Getting my mojo back….?

EspressoJunkie

EspressoJunkie

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Greg
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I’ve always photographed so this is a hard post to write.

I don’t know why but over time my enthusiasm and passion for it has drained out of me (for want of a better expression).

I have a busy life ( 9-5 job, 6 kids, etc) I’m properly middle aged, and free time is a rare occurrence.

I just find myself photographing less and less and while dedicated ’photo trips’ were always sporadic, I can’t remember the last time I was out.

I don’t know what it is but I can’t seem to get my mojo back.

Has anyone else been here? How do I get out of this funk?
 
I am in the same situation, Greg. Have been an avid photographer for many years, yet this past calendar year I reckon I have been out with my camera less than 5 times, whereas the normal has always been once a week. I even cancelled my twice-a-year trip over to London in October (I live in Norway) as I just wasn't enthusiastic about it. I always meet 5 or 6 very good photo friends for 3 or 4 days of photography and camaraderie round London. It just didn't appeal, which is a great shame as the social side is as enjoyable as the photography...

I'm afraid I cannot suggest a way out of this situation, as if I cannot help myself, then I can hardly help you.

I hope for both our sake that we can somehow find our way back to enjoying what is a fascinating hobby...
Sorry I can't be more positive and helpful.
 
I too have been in your position, twice in fact.

The only thing which seemed to work for me was to try something different. The first time I bought a new camera. It was just a modest DSLR, but it was different enough from the bridge camera I had been using, to kick-start something in my brain. The second time I dug out my old film camera and the muscle memory was so strong it got me moving again.
 
Hi Greg, this topic has arisen regularly;y for as long as TP has existed. Sometimes life gets in the way, and from what you've written, that is no surprise at all in your case!
I think the important point to make is that whilst photography is just a hobby for you and not important in itself, it likely is important for your mental health in having a "place to go" to get away from everything else that actually is important.
I think @Boots may have the answer though - it could be maybe to get a cheap but functional film combo to play with, or a digital P&S to keep in the pocket and get creative with; it may be as @benc98 says, include some photography in the family stuff?
 
Six kids and cant find a subject........

How old are they Greg?
 
With six children and a wife, a busy home life must be evident. You may even be a grandparent!
You could chronicle their lives and days out and adventures with your camera :)
 
In recent times I tried something different, long exposure shots. I'd never fancied them before so I thought I'd give them a go. Something different and all that. I also do more panoramas now.

Any of that appeal to you?
 
As has been previously mentioned, I think it's often a good idea to change tack and freshen things up. Pop a little compact in your pocket, or a film camera. Photograph different things and the juices will often start flowing again.
 
Its an expectations problem, don't focus on what you can't do or take a photo of, focus on what you can do and take a picture of.

I want to take a panorama from the top of the eyefull tower but I can't, I can take a photo of the numerous houseplants we have............but that's not photography is it.
 
Barney said:
Its an expectations problem, don't focus on what you can't do or take a photo of, focus on what you can do and take a picture of.

I want to take a panorama from the top of the eyefull tower but I can't, I can take a photo of the numerous houseplants we have............but that's not photography is it.
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In best pantomime voice... "Oh Yes It Is!" Or at least it is IMO and it's something I do.
 
woof woof said:
In best pantomime voice... "Oh Yes It Is!" Or at least it is IMO and it's something I do.
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And me, :)

But its not "the right" kind of photography.
 
In my experience, mojos often hide under sofas. So if you have a sofa, upend it, tip it over on its back - you might just find what you're looking for! If there are teenagers on the sofa, tip 'em over with it, and tell them your purpose in a loud voice.

Seriously - mojos wax & wane, that's an organic normality & not in itself worth stressing over. Are you stressing about your mojo in a vain attempt at stress displacement? That doesn't work, it just adds to the load!

A way to have a chance of getting it back though, is to just allocate yourself slots to take & process photographs - and then review them, which process feeds back into & hopefully energises the loop - but over time. Which timescale can fluctuate, & isn't predictable - so determination and patience help.

Looking at photographs by others, and reviewing them, can also help in navigating the photoverse.

And I hesitate to say it but as post #4 said above - you have the kids! Conquer them with your camera! Make them world famous!
 
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As above, mojo comes and goes. I've had a bad year for photography, but that is because it has been a good year in other parts of my life.
 
I also flick between various hobbies and often go months without picking the camera up.

That's why I like macro...I can just stay home and shoot something in the house / garden. Always something to photograph if I can be bothered.

I'm just picking up another hobby at the moment, one I haven't touched in a year. It's just the way it goes sometimes and I just roll with it now.
 
I think part of getting out of it or rather getting back into it is to not dwell on loss of mojo and more focus on planning opportunities you can think off in the future.

I have been through similar slump(s) - kids, health issues, finance issues etc etc.
What i find helps most is reducing the friction elements to get back into it.
I love pixel peeping as much as the next guy but i realised I had all the expensive best sharp lenses that I wasn't carrying or using.
Now I have mostly minimalist gear (for me), lenses focussed more on the ones that'll travel with me as supposed to producing the perfect brick wall shot.
 
As the years go by I seem to do less and less photography during the winter. I may not pick up the camera for weeks or even months. But when i do, say in March or April, the 'mojo' seems to come from somewhere. And during the fallow period my thinking around photography seems to have developed somehow and I see things a little differently. So It could even be a good thing to take a break.
 
benc98 said:
Document your busy home life - you won’t run out of material.

Photography doesn’t need to involve going somewhere special or pointing a huge lens at an animal
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This ^^ I think, by the way things sound.

We all go through some sort of mojo loss from time to time. I flit from big Sony kit to the X100f to the Yashica Mat MF film & also 35mm film..... My main mojo loss has been local landscapes/sunrise etc - I've just got zero inspiration of places to go to & complete boredom with the rest..... Luckily the X100f has got me into street photography which I really enjoy for the time out & steps walked - we often go into Bath & I will shoot while the wife goes around the shops & we meet up inbetween for a coffee/hot chocolate before going our own ways for another hour :) I haven't shot 35mm since June, I haven't shot black & white in it since 2014 - yesterday I stuck a roll of B&W in there for a few hours in Wells :) - I'm only 5 shots in though.....

I think pick up something like the X100f. Or a Ricoh. Or maybe even an older digicam [they are coming back into fashion!] Something with built in flash which you can always have to hand around the house & stick in a pocket when you go out.
 
I think pretty much every photographer goes through this at some point and it may just be that its time to move on to another hobby that better fits with your current lifestyle or something that you can enjoy together as a family that make its easier.

For me its slightly different as a full time wedding photographer it is my job. A couple of years ago though it did really hit home for me that because it was a job I had literally shot nothing for myself in a good long time and at the end of the day while I love work it is still work like it is for everyone else.

I wanted to reinvigorate my interest in just shooting for enjoyments sake. Part of the reason or one excuse anyway I always had when I stopped shooting for myself was just hauling the gear around so I bought a Sony A7CII and a few of the small cheap prime lenses like the Samyangs and viltrox air series etc. That solved that problem. The next problem however was when I just shot for the joy of it my main subjects were my two girls. However they are now aged 19 and 15 and they while they will happily take a hundred selfies everyday, if a camera is pointed at them they just disappear. That was solved with a new puppy about 2 years ago that I now have about 100k photos off. :D

If you have 6 kids am sure you will have great craic just documenting everyday life. if you are on instagram these guys are worth a follow. https://www.instagram.com/twomannstudios/ They are recently retired wedding photographers who were very well known. They have retired from wedding photography after being hugely successful to concentrate on documenting their own family life. They literally now treat documenting their family as their job. They would be a great place to look for inspiration for documenting your own family.
 
I can sympathise with the way you feel. I have been a member for a few years now, and i can count on one hand the number of shots i have posted on TP. I I have a very good understanding about photography in general, but i feel i can never get the shot i want to get. I changed systems from a Nikon D300 to a Panasonic G9 which i love the feel of, bought a couple of new lenses and away i went, i still haen't taken any shots worthy of posting, and now i can't be bothered to go out with my camera. I really only use it when we go on holiday, when there is no real time to take the best shots available. Hopefully next year will be better for all of us who feel this way. Generally i come on TP first thing in the morning, and i am in awe of some shots members take, not sure i will ever get to that stage, but i live in hope for just that one shot. Here's looking forward.
 
f/2.8 said:
The next problem however was when I just shot for the joy of it my main subjects were my two girls. However they are now aged 19 and 15 and they while they will happily take a hundred selfies everyday, if a camera is pointed at them they just disappear. That was solved with a new puppy about 2 years ago that I now have about 100k photos off. :D
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:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
Make a little time to go and have a walk at a local woods/park/canal/river etc but don't take your camera, just look, you will see plenty of interesting things. It will help your mental health and provide time to slow your mind.
After a while you can start taking your camera and record things you never knew were there.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone - lots to think about.

I have actually dug out a very old MF film camera that I was gifted a number of years ago.

I ran film through it once a few years ago but it’s condition has deteriorated dramatically!

I think that between getting it fixed ( hopefully) and trying to use it will provide something different and I might try to document the whole process as well.
 
Put aside your digital camera for a while and use film - preferably MF (fix/service the one you have?). It will slow you down and allow you to concentrate more on what you're trying to achieve.

Developing them yourself is even more rewarding.

Almost any MF camera you buy won't depreciate and if it doesn't help, you can always sell it on again.

Alternately, keep spraying, praying and trolling through hundreds of pictures that you'll probably only delete anyway . . . :coat:
 
EspressoJunkie said:
I’ve always photographed so this is a hard post to write.

I don’t know why but over time my enthusiasm and passion for it has drained out of me (for want of a better expression).

I have a busy life ( 9-5 job, 6 kids, etc) I’m properly middle aged, and free time is a rare occurrence.

I just find myself photographing less and less and while dedicated ’photo trips’ were always sporadic, I can’t remember the last time I was out.

I don’t know what it is but I can’t seem to get my mojo back.

Has anyone else been here? How do I get out of this funk?
Click to expand...
What type of photography was your main interest before?
 
EspressoJunkie said:
I did a lot of abandoned buildings but they’re harder to find these days ( and at my age harder to get into )
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If it were wildlife, I’d suggest spending a day in a hide, that almost guarantees a good set of images and can really boost your mojo.

For what you’ve described above, I’d imagine there are some social media groups focused on that kind of photography. Maybe you could arrange to meet a few people from one of those groups and spend a few hours shooting with them somewhere.

It’s tough when the mojo goes. Sometimes it’s best to take a complete break and come back to it in the future when you feel ready. Trying to force it too soon, when you’re not in the right headspace, can end up making things worse.
 
AdamSi said:
If it were wildlife, I’d suggest spending a day in a hide, that almost guarantees a good set of images and can really boost your mojo.

For what you’ve described above, I’d imagine there are some social media groups focused on that kind of photography. Maybe you could arrange to meet a few people from one of those groups and spend a few hours shooting with them somewhere.

It’s tough when the mojo goes. Sometimes it’s best to take a complete break and come back to it in the future when you feel ready. Trying to force it too soon, when you’re not in the right headspace, can end up making things worse.
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I like that thought.(y)
 
EspressoJunkie said:
I’ve always photographed so this is a hard post to write.

I don’t know why but over time my enthusiasm and passion for it has drained out of me (for want of a better expression).

I have a busy life ( 9-5 job, 6 kids, etc) I’m properly middle aged, and free time is a rare occurrence.

I just find myself photographing less and less and while dedicated ’photo trips’ were always sporadic, I can’t remember the last time I was out.

I don’t know what it is but I can’t seem to get my mojo back.

Has anyone else been here? How do I get out of this funk?
Click to expand...

Sometimes the places on your doorstep are often overlooked. I had this a few years' back and challenged myself to visit some parks around my town, the ones that I'd never go to as different towns and places held more mystique and potential.

What I found was that there was more than enough going on in my dreary town and the proximity of shooting locations meant that it wasn't an effort to pop out for 60 mins before the family needed my time, or I could incorporate it into my routine of work and chores.

Might not be a silver bullet, but could be a step in the direction of finding your mojo.

Good luck and happy shooting in '26
 
These posts always make me smile.

I haven’t been a ‘habitual’ photographer for >35 years. Firstly I went from very enthusiastic to full time pro, so I had no time for the ‘hobby’. Then when that business closed, I carried on part time pro shooting, and only got the camera out for ‘me’ for family portraits.
Since I retired completely (almost) from photography jobs, it’s been difficult finding a reason to pick up the camera.

I do some trips out with the camera to the wildlife park, I’m travelling quite a bit (still haven’t found the travel photography habit), and I shoot the family (not enough). Still hoping to get out more but I’m busy and I don’t have time to feel bad about it.
 
I’m the same at the moment. Off to Lisbon and then Hong Kong and Thailand which should give some inspiration. Always used to take my camera out on dog walks but since he’s died that’s not happened.
Also decided to avoid much post processing and got an XT5 and will be using some film sims. Also have a Sony Rx100 which I can put in my pocket when walking about with the wife.
 
Get your camera and put it on the coffee table. After a while you’ll pick it up and start messing with it, maybe not straight away, but you will. Just picking it up and holding it can help. I do this when I occasionally lose interest, and it always comes back. Get it out the camera bag, and put it on the coffee table.
 
Geeky Gothic Guy said:
Get your camera and put it on the coffee table. After a while you’ll pick it up and start messing with it, maybe not straight away, but you will. Just picking it up and holding it can help. I do this when I occasionally lose interest, and it always comes back. Get it out the camera bag, and put it on the coffee table.
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That certainly does work. I have been laid up after a knee operation, and I started thinking about getting out again and playing with my film cameras. I'm all fired up now. :D
 
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