How to Work Through Creative Slumps in Photography

Losing inspiration happens to everyone, and it can make photography feel like a chore rather than a passion. It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of feeling uninspired, especially when shooting familiar locations. Instead of forcing creativity, sometimes the best approach is to embrace the break and ease back into it when the right moment comes.

Coming to you from Adam Gibbs of Quiet Light Photo, this thoughtful video captures the process of working through a creative rut. Gibbs admits he hasn’t been feeling inspired lately, a phase he goes through at least once a year. Instead of fighting it, he takes a relaxed approach, heading to a familiar mountain on Vancouver Island to photograph Arbutus trees in the morning light. The conditions are clear, and while the sky lacks dramatic atmosphere, the soft golden light provides an opportunity to capture something worthwhile. Choosing a 65x24 panoramic crop helps simplify the composition by cutting down on visual clutter. A polarizer reduces glare on the leaves, bringing out richer tones and helping control contrast.

Gibbs later shifts to a coastal location, hoping for sunlight to skim across the rocks and add dimension to the scene. He uses a 10-stop neutral density filter to smooth out water ripples, simplifying the composition further. Light remains a challenge—the dark rocks absorb more than they reflect—but patience and small adjustments help refine the shot. These small decisions, like waiting for subtle changes in light or fine-tuning a composition, can make a difference in finding motivation again.

Frost-covered details on the ground also catch his attention, proving that even on uninspiring days, there’s always something to photograph. The cold morning light adds a blue cast to the frost, which he plans to adjust slightly in post-processing while keeping some of the cool tones to emphasize the winter atmosphere. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Gibbs.