Ways to break out of a creative photography rut

Get out of your comfort zone – physically

Being in an area for too long can be boring. However, to be in a familiar place is very tiresome as you are expected to do one and the same thing. Taking photographs in these places become less exciting. There is a huge value in leaving your comfort zone for an unfamiliar place to jumpstart the creative process.

Creating depth

A lot of photographers who are just starting out tend to take photographs with one focus or one subject positioned up against a blank wall. This usually results in photographs that are not only flat but bland and boring. Add some depth to your photographs by having a secondary focus or object in the background or at least pulling your focus away from the wall.

Learn something totally new and uncomfortable

There are lots of tutorials in the internet and in life generally. Try something new; with the advent of digital cameras, one can take as many photographs as possible. If you find yourself in a rut, learn something new that is unfamiliar.

Try a new style of shooting

While most people like to take posed photographs, try and take photographs of moving objects, go to concerts and take photographs of the dancers and live bands. You will be amazed how much a sync flash can do at night when taking photographs.

Play with shutter speed

Ever looked at the photograph of a river where the water is blurred, or a night shot of a street where the car lights seem to dance in a line across the photo and wondered, ‘How did they do that?’ Try settling your shutter speed to a lower setting like 1/20, depending on how fast your focus is, you can set it anywhere up to 30 sec.

Start an ongoing project

After taking lots of photo’s in your life, take a pause, look back and see the synergy in your photo’s, you will be amazed at the style you’ve developed. Surely after realising this, you will get excited at your next photo trip.