10 Ways to Find Your Photography Motivation

Finding and keeping motivation are two different things. It’s kind of a ‘have your cake and eat it too’ sort of thing. While they go together, they also don’t happen together. In the photography business the second you start a Facebook business page is the second you’ll start seeing the photograzzi. You’ll suddenly find yourself inundated with images from everyone else’s businesses, photoshoots, blogs, and all the sudden instead of seeing your newsfeed full up fun updates from your friends all you ever see is photography.

Sure…you love photography, it’s one thing to love it and want to have it be your career and another thing to live, eat, breathe, and sleep photography. That’s usually when you’ll find your motivation for photography decreases and let me tell you the key to success in photography is diligence and hard work. It’s something you have to work hard every day at in order to succeed. Without motivation to do the hard work, how do you keep going?

That’s why finding motivation and keeping it are two separate stories. It’s rare that we can constantly keep motivation after we find it. We will always need to be finding it. If you’re having trouble finding it here are a few tips that can help you re-find that mojo.

1. Do a “photo a day” project for one month. Google some themes for each day and do your best to stick with it. If at the end of the month you’re still looking for that special something to keep you going, then keep your project going.

2. Join a Photography Group on Facebook, a photography forum, or a local group where you can meet and hang out with other photographers. Sharing your work, critiquing each other, and bouncing ideas off each other is a great way to get something fresh into your photography.

3. Take a photography class or workshop and learn something new. Sometimes seeing others enthusiasm and learning a new technique is enough to get you out there and photographing.

4. Start bringing your camera with you everywhere so every time you see something interesting you can photograph it.

5. Depending on what type of person you are, start following other photographers on Facebook, or block out those other photographers – whatever is easiest and will help you most.

6. Get new equipment, new editing software, new lenses. Rent! Trying out something new like a new lens or even a creative lens like a Lensbaby, might lead you do explore a whole new path of photography.

7. Explore another creative outlet. For me all the types of art I enjoy are all connected. I love to paint and do pottery and find I my mind wandering when I do these types of art wondering how it could be translated to photography.

8. Try taking a break altogether. This may not work for everyone, but if you put that camera down until you are just itching to use it again you  might find some new motivation along the way.

9. Research and try out a new type of photography. Do you usually do wedding photography? Try doing some landscape photography for a change of pace.

10.Finally, challenge yourself to see things in a new way. Challenge yourself to take a photo of the exact same thing every day for one month and watch how your creativity will be forced to blossom so each picture isn’t the same as the next.

There’s a free class at the end of August about dealing with your competition and keeping your inspiration. There are lots of seats left so sign up if that’s something you struggle with. The Photography Marketing class on July 16th is filling up. There are only a few seats left so make sure you grab one before it’s too late! Register for photography classes here.

Carrie Swails Photography