Sometimes things don’t work out perfectly for photographers. A bad session here, some lost photos there, a broken lens, or even a broken camera. And then what? The stress of making major mistakes can take a toll on anybody’s willpower.
Maybe nothing happened to you at all, maybe you’re just bored and tired. Maybe the camera feels heavier in hand, the phone heavier in your pocket. Have you ever had that feeling? That the phone you thought was so light and portable feels like it is too bulky and heavy to carry around anymore?
Because of all this you might even go so far as to quit photography altogether… well, if you have a good reason, I’m not going to stand in your way. But, if you’re just reacting to a bad event or hard times, try following my advice in this guide to get yourself back in the picture-taking frame of mind.
As much as you might be hurt and dissuaded from pursuing photography right now I’ll ask you to consider an old saying; “ARS GRATIA ARTIS”, which when translated to English means “ART FOR ART’S SAKE”. Remember that the true purpose in pursuing photography isn’t acquiring gear or making a lot of money, the true purpose is your sense of creativity.
When you make art for art’s sake you’re not asking for anything in return. You’re simply creating something because you can. It’s not even necessarily about doing something you like. You don’t have to be in love with photography every minute you’re walking around with a camera. It’s ok to be tired or even bored. But let the idea behind ARS GRATIA ARTIS guide you in those difficult moments. Try not to expect so much and simply let yourself create art for its own sake, not for money or fame, but simply because you can.
At the end of the day photography isn’t for anyone but yourself. No matter what anyone tells you, your success or failure are in your own mind. Making money is a goal we all have but being rich does not make you a great photographer. Of course, rich photographers might say that such a mindset is not going to help you in the long run. They would probably say you need to get good at marketing, find your niche, and exploit it!
And that might be true.
Separate what you want from what you have.
As an example, I decided to accept that wedding photography wasn’t really for me. Even though I was a pretty good wedding photographer and probably good enough to have my own business, there were aspects of it that I wasn’t good at or simply uncomfortable with. So, I had to separate the fact that I enjoyed photography from wanting to be a wedding photographer. The problem many of us face is that we become so invested in succeeding that we forget why we started out in this profession in the first place. Because we enjoyed doing it.
Being given something you enjoy doing and having the means to do it is already more than most people have. Many people go through life without knowing much about anything in particular. If you’ve taken the time to get good at photography you have something others don’t. Not just photography knowledge but something creative that you have made.
Being creative is as simple as taking a picture, its not difficult. It doesn’t require passion or energy.
Cameras are kind of like a metaphor for life. We need a lot less to take a picture than what most of us have. Do I really need a 50 megapixel full frame camera to take pictures with? No. And that’s also a metaphor of life isn’t it? We don’t need 75″ televisions to enjoy TV, and we don’t need $500 shoes to enjoy going for a walk. In fact, most of us probably have a lot more than we really need to do most of the things we do.
I live in an apartment and as much as I would like a house I don’t NEED a house. I can survive in an apartment and spend my days wandering around with a camera taking pictures of things simply because I can. I have a camera, a good one, and I might as well use it.
