getting out of a creative rut, for photographers

July 1, 2008 – 2:30 am

Have you ever been in a creative rut? The ideas just aren’t coming to you and when they are, the results are disappointing? I’m sure we’ve all been there. This is the story of how I dealt with one particular creative drought.

A couple of years ago my photo studio was doing very well but I was just “going through the motions”. Nothing was particularly exciting and it seemed like every job was repetitive. Thankfully, a photo assistant helped pull me out of the doldrums.

We were on a location shoot for a company’s capabilities brochure. This type of job often requires shooting locations, people at their jobs, and manufacturing processes. Sometimes the days are hectic and a number of bases have to be covered rather quickly. One of the strengths of our studio is that we think quickly on our feet, solving problems and delivering quality photography that tells a story.

On this particular job we had to do an impromptu product shot on the manufacturing floor, nothing too complicated (or so it seemed). The product was made from composite and recycled materials but it had to look like wood. After spending some 15 minutes lighting the product it just wasn’t working. Yes, there were Photoshop alternatives to make it work but I was frustrated at why the shot was eluding me. I voiced my frustrations about lighting this product to Beth, my assistant, and mentioned that there seemed to be an easy solution I was missing.

Beth reminded me that I’d been talking about “how things were done in the days of film”, and simply asked, “well, if you were shooting film, how would you approach this”?

There was no hesitation on my part. I pictured the Hasselblad in front of me with a roll of freshly loaded Ektachrome. “Well, I’d move the light here, put a black card there and use a grid spot right here”. That was it, the answer became apparent thanks to her question. The shot turned out very nicely after that and no post-production was required.

I’m not sure why that jogged me into a productive solution but it did bring about a realization. I had become too reliant on my digital tools. Instead of strongly previsualizing a photograph, as was necessary with film, I had begun sort of put a shot together and then looking to my LCD and computer screens for confirmation and validation. My film approach was more thoughtful and methodical. With digital I would shoot something, check it out on screen and then shoot again, then check it out, hunting and pecking and stopping when something was, sometimes, “good enough”. After years (and years) of shooting nothing but transparency (slide) film for clients, I knew how to expose properly yet I was relying on my digital screen for exposure. For me, as an experienced professional, this was putting things backward.

I decided that it was time to start thinking like a film photographer with digital tools, if only for a time. My personal “fun” camera was a Nikon D70 back then. I grabbed the D70 and put black tape over the LCD screen. No more chimping for composition and exposure, I’d just have to get it right. If I looked at a scene and new it would need +1/3 exposure then I’d make that adjustment, compose carefully and shoot one frame. No bracketing “just because I could” and no hunting and pecking for the best composition.

A couple of years ago, 256 MB was a common size for compact flash cards. Since the D70 recorded around 44 images on a 256 MB card these became my “rolls of film”. The D70 with black tape covering the screen, a lone 24mm f2.8 Nikkor lens and a handful of 256 MB cards became my personal shooting kit for the better part of a year. It was kinda sorta like my old Nikon FE with Kodachrome and a 35mm Nikkor…the good ‘ol days.

The results? It brought a new joy back into photography for me. I was looking at things more carefully and working more methodically. And it was just downright fun to not be chimping the screen, instead waiting until a card was full to see my results. Watching the images come up on the computer screen for the first time was akin to viewing a freshly developed roll of film, pulled right from the wash. To this day I still approach much of my personal work this way, just without the black tape covering the camera’s screen. It’s not really necessary because I’d rather just “wait and see”.

This method has worked to get me back on track, both creatively and technically. Would it work for you? I have no idea. But I would suggest, if you’re in a creative rut, trying to identify what it was about photography that attracted you in the first place. Then think of creative ways to recreate that feeling. Maybe it has something to do with the equipment you’re using or, if you’re just starting out, maybe it’s about trying something completely new and different.

Have you ever been in a creative rut? How did you find your way “over the hump”?

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