As I’ve matured as an artist, I’ve learned that I am most inspired when I’m growing and learning.
Put another way, I’m most inspired when I’m being challenged and things are hard.
It was easy to live in a challenging space when I was learning manual, white balance, good composition, etc. The problem is, how do we stay inspired after that? I struggled for a while and endured many plateaus until I realized – I just need something to challenge me!
There are so many directions I could go (and will, in the future): I could learn a new genre, teach myself a new editing program, learn film. The list is endless! But this time, I chose to experiment with creative techniques like freelensing, using a prism, and reining in my Lensbaby lens.
And because of my personality, I couldn’t just issue myself a loose challenge. Instead, I had to assign myself specific, time-sensitive challenges. This is always how I operate. I love a good 30-day project and the occasional 365 because they have clear guidelines and push me beyond what I would normally do on my own. The best parts of these challenges? They were fun, they added new tricks to my photographer’s bag, and they were just what I needed at the time. In other words, they were hard!
Challenge 1: Use only my Lensbaby lens for one week
The day I left my beloved 24mm lens at home and took only my Lensbaby Sweet 35 to the zoo was how it all started. I knew I had previously failed at making good images with it, but I was tired of taking the same pictures at the zoo every visit.
Unsurprisingly, I only got a few usable pictures from that zoo trip, but the ones I got, were different and refreshing. I decided to leave the lens on for another week. Out of all three challenges, this one yielded my favorite images and the most inspiration for me. Out of all three techniques, the Lensbaby is the one to which I find myself voluntarily returning, even though the challenge is over.
Learn how to use a Lensbaby lens here.
Challenge 2: Take one good photo with a prism every day for 5 days
This one was by far the hardest. I had such trouble integrating the prism into my storytelling style. It just didn’t ring true for me. But I tried anyways, and I think I got a couple in which the prism improved the overall image. Forcing myself to use it gave me some ideas of future images in which it might help me tell a story, and I’m keeping it in my back pocket for one of those moments.
Challenge 3: Freelens a walk in the woods
Anytime I take on a limiting challenge like this one, something happens. First, I feel pretty positive I’ll fail. Then I push through the doubt and start to have fun experimenting. And lastly, the exclusion of my favorite go-to lenses frees me up to play and try things I wouldn’t normally, and I end up adding a new technique to my bag of tricks.
Freelensing is one of those things I normally do sparingly, largely because I don’t want to miss “the” shot because I’m trying to freelens and I don’t hit it. It was nice to tell myself I could only freelens, thus giving myself permission to engage more deeply with the technique.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this post really isn’t about freelensing, using a prism, or using a specialty lens. It’s about being your own best and most demanding coach. It’s about never being satisfied and always looking for a fresh way to take your work to the next level. No one else will do it for you so get out there! (And don’t go easy on yourself!)
What challenges have you done to push yourself and become a better photographer? I’d love to hear in the comments!
