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=ReBeL=

=ReBeL=

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Adrian
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Is it only me who suffers from this? I keep jumping from one genre of photography to another. When I finally think that this is it, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, few months later I find another thing which "I want to do for the rest of my life".

My mrs is laughing at me because of it. It drives me mad as well though. I keep starting those projects. And then start another one "no, this is definitely it" and then start another one.

I've had and killed off 2 of my websites already over the years. I now have another with a different genre. And now I want to start another one with something completely different, because I just got into other genre. The problem with me is I have a very limited time, so I can only concentrate on one thing at the time. When I do one thing the other suffers. So realistically I can't really shoot 2 completely different genres of photography because physically I don't have time for that. I keep practising one, so the other suffers. Also when I'm into something, I'm in 100%. Nothing else interests me... until the next thing comes along.

What's wrong with me? I'm sick of it argh!
 
Since I have the opposite problem, maybe we should team up and drive each other nuts?
 
=ReBeL= said:
Is it only me who suffers from this? I keep jumping from one genre of photography to another. When I finally think that this is it, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, few months later I find another thing which "I want to do for the rest of my life".

My mrs is laughing at me because of it. It drives me mad as well though. I keep starting those projects. And then start another one "no, this is definitely it" and then start another one.

I've had and killed off 2 of my websites already over the years. I now have another with a different genre. And now I want to start another one with something completely different, because I just got into other genre. The problem with me is I have a very limited time, so I can only concentrate on one thing at the time. When I do one thing the other suffers. So realistically I can't really shoot 2 completely different genres of photography because physically I don't have time for that. I keep practising one, so the other suffers. Also when I'm into something, I'm in 100%. Nothing else interests me... until the next thing comes along.

What's wrong with me? I'm sick of it argh!
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There's nothing wrong with you. That's what photograhpy is like.
 
=ReBeL= said:
Is it only me who suffers from this? I keep jumping from one genre of photography to another. When I finally think that this is it, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, few months later I find another thing which "I want to do for the rest of my life".

My mrs is laughing at me because of it. It drives me mad as well though. I keep starting those projects. And then start another one "no, this is definitely it" and then start another one.

I've had and killed off 2 of my websites already over the years. I now have another with a different genre. And now I want to start another one with something completely different, because I just got into other genre. The problem with me is I have a very limited time, so I can only concentrate on one thing at the time. When I do one thing the other suffers. So realistically I can't really shoot 2 completely different genres of photography because physically I don't have time for that. I keep practising one, so the other suffers. Also when I'm into something, I'm in 100%. Nothing else interests me... until the next thing comes along.

What's wrong with me? I'm sick of it argh!
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This rings a bell with me.

Sounds like you're primary interest lies in the actual photography rather a subject that drives your photography..

Before you think I'm stating the obvious - let me try and explain as I think I'm the complete opposite.

I went through a period when I thought I was 'into' photography but I soon learned I had very little interest in taking photographs of certain subjects or forcing myself to try 'projects' that just didn't float my boat.

Yes I did photography at Uni, dark room work and photography became part of my job but these days my interest is wildlife and landscapes & not photography. Sometimes I go hillwalking. Sometimes I go out with binoculars. Sometimes I take a camera, sometimes I don't. If I'm honest photography is just one way to further enjoy my other interests.

I guess it boils down to whether you have a passion or subject matter that you wish to record and express through photography - or if your passion is just photography itself and your trying to apply it to something that you'd not otherwise be interested in ?
 
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I agree with the above. Your interest is photography, not what you're shooting. So you get bored of the subjects you're shooting, so always seek something new.
 
I don't understand the apparent need people feel to categorise their photography (or even their photographs) into narrow genres - unless it's a career move. :thinking:

It's all photography to me.
 
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It might not be a massive problem for somebody who treats photography as a hobby, but if one wants to develop the skills further and maybe think about something more, then it becomes a problem. I invest months of training and practice into a specific thing, only to lose interest after a while and move to something else. And the whole process repeats itself.

Yes, one could argue that it still makes me better photographer in general, but it not brings me any closer to my goal.
 
=ReBeL= said:
It might not be a massive problem for somebody who treats photography as a hobby, but if one wants to develop the skills further and maybe think about something more, then it becomes a problem. I invest months of training and practice into a specific thing, only to lose interest after a while and move to something else. And the whole process repeats itself.

Yes, one could argue that it still makes me better photographer in general, but it not brings me any closer to my goal.
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So what is your goal? Do you have a clear picture of what it is you are aiming for?

Referring back to the orginal post, I'm the opposite. I've tried a few different things when I was at nightschool but I was either rubbish enough to not want to master it, or it bored me. Sure I take family snapshots and can turn my hand to various things with varying degrees of mediocrity, but the stuff I specialise in (monochrome industrial landscapes) I've been doing for nearly ten years and while I am a long way off being a master of what is admittedly a rather niche genre, I'm pretty good at it and have no interest in focussing my limited time on specialising in something else.

I sometimes regret not spending more time figuring out studio lighting (primarily because portrait and still life photography bores me to tears) as occasionally I feel it would come in useful. Spending time getting to a reasonable level of proficiency in different genres is useful as after a while, they start to inform and influence each other which is probably a good thing.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
So what is your goal? Do you have a clear picture of what it is you are aiming for?

Referring back to the orginal post, I'm the opposite. I've tried a few different things when I was at nightschool but I was either rubbish enough to not want to master it, or it bored me. Sure I take family snapshots and can turn my hand to various things with varying degrees of mediocrity, but the stuff I specialise in (monochrome industrial landscapes) I've been doing for nearly ten years and while I am a long way off being a master of what is admittedly a rather niche genre, I'm pretty good at it and have no interest in focussing my limited time on specialising in something else.

I sometimes regret not spending more time figuring out studio lighting (primarily because portrait and still life photography bores me to tears) as occasionally I feel it would come in useful. Spending time getting to a reasonable level of proficiency in different genres is useful as after a while, they start to inform and influence each other which is probably a good thing.
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As I mentioned the goal is to turn the hobby into something that brings money as well. A small profitable business. I am not one of those people who will rush into things unprepared, therefore each time I get passionate about something I spend long hours training and practising before even thinking about charging money. Unfortunately every time during the learning process I am getting bored... or rather I shift my interest into something else within photography. And the process stars again. I think it has been like that for the last 2 years and each time I have a feeling that "this is it", only to be back at the starting point 6 months later.

My real fear is that I don't want to be a jack of all trades and master of none. If only I could keep my eyes on one genre for long enough instead of this jumping about. Honestly it drives me mad.
 
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As long as you enjoy what you do when you are doing it why worry.
 
=ReBeL= said:
It might not be a massive problem for somebody who treats photography as a hobby, but if one wants to develop the skills further and maybe think about something more, then it becomes a problem. I invest months of training and practice into a specific thing, only to lose interest after a while and move to something else. And the whole process repeats itself.

Yes, one could argue that it still makes me better photographer in general, but it not brings me any closer to my goal.
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There are many hobby photographers who are more accomplished than their professional counterparts. I suspect that the majority of professionals (if that is your goal) would suggest that it is the business aspects of the job that are more important than the photographic skills.

That's not to say that the photography isn't important, but maybe if you looked into learning business skills you could use those whichever way you end up going.
 
Are you trying to hard to find something to turn into a business?

My thoughts are - forget the business side of things for now. Focus on finding something that enthralls you so much and for longer than anything else has, and that you want to not not only become a master of it, but you want to spend the rest of your life doing it. Become so good at it that people want to buy off you. Then think about doing it as a business.

Just enjoy it as a hobby for now, and see where the journey takes you.
 
And further to my earlier post, something else to consider (following on from Andy's suggestion). I was in the position of being a reasonable hobbyist photographer who was given the option of going pro. I took the option, did it for three years and hated it. When I gave up I didn't pick up a camera for 15 years. Took a while to get over that mistake.
 
I take shots of a wide range of subjects, but I've never mastered people photography. I've tried candid and street stuff. I've been to studio meets, and have been with the club when we all take turns at being "the model". I just cannot find a way to get interested in photos of people. I like some, but not all, people shots that I see. Anyone got any tips as to how to overcome this block? (Do I really want to overcome it?)

Say he, sat here waiting for a very attractive club President to come and have a session with three of us in my spare room!
 
my take on it, is that if you're getting bored with a particular genre before starting a business shooting in that genre, then it's a good thing - better to get bored with it before having to rely on it to keep food on the table. If you find something that really grips you, it'll be easier to stick with it. Take the time to find it, then go for it,
 
Ed Sutton said:
I don't understand the apparent need people feel to categorise their photography (or even their photographs) into narrow genres - unless it's a career move. :thinking:

It's all photography to me.
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Neither do I. Surely the subject you're shooting dictates the "category".
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

I am definitely not rushing into business before I feel I'm ready. If I was I would be doing it already. However, its been a long time since I decided to look into the option of charging for my photography and I feel I am still at the starting point... again. It is a bit frustrating, especially that additional income wouldn't go amiss. However I don't want to rush into things and regret after, like Brian mentioned above. Hence my months of training and preparation. Building skills, building portfolio, website, etc. I will prevail though and see where this next project will get me. I don't plan to kill off the website I have at the moment just yet, I put too much work into it. And maybe I will find the motivation again and go back to it soon.

TheBigYin said:
my take on it, is that if you're getting bored with a particular genre before starting a business shooting in that genre, then it's a good thing - better to get bored with it before having to rely on it to keep food on the table. If you find something that really grips you, it'll be easier to stick with it. Take the time to find it, then go for it,
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That thought did cross my mind as well. It is a good point and definitely relevant. Problem with me is that I find something that "really grips me" every 6 months ;)
 
Not interested in being paid to shoot....so that aside..
Some people want to try and be the best they can be at one thing, they find shooting other "genres" distracting and lose focus on the thing they want to be best at.
How distracting one genre is from another depends on what they are, clearly some are similar and some not, portraiture, landscape and street for instance are very different, landscape particularly can be very time consuming.
I've got a lot of time for the idea that concentrating on one thing is a good way to move yourself up the ladder in one particular area, but its horses for courses, some peeps are just good at whatever they do across the board.
Generally though, photography demands you invest time and effort whatever you shoot, or at least it demands I do.
 
Phil V said:
Not really related to 'going pro', but aimed at the attention span issue and how it might not help you:

Have a read
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Agree with this - so much so that a link to the original article is in my signature. Having said that, there may be times when you need to go on a different route but I would suggest it's usually better to get those changes out of the way early on.
 
Seems to me you're lacking confidence and that is affecting your commitment to see a job through to its conclusion.

Continually ricochetting from one genre to another is hardly going to put the bread on the table, is it?
I would sit down with the missus, if I were you, and decide what it is, exactly, you want to do and then see it through to it's conclusion............... if that's what you want to do.
 
Why do you need to shoot or be part of a particular genre? A good photo is a good photo, it doesn't matter whether it's a portrait, landscape, or anything else.

I'm not an expert in being a pro shooter but I'd have thought the broader your experience and knowledge the better unless you know exactly what you want to do (which you seem not to!)
 
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This next project I just started is definitely it :)

Just bought a new domain and will be building a website over next few weeks.
 
Phil V said:
Not really related to 'going pro', but aimed at the attention span issue and how it might not help you:

Have a read
Click to expand...

I read about it before, but it slipped out of my mind somehow. Thanks for reminding me Phil. I do like this theory... and this time, I do intend to stay on the ******** bus :)
 
I begin to think that the whole photography thing is my bus (apart from few genres). As I continue to jump from one to another... :(
 
Stop fannying about and shoot some film, the challenge will do you good...:)
 
joxby said:
Stop fannying about and shoot some film, the challenge will do you good...:)
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I'm not sure. It's not a problem of what do I shoot with, but what do I shoot in general. My skills are OK, but I tend to jump back and forth with the ideas and genres of photography. Do a bit of that, get bored, change, get bored, change, get bored, change. Doesn't look like I will ever make any money on my photography.
 
=ReBeL= said:
As I mentioned the goal is to turn the hobby into something that brings money as well. A small profitable business. I am not one of those people who will rush into things unprepared, therefore each time I get passionate about something I spend long hours training and practising before even thinking about charging money. Unfortunately every time during the learning process I am getting bored... or rather I shift my interest into something else within photography. And the process stars again. I think it has been like that for the last 2 years and each time I have a feeling that "this is it", only to be back at the starting point 6 months later.

My real fear is that I don't want to be a jack of all trades and master of none. If only I could keep my eyes on one genre for long enough instead of this jumping about. Honestly it drives me mad.
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In that case most definitely DO NOT go into any form of business because you will certainly fail.

Starting a business is fairly easy but running one successfully year after year requires dedication and persistence - 2 things which you most certainly do not seem to have.
.
 
=ReBeL= said:
I'm not sure. It's not a problem of what do I shoot with, but what do I shoot in general. My skills are OK, but I tend to jump back and forth with the ideas and genres of photography. Do a bit of that, get bored, change, get bored, change, get bored, change. Doesn't look like I will ever make any money on my photography.
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Oh......I didn't realize making money was your motivation.
Well.....there are boring aspects in every occupation, its just something you have to deal with (just think of the money) or do something else.
When I shot for money, it was crap but its a means to an end, boredom is not really an option or particularly relevant.
Shooting for money really put me off photography, so much so that when I packed it in and went back to they day job, I couldn't be arsed to shoot at all.....I dunno why that is ??

Anyway, I shot some film, it was much more challenging than digital and my interest was rekindled, but I wouldn't like to try make money shooting it..:D
 
petersmart said:
In that case most definitely DO NOT go into any form of business because you will certainly fail.

Starting a business is fairly easy but running one successfully year after year requires dedication and persistence - 2 things which you most certainly do not seem to have.
.
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Even if I would start a business it would be along my full time job for some time. Don't worry I'm not that daft.

joxby said:
Oh......I didn't realize making money was your motivation.
Well.....there are boring aspects in every occupation, its just something you have to deal with (just think of the money) or do something else.
When I shot for money, it was crap but its a means to an end, boredom is not really an option or particularly relevant.
Shooting for money really put me off photography, so much so that when I packed it in and went back to they day job, I couldn't be arsed to shoot at all.....I dunno why that is ??

Anyway, I shot some film, it was much more challenging than digital and my interest was rekindled, but I wouldn't like to try make money shooting it..:D
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Even if only to allow me to invest back into the photography. Upgrade the body, buy a new lens. Some money wouldn't go amiss.

Thinking about it my greatest pitfall is the marketing. Each time I get good at something and try to think about finding costumers I get bored with the business side of things and move onto something else. The photography side of a photography business is where my heart is. Unfortunately that is only a very small part of running a photography business. I guess it is the business tasks that sucks the juice out of my photography motivational pot. Marketing seems to be the worst task of them all for me. Even after learning about it and reading books about it, I am still rubbish at it and can't find motivation to do it on a regular basis.
 
Why don't you have one website which is about 'you', effectively your portfolio. That way you can put your best shots on their from all the different busses you get on and off and it will actually more than likely be beneficial to have a wide range of styles and skills.

That way if someone is looking for a particular style they might just find you to hire?
 
MadFrankie said:
Why don't you have one website which is about 'you', effectively your portfolio. That way you can put your best shots on their from all the different busses you get on and off and it will actually more than likely be beneficial to have a wide range of styles and skills.

That way if someone is looking for a particular style they might just find you to hire?
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That is exactly what I've done. I've killed off all other websites and created one big one instead. It's work in progress still and I am yet to decide on the best way to showcase the different genres from the user interface perspective. I am not happy with the way it is set up at the moment, but that is exactly what I am trying to do. Instead of managing few websites, just concentrate on one instead.
 
droj said:
And its address is?
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It's still work in progress. It's missing links and has major functionality issues. It is basically rebranded from one of the projects and I am yet to decide on its final look. At this stage I would prefer not to share the link.
 
=ReBeL= said:
It's still work in progress. It's missing links and has major functionality issues. It is basically rebranded from one of the projects and I am yet to decide on its final look. At this stage I would prefer not to share the link.
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You're in avoidance mode, then? I just meant that if we could see some of your material, some of us might be able to advise better. Not to comment on how polished the website was.
 
droj said:
You're in avoidance mode, then? I just meant that if we could see some of your material, some of us might be able to advise better. Not to comment on how polished the website was.
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Not avoidance, no. No offence but I don't want this thread to become a critique of the website / photos.

My photography is not the issue, it's the business /marketing and short attention span that seems to be.
 
But it might be helpful to have the contextual reference of what you're actually up to. Is it embarassing or shady somehow? How else might we take the discussion further?
 
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