I Asked reddit Photographers How They Stay Motivated: Here Is What I Learned

About a week ago, I reached out to the r/photography community and asked how they stayed motivated and what drives them to keep taking photographs. The amount of response to the question was overwhelming, which was unexpected to me, and photographers ranging from beginner to 50+ years of experience opened up with their personal and enlightening experiences.

Last week, I discussed 5 simple ways to stay motivated and engaged in your photography. The discussion with reddit photographers bolstered these, in addition to adding some new suggestions to the list.

This was also an eye opener, since I could start to see the emerging patterns in the moods photographers go through over time and the methods they employ to keep shooting. Recognizing such patterns is quite important, as we tend to think we are the only ones struggling with a certain issue, yet, seeing it repeatedly in other photographers experiences helps put it in perspective:

You are not the only one with such feelings, and you can overcome this, just like others did.

Without further ado, here is what I learned:

1. Ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing

Have you ever tried digging into your mind to understand why you take photographs? If you have not, it is never late! However, you need to be honest with yourself! If your primary goal is to enjoy the process of creating photographs, or purely enjoying the results, great, you are on the right track!

If just looking at a photograph makes you happy, that’s all you need! Provincetown, MA. 2020.

But perhaps, you enjoy the attention or likes, or belonging in a community, or even the money you make. Neither of these are wrong, but identifying your driving force can help you settle on the right mindset. For example, if attention is what makes you happy, then you may need to settle for what’s popular rather than what you would otherwise do.

On the contrary, I would like to urge you to consider the first scenario: taking images purely for your own enjoyment. You take a photograph alone in a jungle, or in the middle of a desert. No one gets to see your shot, still, what you got makes you deeply happy.

Once you create images purely for your own enjoyment and are confident in them, you are eliminating any creative pressure and simply doing your best work. It may not be obvious, but people tend to sense and respect this. Even if they don’t, hey, the goal was your own enjoyment!

2. Embrace the “New”

A new branch of photography, or something you are familiar with, but executed differently: “New” always stimulates your creative instinct as well as your brain. Think of children, and the sometimes perfect rhetoric they come up with. “Why does money exist?” It is the naivety and unbiased thinking that leads to such meaningful questions.

Architectural photography can be a fun new start. Portsmouth, NH. 2020.

When you are taking on something new in your photography, you are allowing yourself to create something without any bias or preconception, which is key to original and beautiful photographs.

Another advantage of trying something new, especially a new photographic niche, is allowing yourself to identify the type of photographs that you enjoy seeing vs. the type of photographs you enjoy making. Perhaps you truly enjoy those landscape shots, but you are not one for hiking great distances or climbing mountains, even if it means missing that perfect shot. Without trying, you may never find out.

The best way to bring “new” into your photography is by committing to a project, focusing on a certain style or niche, or simply taking what you are familiar with, and trying to do it in perhaps the opposite way. For example, you may be enjoying food photography for a while, but what if you tried to confine yourself to black & white? Can you still make those photographs stand out?

3. Stop comparing yourself to others

You are you, they are them. You were not meant to be the same to begin with. Any comparison will always be apples vs. oranges. What would you think of me if I claimed I aspired to make a “better” song than Michael Jackson’s Thriller?

Better how? And perhaps more importantly, better why? Rather than focusing on making a good song, focusing on surpassing an established classic by some vague “better” metric will only limit what I can otherwise compose. This is not any different for photography:

Artists you look up to should be your inspiration, not your bar.

Don’t hesitate to try the “unpopular”. Provincetown, MA. 2020.

Lastly, don’t fall into the popularity pit. Some people will inevitably rock the popular idea. But would you do the “popular” approach by only your own will? If you agree with the fact that your photographs should primarily please you, then abandon the popular and don’t look back. You only have better shots to make, and nothing to lose.

4. Allow yourself to be imperfect

Being lenient to yourself goes a long way in keeping your motivation and creative self-confidence up. Sometimes a small branch is in your shot, perhaps your horizon is somewhat crooked, or your candid shot from that night is too grainy.

Being imperfect is perfectly normal. Provincetown, MA. 2020.

Paying attention to the details of your photographs is surely a great learning experience. Perfecting things, however, is something you must spread over time. Trying to perfect things right as you discover them has the side effect of stifling your creativity and enthusiasm.

Consider small imperfections in your photographs as your signature on the artwork. Discover them, cherish them, and move on with your photography.

5. Failure is part of the learning process

If you want to learn and grow in your photography (which I hope you do regardless of your experience), understand that failure is part of the process and it is not optional. Study your failures diligently like a scientist, but never obsess over them.

The key to taking your photography to the next step is right in your failures, not in your best work!

Failure is part of the learning process. Boston, MA. 2020.

After a photo shoot, rather than deleting or ignoring uninteresting shots, set aside some time to debrief yourself. What were you thinking when you were making the “uninteresting” shots? Were you consciously taking them, or simply “clicking away”? If what you tried failed, what went wrong?

I suggest keeping a diary for each photo shoot, which you can come back to afterwards and record a fair self-evaluation of your efforts. I am guaranteeing that you will be surprised how much you can learn and discover by simply writing down your thoughts.

6. Take a small break when necessary

Finally, don’t push yourself to constantly take photographs or plan your life around that. You cannot be a photographer 24/7, and you need your break.

Let photographs find you. Berlin, VT. 2020.

Don’t go somewhere cool to take cool photographs. Go to a cool place to enjoy it as if you don’t have a camera. Along the way, photograph things that signal to you. In other words, photograph things you would yearn to do so if you did not have a camera. Likewise, don’t push yourself to take photographs constantly, thinking “just in case”.

Let photography be a natural and integrated part of your daily life. You live your life, go to places and do things as you wish, and your camera is there with you to document the moment "as necessary”.

It should not be your camera or photography that dictates what you do or where you go; it should only be your free will.

I challenge you to try this out! Imagine not having a camera, or knowing nothing about photography. What would you do this weekend? Remember, all answers are valid! Keep your photography spirit alive, and just let the moment present itself to you.

Next Steps

Now that you are done reading this article, what will you do? Is there any advice you have not yet tried? How did the ones you tried go? Do you have your own methods for staying motivated and creative? If so, please let everyone know in the comments below!

Conclusion

I learned more than I could hope for on motivation in photography just by asking the great people of r/photography. Judging by the interest to the questions I asked, I can confidently say that motivational struggles in photography is a fairly common, yet unspoken topic plaguing pretty much any artist.

I am humbled by the photographers who shared their deeply personal and perhaps private experiences on their work. It gives me further hope that a venue such as Pursue Light can be a source of inspiration and motivation to many artists out there struggling with their creativity and judging their worth.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your fellow photographers who may find insight into their own creative journey. If you would like to hear when a new article is published, please consider subscribing to the Pursue Light Newsletter! Lastly, I am more than happy to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment down below or drop me a line using the contact form!