The Surprisingly Simple Cure for Photographer’s Block

Photography Tips  •  Standard

Every photographer hits it eventually. You pick up your camera, look around, and… nothing.

The light seems boring. Your neighborhood feels over-photographed. You’ve already photographed the flowers, sunsets, pets, streets, and local landmarks a hundred times.

It feels like you’ve run out of things to photograph. But you probably haven’t.

The problem may simply be that you’re looking for subjects instead of photographs.

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Stop Searching for Something Interesting

When inspiration disappears, our instinct is usually to find somewhere more exciting.

A new location. A road trip. A dramatic landscape.

Instead, try something much simpler:

Give yourself a restriction.

Restrictions force your brain to stop searching for obvious photographs and start noticing possibilities.

For example, spend 20 minutes photographing only:

• Shadows
• Reflections
• The color red
• Interesting light
• Repeating patterns
• Things viewed through other objects
• Subjects within 10 feet of where you’re standing

Suddenly, the same boring location becomes a scavenger hunt.

And something interesting happens: you start seeing again.

Try the 10-Photo Challenge

Here’s an exercise you can try almost anywhere.

Pick one ordinary subject—a chair, tree, parked car, coffee cup, doorway, anything.

Now take 10 completely different photographs of it.

Don’t just move slightly left and right.

• Get close.
• Back up.
• Shoot through something.
• Photograph the shadow.
• Change your height.
• Look for reflections.
• Use negative space.
• Fill the entire frame.
• Wait for different light.

Your first two or three photographs will probably be predictable.

Around photo five, you’ll have to start thinking.

By photo eight, you may discover compositions you never would have noticed otherwise.

That’s the point.

Creativity Often Comes After You Start

One of the biggest misconceptions about photography is that inspiration comes first.

You feel inspired, then you grab the camera.

In reality, it often works the other way around.

You grab the camera first—and inspiration shows up later.

You don’t need an incredible location, new lens, perfect sunset, or exotic vacation.

Sometimes you just need a reason to start looking carefully again.

So the next time you feel photographer’s block, don’t ask:

“What should I photograph?”

Give yourself one simple restriction and ask:

“How many photographs can I find here?”

You might be surprised how quickly the world becomes interesting again.

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