Ask HN: How to make photography fun again?

[Come-rad]

I remember enjoying photography. I took my DSLR, go out and shoot something spectacular. I was getting girls out for shooting, socialized. It was fun. But now it is gone. I'm irritated by a boatload of photos that just sit on my computer. It seems that the fun part was mixed with the boring one (file management, backup, sending photos to people) and it killed my love to photography. If you understand what I'm talking about, what do you have to say about it? Tips?

[helen842000]

Sometimes you just have to stop taking photos for a bit. I know that's not usually what photographers say.

I guess it's similar to revising for an exam - no matter how much you like the subject eventually simple words lose their meaning if you don't step away for a bit.

I don't know how many paid gigs (obligatory photography events) you have coming up but it's good to put the camera down for a couple of weeks.

If you can't even stand the thought of picking it up in that time - that's fine. Be in life instead of worrying about capturing it. Sometimes it's nice to go to do stuff without having to pack a bag and look after your gear. Have a laugh without looking for a good reaction shot. You'll see some great moments again.

With a bit of time you will start to want to go & explore and take a few photos - and editing will be a breeze because it's only 50. Not 3000 with a short deadline.

If you can't take a break from your bookings - perhaps it's time to start to pass the business tasks over to an assistant to free you up to just be creative.

If you're not in a place to take someone on then perhaps a review of your workflow, schedule & pricing would help you scale without maxing out your creative energy on business decisions.

[amerkhalid]

I was in the same boat. I love the process of taking photos, going outdoors, travel, composing, etc. But hate managing photos, fixing photos on computer etc.

A while back, I sold most of my camera gear. Decided to just use my cell phone for photos. It was fine for a while. But it didn't last. I am addicted to bokeh. And I missed some of the control I had with DSLR.

So I bought a cheapest mirrorless camera (Nex-3N) and got a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Since it is smaller, I carry this camera with me more than I did my DSLR (Canon T2i). I probably shoot more often too. But I refuse to fix photos on computer now. I try to get perfect photo right on camera.

I let Google Picassa manage my photos. I simply tag faces every once in a while. I try to keep only print worthy photos. (Although deleting any decent photo is really hard.)

And I am printing a lot of photos. It seems satisfying when I can hold beautiful photos in my hand.

I am also thinking of starting to order photo books from online services. And I need to figure out a cheap way to hang many photos. For now, I just use push pins to put up photos on the wall. Frames can get very expensive.

[nicolasd]

I am in the same situation, thanks for this question.

Printing them helps, but I've printed out all of my favourite photos (~15 photos, size: 100*70cm) and it doesn't get me more motivated when I see them. But printing helps if you struggle with self confidence in your photography. (seeing them in a large format makes a big difference)

I don't take that many photos anymore, maybe because I have a higher standard than at the beginning and only think "oh this photo will not turn out that good, I don't make it". On one side, this is good but you don't have practice anymore.

Maybe it's because you don't know what to shoot. I only take my camera with me when I am travelling, I don't discover my environment anymore, like I did before.

Solutions? - Make a challenge (something like 1 photo every month) with topic-based photos - Ask another photographer to go out and shoot with you / or join a photowalk in your area - Ask a girl if she wants to make a shooting. If you don't have the confidence anymore to make good photos, ask a girl you already shooted with.

[Come-rad]

Very good points. If only my Lightroom could notice my fading interest and could say "Hey, pal. Grab your ass off the couch and go shoot a cityscape (you've enjoyed them). I'm challenging 5 other guys like you to make the same." and then show our photos each other.

[zimpenfish]

There's a few "weekend/topic challenge" groups/hashtags on Instagram and, if I recall correctly, there's a few iOS apps which are similarly "here's a theme, take photos, submit them" based.

[zimpenfish]

"The best camera is the one you have with you"

Solution - carry it everywhere, take millions of photos, never stop learning, never assume you know how a shot will turn out (maybe you catch that one in a million fluke showing a frog with a bird hanging out of its mouth as the lion leaps down from the tree, on fire, just as an elephant gives birth in the background.)

[Brian-Puccio]

I hear you. I like taking photos. I like seeing my photos. I hate post-processing and organizing. It sounds like you're like me in that you wanted to go from taking the photo to "finished product" with as little in between as possible.

A rangefinder (start with a Bessa, not a Leica, if you want a RF) and slide film did wonders. I take the photos and I'm deliberate about it. I mail it off to a lab and a few days later I get back mounted slides. I can toss the bad ones, throw the good ones into a projector and I'm enjoying my photos. Beautiful, wall-size photos glowing in my face.

I love Provia, others consider it too cold, especially in shadows. A cheap filter compensates or try other film. Velvia is a bit more special purpose but when used right, it's just wonderful.

Many people think that post-processing photos only became a thing with digital photography. That's certainly not the case. If you were in a dark room, you were editing your photos by burning and dodging (ever wonder why Adobe picked those icons in Photoshop?). Here are some examples: https://fstoppers.com/post-production/how-photos-were-edited...

At a simpler level, if you want to avoid all of the middle work, there's Fuji Instax. You lose control over DoF, exposure, etc. But you go from taking a photo to having it in your hands in seconds. I got one because I wanted printed snapshots, but couldn't even bring myself to just quickly print a photo, I'd spend too much time messing around.

Want more control? Large format camera with Fuji instant film (that's something that won't be around much longer, but there's the New55 kickstarter). Get a camera with movements and you'll have more control over your photography than you ever could have with an SLR.

[brudgers]

Why maintain every image you create? If the photo doesn't make the cut, why categorize and file and try to organize it, instead of deleting it or tossing it in a virtual shoebox?

To a first approximation, nobody really cares about the contents of any photograph. In the age of digital photography, cellphones and online communications, photographs are a commodity.

People don't really care about most of the photographs they take because they take so many. This is nothing new. In the age of film, professional photographers would blow through rolls of film just to get one good image. There's a reason movie making inspired the term "wound up on the cutting room floor".

Photography as an art requires making aesthetic judgements. Valuing some things and discarding others. Only a few pictures are worth saving.

Same holds true for email.

[zimpenfish]

I solved that by the iPhone having a good enough camera that's with me 24/7 and Instagram being almost zero-friction for uploading the resultant photos to N services at the same time.

And to forestall all the "but that's not a real camera and Instagram ruins your photos and ..." comments - a photo that's out there for many people to see is, in my opinion, infinitely better than any sat on your hard drive / CF / SD gathering digital dust or shoved in a silo like Flickr or 500px.

(NB. silos may be useful for people who sell their photos.)

[aepearson]

If you want to make photography fun again - buy a cheap film camera and some B&W film. I sold off all my digital equipment about 3 years ago and never looked back. I found that digital absolutely KILLED my creativity and the post processing sucked the life out of me. There is nothing in the world like shooting with confidence (and not relying on the LCD screen on the back of your camera) and the smell of darkroom chemicals. Trust me - it's better than drugs.

[hrabago]

Print them.

Pick out once picture from your last batch, print it, and display it somewhere you can see it.

The hundreds of others won't matter - they will never be seen again. But the one that you print, that you can actually see, that'll remind you why you're taking pictures in the first place.

[stevekemp]

Agreed entirely. Although having pictures online and available on my computer is nice there's nothing better than seeing a printed image hanging on your wall.

I tend to rotate the 40+ frames in my flat over a six month period, so there's usually one or two changes a month.

I'm just in the process of getting a book printed with images of 2013. I fell behind, but do like to have a book of the best 20 images of a year, which is nice to share with people, or look at myself to see how I've changed and what I enjoyed at any given month.

[jacquesm]

Just go back to film if that's what you liked. It'll be a bit more expensive now because of reduced economies of scale but it is definitely still possible and great cameras and lenses can be had for pennies on the dollar.

[Come-rad]

I've never shot film. And it seems to me even more cumbersome than digital photography, to be honest.

[jacquesm]

Developing and printing, yes. But the photography is so much easier. You do have film changes though, with digital you have endless film. But I used to enjoy photography for its own sake when doing it on film and digitally it is more of a documentation tool for me.

For some reason I always seem to 'miss the moment' with digital and with film that rarely if ever happened.

Digital is all about convenience after you've pressed the shutter button.

[aepearson]

Shooting digital is MANY more times complicated and cumbersome than shooting film - this is a common misconception of those who have never shot film. It's infinitely more simple and "zen-like".