Photography can be a rewarding and creative pursuit, but even the most passionate enthusiasts face moments of doubt or disinterest. Addressing this common challenge, one photographer shares personal insights on how to navigate these periods and rediscover excitement in your creative process. His strategies range from shifting perspectives to embracing new tools and projects.
Coming to you from Kyle McDougall, this thoughtful video begins by exploring the idea of changing your approach or purpose in your work. McDougall reflects on how he once focused on visually engaging subjects like light, shadows, and textures but later found that approach unfulfilling. Today, his projects are centered around documenting stories or historical elements, which gives his work meaning and direction. He acknowledges the fear of change but suggests that experimenting with new styles, subjects, or approaches can be liberating and spark creativity. Whether it’s embracing a documentary-style project or simply shaking up your routine, change could be the antidote to feeling stuck.
McDougall also highlights the benefits of tackling a photo project tied to a specific story or historical narrative. Using his project “Slate City,” inspired by the history of North Wales, as an example, he describes how diving into a region's past can shift your perspective and enrich your work. By photographing quarries, chapels, and even WWII bomb storage sites, McDougall demonstrates how focusing on a single theme can open up endless possibilities. His approach also emphasizes the importance of learning about a subject, as it alters how you see and interpret your surroundings. Projects like these can offer clarity, structure, and a deeper connection to your work.
Expanding on this, McDougall encourages embracing tools and techniques that suit your vision rather than adhering to conventions. In the video, he recounts using both a 6x7 film camera and a DJI drone for different aspects of his documentary work. The drone provided a subtle perspective change that enhanced the narrative quality of his images. His advice: experiment with tools that might initially feel unconventional or outside your comfort zone, as they could offer fresh perspectives and unexpected results.
For those seeking more manageable goals, McDougall discusses the idea of “micro projects.” These smaller-scale endeavors, focusing on 15-20 images, allow you to complete and share work in a shorter timeframe. He references “Arcade Carpets” by Rob Ball, a typology project documenting carpet patterns in British seaside arcades. Projects like these can provide creative fulfillment without the commitment of years-long undertakings, offering an opportunity to balance larger projects with smaller, more immediate works. Check out the video above for the full rundown from McDougall.
Kyle makes a very good point that producing a series of related images as part of a project can give those images a greater collective power. The project also provides the photographer with a specific target for their creative outlet. Such projects may well allow the photographer to see things in a way that the pursuit of the ‘single image’ approach might miss. Over the years, I’ve listened to many photographers speak about such projects. I was recently at a talk by a photographer who had just completed a project where the subject was ‘the discarded shopping trolley’. On the face of it, an unlikely subject, I’m sure you would agree. The reality was very different and I think significant. The resulting series of images were not only very compelling and told a story, but some had a certain beauty, which may sound odd given the nature of the subject. The question is, did the scope of the project prime both the eye and mind of the photographer to help them in seeing both the potential and narrative of any particular scene? Is this where the power of the project resides, giving the photographer a keener eye? The project can be further honed by having a written plan of intentions before starting, which can be a great help in clearly defining what you are aiming to achieve. One other useful way of finding photographic inspiration is from hearing other photographers speak about their own work, allowing them to peel back their images and explain the thought processes behind them. While seeing a series of images is fine, hearing about and understanding the approach of the particular photographer lends so much more weight to the work. At the end of the day, any image produced must be able to stand on its own either collectively or as a single image. The question is, does it have a greater chance of success as being part of a project that has clear aims and objectives?
Working in isolation like many photographers do can make for a difficult creative life. That is why, in my opinion, engaging with other photographers can be a great help.
Photographic achievement is not a product of what might be found in one’s camera bag; rather, it’s located firmly between the ears of the photographer.
I would urge any beginner not to be taken in by those who pretend it’s all about gear and extol the virtues of one particular camera system over another. It can sure help, but while chanting OM may well help in religious rituals it does nothing to help produce great images despite what some believers preach.