I got a message the other day from a fellow photographer asking me a simple yet pretty complex question: How do you deal with feeling burnt out?
I might not be the right person to ask this of anymore because I have too many different things going on at once that when one isn't working for me I work on the other and then the other. I'm lucky enough that within photography itself I work in at least three different styles that have their own core principles to contend with.
Photojournalism is story-telling in as pure a form as one can find. Meaning that in photojournalism the photographer has an assignment dealing with the real world and it is his/her job to find a visual connection to that story that either helps to illustrate the story, or elevate the story in a way the words cannot. The best photojournalism does the latter as it functions to increase our understanding, rather than state the obvious. I take this work very seriously and adhere to strict guidelines to not alter reality in any way beyond just what is done with lens choice, perspective or point of view and what i choose to include in the frame. It is me and the story and what we can do together visually. Frustrations can occur when the images don't appear well in the product, because once the story is completed, it is a committee effort to determine what is seen by the public.
The commercial side is story telling--at least the way I like to do it--but with the pleasing of my client featured in to the mix. This can be disheartening if I get the wrong vibe and or just don't find a means of connecting with my subject and they just don't end up liking what I do. It is less pure a form of photography because alterations to the reality are often required by the client. Blemish removal, sliming down either from camera angles or lighting etc… The idea in most cases in tho sword is to create work that is flattering in some way. I take this very seriously too but in my work I strive to find the real subject while trying to make a pleasing to the eye (and to the client) image. It is committee effort to arrive how the images are made and then the final product that ends up on the walls of people's homes is determined solely by the client.
My personal projects and this I could break down into categories as well but won't here. These are ideas I have for images that are derived by me through working these many years in art. They are for no one else at all until I determine to show them. I ask subjects to work with me on an idea and we set off to make an image based initially on the idea. It is story telling that is more fiction because it is entirely made up(heres where I could go in many directions because i have personal work that is strictly observational work too that isn't at all crafted from a preconceived idea, but rather through vision--simply to steal my good friends eventual book title--something I saw.) This work is under my control or at least the control I choose to give it.
So I seldom feel burn out in photography. I will from time to time feel burn out in any one of the above, but I then try to reinvent how I approach the work. Burn out is like writer's block, the more you focuses on the worry of it the harder it becomes to over come. In art we keep sketch books, in photography the modern thing to do is blog or instagram or do a pic o day challenge on Facebook or some sort of thing. There are motivational tools and outlets to help but it still comes down to us having to say we're going to do it and motivate ourselves!
I like to think of being an artist not as a lifestyle choice, but simpler--it is who I am. And if it is who I am it is never shut off and therefore continually growing. We may have bad days, weeks even years overall, but an artist works and works and works through it all finding ways to produce and to grow.
If someone is looking for a line of work where you can sit back and admire what you did with pure happiness and joy without a critical eye for what you didn't do or should have done differently then you probably shouldn't be an artist. Artist think about how to make the next piece, not sit in wonder about what they have made---at least not for very long.
So I think the answer to my friend probably is to try new things and be sure to have personal work that you can sink your mind into and to work through it. Don't stagnate. Add to your toolbox(and this doesn't mean buy new gear) and build new visions for yourself.
I might not be the right person to ask this of anymore because I have too many different things going on at once that when one isn't working for me I work on the other and then the other. I'm lucky enough that within photography itself I work in at least three different styles that have their own core principles to contend with.
Photojournalism is story-telling in as pure a form as one can find. Meaning that in photojournalism the photographer has an assignment dealing with the real world and it is his/her job to find a visual connection to that story that either helps to illustrate the story, or elevate the story in a way the words cannot. The best photojournalism does the latter as it functions to increase our understanding, rather than state the obvious. I take this work very seriously and adhere to strict guidelines to not alter reality in any way beyond just what is done with lens choice, perspective or point of view and what i choose to include in the frame. It is me and the story and what we can do together visually. Frustrations can occur when the images don't appear well in the product, because once the story is completed, it is a committee effort to determine what is seen by the public.
The commercial side is story telling--at least the way I like to do it--but with the pleasing of my client featured in to the mix. This can be disheartening if I get the wrong vibe and or just don't find a means of connecting with my subject and they just don't end up liking what I do. It is less pure a form of photography because alterations to the reality are often required by the client. Blemish removal, sliming down either from camera angles or lighting etc… The idea in most cases in tho sword is to create work that is flattering in some way. I take this very seriously too but in my work I strive to find the real subject while trying to make a pleasing to the eye (and to the client) image. It is committee effort to arrive how the images are made and then the final product that ends up on the walls of people's homes is determined solely by the client.
My personal projects and this I could break down into categories as well but won't here. These are ideas I have for images that are derived by me through working these many years in art. They are for no one else at all until I determine to show them. I ask subjects to work with me on an idea and we set off to make an image based initially on the idea. It is story telling that is more fiction because it is entirely made up(heres where I could go in many directions because i have personal work that is strictly observational work too that isn't at all crafted from a preconceived idea, but rather through vision--simply to steal my good friends eventual book title--something I saw.) This work is under my control or at least the control I choose to give it.
So I seldom feel burn out in photography. I will from time to time feel burn out in any one of the above, but I then try to reinvent how I approach the work. Burn out is like writer's block, the more you focuses on the worry of it the harder it becomes to over come. In art we keep sketch books, in photography the modern thing to do is blog or instagram or do a pic o day challenge on Facebook or some sort of thing. There are motivational tools and outlets to help but it still comes down to us having to say we're going to do it and motivate ourselves!
I like to think of being an artist not as a lifestyle choice, but simpler--it is who I am. And if it is who I am it is never shut off and therefore continually growing. We may have bad days, weeks even years overall, but an artist works and works and works through it all finding ways to produce and to grow.
If someone is looking for a line of work where you can sit back and admire what you did with pure happiness and joy without a critical eye for what you didn't do or should have done differently then you probably shouldn't be an artist. Artist think about how to make the next piece, not sit in wonder about what they have made---at least not for very long.
So I think the answer to my friend probably is to try new things and be sure to have personal work that you can sink your mind into and to work through it. Don't stagnate. Add to your toolbox(and this doesn't mean buy new gear) and build new visions for yourself.