STORY:
Before diving too deep, I think the important thing to remember at the end of the day is when you fail or you’re going through a funk, it’s okay to give yourself a little time. You’ll need to regain your strength to be able to climb your way back out. But once you recover, don’t expect the inspiration to just hit you again like it once did, you have to motivate yourself and push through.
I know, because a year ago, I hit the lowest I’ve ever been. I didn’t even know you could fall so far! All at once, I lost everything I had worked so hard for years prior and headed back to a place that sucked the life out of me.
Imagine having everything you ever wanted after working so hard to get there. Then all of the sudden, it’s ripped out of your hands. Everything crumbled all at once. My career, my home, my family, and my happiness all had to be left behind.
On top of all this, I lost my passion for the thing that brought me the most joy; capturing memorable moments through photography. Yup, all my camera gear was shoved in a dark closet, out of reach and forgotten… (this was until a few weeks ago – don’t worry, this doesn’t stay dismal for too much longer).
I think at first, I was simply punishing myself for having ‘failed.’ I didn’t think I deserved to do anything that made me happy because it was my fault that I lost everything and had to go back to my soul sucking prior life.
But then I realized continually punishing myself wasn’t getting me anywhere. So, I decided to do something small that I knew filled my cup…
I went to the woods and watched the sun set over the hill.
I think allowing myself to be in the moment; listening to the sound of the wind, taking in the scents of autumn, and watching the colours change in the sky instead of ruminating on the pain, woke me up. I realized how much time I had wasted being in a funk and how little I remembered out of the past year because I had forgotten how to enjoy the moment; or more accurately, pushed the moment out of reach because I was continually beating myself down.
And I’m not a dark person!
This heavy funk was completely out of my range of life experiences. Boy oh boy, I can honestly say I never want to do that to myself again!
What a waste of time!
Good news is I did learn some things along the way. Whatever the reason for going through a photography funk, whether you’ve recently gone through a rough life experience or you just feel like your passion for photography has fizzled away, I hope these tips help you!
HOW TO GET THROUGH A PHOTOGRAPHY FUNK:
TIP 1:
learn something new
One of the biggest influencers in landscape photography for me is Elia Locardi. So, in the middle of my funk, I nabbed his Photographing the World tutorial and as I watched it, I found I was inspired to improve my editing skills.
As I watched his tutorials, I would try his techniques on my photos and holy smokes, my photos looked so much better! Check out this example of a previous photo I had edited before watching the tutorial vs a similar photo edited after:
The ability to improve my skill sparked a small bit of passion again. The best part was that it was something very simple . It didn’t take much time or effort to try, but yet it had a big impact on my outlook on photography again.
TIP 2:
plan an evening out that involves taking just one photo
During my funk, I found that I never wanted to spontaneously bring my camera on adventures like I used to.
So, I basically forced myself to by planning a photoshoot (even though I despised the location I was in) and to my own surprise, it worked!
First we treated ourselves to a warm pretzel and some craft beer at the local brewery. Then, we went for a walk to a location in town that I had never been before. Even though I didn’t want it to be (yup, I really despised this location), it was lovely and I ended up getting this wicked shot.
So in combining my new editing skills with this single photo after not picking up my camera in months, I was able to feel a bit of excitement for this beautiful hobby again.
TIP 3:
teach a friend
If you’re going through a funk because you think you’re not progressing or not good enough, try sharing a bit of your knowledge with a friend who is interested in learning photography.
I did just this when a friend mentioned she was heading on vacation and wanted to take some memorable photos. Her excitement in hearing the little bit that I had to share about photography tips rubbed off on me and made me feel like maybe I did know something about this craft!
Then when I showed her one of my photos for inspiration and she literally had this photo printed for her home because of the emotion it had evoked for her, it reminded me why I had taken the photo for myself – how I always wanted to remember how that location took my breath away.
TIP 4:
look back at some of your favourite photos
No, not photos that others have taken, but photos that you’ve taken! You got into this craft for a reason, and I bet part of that reason is to capture memorable moments.
When you’re looking through your photos, do you remember how you felt when you were taking them?
Whether it be capturing your puppy running through field of snow, or snapping a shot of a wicked waterfall in a location that feels not of this earth, isn’t remembering that feeling worth it?
If you didn’t answer me, the correct response is YES! It’s worth capturing those memories. Speaking for myself specifically, I can’t believe how many moments I’ve missed capturing because of this silly funk!
TIP 5:
do one thing that makes you happy
and bring your camera!
This one resonates most with me as it’s what got me started on my journey to getting out of my photography funk.
Chances are, if you’re making the effort to do something that makes you happy, like going for a walk in the woods, or watching the sunset over a field of canola, you’ll be more interested in wanting to capture that moment to remember.
So do one small thing that makes you happy and don’t forget to pack your camera before you go!
GRAND FINALE!
Here’s the thing…
Remember, these things happen in baby steps.
Silly and cliche; I know. But it’s 100% true.
At the beginning of my funk, when I tried to be ‘my old self’ again, the smallest thing would bring me crashing down right back to the bottom.
One time, during an attempt to ‘be okay,’ I broke down in my car because a traffic light turned red.
Mmhmm, it’s true. I was an absolute mess. I’m sure the person in the vehicle beside me thought I was a nut bar.
So, to avoid this happening to you, don’t do what I did and try to pop right back up. For me it was like popping right back up onto a broken leg after the crash. What the heck was I thinking! You can’t walk on that yet!
Like I said at the very beginning of this long and way too emotional post:
I think the important thing to remember at the end of the day is when you fail or you’re going through a funk, it’s okay to give yourself a little time. You’ll need to regain your strength to be able to climb your way back out. But once you recover, don’t expect the inspiration to just hit you again like it once did, you have to motivate yourself and push through.
My hope is that the small tidbits of my own experience above helps you to do just that.
Now stop reading and take that first baby step gosh darn it!
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tatiana
Such a great and inspiring post!!!
Claire
Thank you my dear friend!