It’s summer time and as a mom that often means hearing “I’m Bored”.  As a mom there are many ways to handle this but what do you do when you experience this in your photography business.  Sometimes, we get stuck in a rut as a photographer using the same pose over and over or the same location runs on repeat in much of our portfolio, often leading to burn out.

As a photographer, even I have experienced this overall feeling of blah, but there are several things I do to shake it.

1. Attend a Workshop: Find a local workshop that pushes you a little out of your comfort zone.  Spending a couple hours or a weekend among creatives will re-awaken those dormant creative juices.  I try to attend at least one to two a year in different genres.
2. Ask a Kid: I say this purely from experience.  I don’t know a kid alive who doesn’t like having his or her photograph taken.  See what happens when you let them call the shots.  You might just find your self having fun and shooting something completely different.  Recently, my son helped me try out some new camera gear.  I let him decide what he wanted to do.  Right now he is OBSESSED with American Ninja Warrior and so he ran around our local playground, climbing and jumping like crazy.  He wore himself out, I got to try something different, and we had a blast doing it.
3. Try Technique that Scares You: Whether this is working with studio lights, white balancing with Kelvin, off camera flash or back-lighting . . go out there and try it and be FEARLESS!
4. Find a Need: There are some amazing non-profit photography groups out there that just want to share there gift of photography with the world and love on people.  It is good and feels good to use our talents to help others and give back to the community.  To start with, check out Op-Love, or Red Thread.  If you don’t find something in your area, why not teach a photography class.  Sometimes teaching others helps us to learn as well.
5. Join a Photo Group: There are more photography groups out there than I can shake a stick at.  This also means there are really awesome groups and then some that sadly become a forum for cattiness and whining.  My best suggestion is to join a few and just observe for awhile.  I have met some amazing photographers who have helped me along the way.  I have been in groups that are supportive and treat their work as a profession.  When you find these spaces of creativity . . hold onto them . . play nice . . and LEARN.  Good groups tend to share work when they are booked solid and collaborate on projects together.  More on finding a good photography group later.

Most importantly, you have to plan to get out of that rut.  You have to be proactive and purposeful in your artwork.  Happy accidents are great but do not an awesome business make!  So what will you do this week to break free of your boredom?!