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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Ever feel as if you were in a slump?
David Dermer, Photographer
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Cortland | Oh | 44410 | Posted: 2:51 PM on 02.20.11 |
->> Have you ever felt like you were in a slump?
Have you gone to events and just have not had those images that just popped to you?
I have felt that way the past few weeks.. and I can admit it. while I still get great images, I just havent had that WOW image.
Im just wondering if anyone else has ever felt like this or im just going crazy and thinking into it to much.
no doubt posting something like this someone will take a jab at me, but thats alright. |
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Erik Markov, Photographer
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Stan Cochrane, Photographer
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 3:03 PM on 02.20.11 |
| ->> Without a doubt it happens, on days/off days. I live for those days I come home to my wife and the first thing I tell her is "I was on fire" ! Make sure to carry the lucky brush (from my deceased brother who introduced me to photography at 14), wear your favorite cap, and get the best parking spot, or change everything? Don't worry just like a hitting slump, you will work through it. |
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Michael McNamara, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Shaun Ward, Photographer
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Perth | Tayside | Scotland | Posted: 3:26 PM on 02.20.11 |
| ->> A slump is god's way of telling you to work harder for those images. Its too easy to become too relaxed when shooting similar events. You will hate the slump but if you use it to your advantage you will become a better photographer. |
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Michael McNamara, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 3:35 PM on 02.20.11 |
->> I'll also add that if you think you are in a slump, but still consider the images you're producing as "great," then you're not in a slump.
For me, a slump, which I usually hit in the 120 degree summers around here, means thinking my images are shit. It means settling into a rut where I think I'm doing the same photo over and over again. It means thinking seriously about becoming a car mechanic (really). It means when people say they like the photos I do on a shoot, I think they are crazy, patronizing, or visually illiterate.
But like Shaun said, you fight through it. You come up with better ways to shoot, and it forces you to try new techniques. It's all part of growing as a photographer. |
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Bob Ford, Photographer
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Lehighton | Pa | USA | Posted: 3:35 PM on 02.20.11 |
->> David, I think it happens to everyone who shoots day in and day out.
For me sometimes all it takes is to do something different. Whether that's using a different lens, shooting from a position I normally don't, taking an assignment that I normally don't shoot, maybe set up a remote... Any of these can help.
Sometimes I try to challenge myself. Instead of going to a game with the mind set that I need to get a couple of usable image, I'll challenge myself to get enough different images to fill my member page here.
One thing that can really help, if it's possible, is to attend a workshop or seminar to help get the blood flowing again. After I attended a Sports Shooter Academy I noticed a huge difference in my shooting. |
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David Dermer, Photographer
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Cortland | Oh | 44410 | Posted: 6:13 PM on 02.20.11 |
->> @Michael The Youtube video was perfect! and what I mean when I say that I still take "great" images its that Im not hearing bad feedback from anybody, and the images are still being used day in and day out. and the papers are extremely satisfied. And while I might not be blown away with them, others are.
After 3 solid months of being trapped in high school basketball gyms, I keep thinking have I taken this photo before, or how many times has this same photo been taken.
I know what I can do and dont have doubt what I can do, but
as a freelancer I know that if my work becomes so so my phone dont ring. |
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Chris Pietsch, Photographer
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Eugene | OR | USA | Posted: 6:48 PM on 02.20.11 |
->> Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting.
Yogi Berra |
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Michael McNamara, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 7:09 PM on 02.20.11 |
| ->> Don't let people who tell you your images are great be your measuring stick. You can always be better. My mom thinks I'm the best photographer in the world, but I'm always trying to be better. Never let yourself get comfortable. |
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David Dermer, Photographer
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Cortland | Oh | 44410 | Posted: 7:42 PM on 02.20.11 |
| ->> Pats on the back are great... but they dont pay the bills. |
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Daniel Putz, Photographer
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Owings Mills | MD | USA | Posted: 8:01 PM on 02.20.11 |
| ->> Try telling that to the people paying you. :( |
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Rodrigo Pena, Photographer
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Beaumont | CA | USA | Posted: 3:28 AM on 02.21.11 |
| ->> Everybody gets the slumpies. Like most others have mentioned, trying something different usually gets me out of a slump. Sometimes purchasing a new piece of equipment or planning an unusual shot that I haven't done before gets me out. I also look at some of the work of photographers that I admire and they inspire me. Sometimes just talking with buddies does the trick. |
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Paul W Gillespie, Photographer
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Annapolis | MD | USA | Posted: 6:20 AM on 02.21.11 |
| ->> Could be Low T...Ask your doctor. |
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Radu Rosca, Photographer
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Tirgu Mures | MS | Romania | Posted: 6:29 AM on 02.21.11 |
->> Have you ever got into a situation when you thought you shot awful a game, by checking them on the lcd of the camera, and when you downloaded them on your pc/notebook you realized they are way better then were you expecting? It happened to me a couple of times. I also had the opposite feeling.
Best thing you can do - as was suggested above - try something different. |
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Mike Simons, Photographer
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Tulsa | Ok | | Posted: 7:30 AM on 02.21.11 |
->> Some things I have been doing lately:
Tape my zooms down. My 16-35 is now a 24. 70-200 is now an 85. Love it.
I shoot most assignments with the above mentioned 24 and a 50 now.
I have been parking as far away as I can from assignments. You see some interesting things on the walk.
I walk around the library and look at things. NYtimes, photo books, people.
For a month the Rule of Thirds was the Law of Thirds. I wouldn't break the law. No matter what. |
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Mark Deckard, Photographer
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Findlay | OH | USA | Posted: 8:48 AM on 02.21.11 |
| ->> Mike just hit one of my keys, putting limits on yourself, either in technique of equipment. It forces you to start thinking and looking more. |
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Mark Deckard, Photographer
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Findlay | OH | USA | Posted: 8:51 AM on 02.21.11 |
| ->> I clearly can't type or read this morning, should have said technique or equipment. Maybe I should use some of these ideas on my keyboard skills. |
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Corey Perrine, Photographer
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Augusta | GA | USA | Posted: 10:19 AM on 02.21.11 |
->> The best way to get out of a slump is to photograph, a person or issue you care about.
If you're stuck at a certain venue, take care of the publication's needs, i.e. "safe shots," then shoot for yourself, i.e. your "unique vision."
Waiting on someone else's needs won't always get you in the direction you want to go.
Use your sensory perception, journalistic judgment and creative thinking to make your assignments and personal projects pop.
To get you started, and it sounds like you're shooting a lot of basketball, if I was stuck at a venue like this day after day I would...
01.) Find a person who has an interesting story that leads to a project, follow them home.
02.) An essay on the color red. Or the home team's color.
03.) A series of diptychs that relate or are opposite in relation to each other.
04.) Shoot beyond the action. Only behind the scenes.
05.) Spend an entire game at 1/30th of a second.
06.) Produce an essay on the team's mascot.
07.) Produce a multimedia piece.
08.) Place your camera on single shot mode.
09.) Black out (gaffers tape) your LCD screen for an evening.
10.) Shoot with the other side of your brain, the less dominant eye.
I hope this helps.
Don't forget to post your results.
-C |
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Chris Peterson, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbia Falls | MT | USA | Posted: 11:14 PM on 02.22.11 |
->> In the world of wildlife photography, slumps can last days on end. I just look at it this way: Every day in the field is better than a day in the office. My "success" rate is sometimes as low as 1 percent.
But that 1 percent is unforgettable. I've seen and heard things most humans never will. I could die tomorrow a happy man.
Of course, like Stan says, a favorite cap doesn't hurt... |
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Bradley Leeb, Photographer
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