Ever have a photo-mental block at WDW?

[WillowBelle]

We just got back from a 3 day trip to WDW. I struggled so badly to get any pics! I just couldn't find it in me to get creative . I only managed to snap off 957 pictures.

One thing I did differently was: didn't attempt to get MORE pictures of the icons, that I already have. I didn't take any pictures INSIDE of the rides, like I have a million times before.

Just didn't feel the creative juices flowing this trip like in previous ones. Anyone else ever have this happen???

 

[Gdad]

YES for sure- not just Disney either I felt like I have been in a general creative slump most of the year. I just quit carrying the camera around until I started seeing things that made me wish I had it again. A little break did good.

PS- I would not complain too much about almost 1000 pics!

 

[MICKEY88]

when that happens to me, I will try to get different, creative angles of things

 

[WillowBelle]

YES for sure- not just Disney either I felt like I have been in a general creative slump most of the year. I just quit carrying the camera around until I started seeing things that made me wish I had it again. A little break did good.

PS- I would not complain too much about almost 1000 pics!

So glad to hear from someone of your calliber, that it's not just me. Last summer when I was there I took pictures of EVERYTHING! Didn't want a second to not be captured. This time I didn't even have the 'energy' to photograph food.....as if that takes a lot of compusure!

As for having 1K pics, I'm curious to see how many end up on the cutting room floor .

when that happens to me, I will try to get different, creative angles of things

That's what I was trying to do - to get my creative ju-ju flowing, just wasn't feeling it. I kept thinking, maybe it's just going to smack me and then start flowing and it never did *sigh*.

I did manage to get a couple of potentially cool fisheye shots of my DDs on Soarin. Of course, the girls are curved because of the angle. TBH that ride freaks me out a little. I always have a feeling of falling off of my seat and breaking my leg from such a high fall. It was everything I had to peel my hands off the arm rests to take the pics.

 

[Code]

Most definitely. My recent trip to Disneyland was a complete failure in terms of photos (still had a great time). Between managing our boys and it raining a lot, I was trying so hard to think of things in the little photo time I did get that I just blanked out.

 

[zackiedawg]

Well, I've never had that problem myself - I find I usually am taking too many photos at Disney - replicating shots I know I have, or finding new angles, looking for challenges, etc. But I also must confess that without any block, with creative juices flowing, and with a near-addiction to taking photos, I have rarely ever gotten 1,000 shots at Disney during a trip. So now I'm wondering - if 1,000 is a slow photo trip for you, and 1,000 is way above my maximum...are my goals set too low??!!

 

[WillowBelle]

Most definitely. My recent trip to Disneyland was a complete failure in terms of photos (still had a great time). Between managing our boys and it raining a lot, I was trying so hard to think of things in the little photo time I did get that I just blanked out.

Well, I've never had that problem myself - I find I usually am taking too many photos at Disney - replicating shots I know I have, or finding new angles, looking for challenges, etc. But I also must confess that without any block, with creative juices flowing, and with a near-addiction to taking photos, I have rarely ever gotten 1,000 shots at Disney during a trip. So now I'm wondering - if 1,000 is a slow photo trip for you, and 1,000 is way above my maximum...are my goals set too low??!!

You guys are making me feel so good about myself right now !

The main reason that we went on this trip was for a grand gathering, so, I'm sure that a good portion will be actual 'people' shot rather than 'stuff'. We definitely had a blast on this trip - even did MNSSHP! This is the 3rd trip that DH did not come along with us. I think that hindered some of my creativity as well. Sometimes DDs take over to the point where I just can't THINK .

ZDawg, you are a much more proficient photographer than I'll ever dream of being! You don't have to take 1K pics because you get it right the first time .

In all seriousness though - there will be a TON from FoTLK and Hallowishes (which dramatically cuts down on the amount of photos to sift through) thus proving my point that I didn't really do as 'well' as I'd hoped to do this time.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sounds like a good reason to go back and try again?????

How about a new lens next time? If you have a wide angle, maybe a fisheye. If you've focused on wide shots, maybe rent a fast telephoto to focus on the details?????

 

[Groucho]

mom2rtk beat me to it. If you're in a slump - try mounting a particular lens - one that is not an "everyday zoom" lens - and force yourself to use that. A macro, a fast prime, a fisheye... something that'll force you to "think outside the zoom" as it were. A couple trips ago, I spent a few hours with my 105mm macro - which is a pretty long focal length for Disney, and it's manual focus, but I had a bunch of fun with it and was pretty happy with the results. It forces you to be more creative rather than just pointing and shooting.

On the other hand, it could just be a slump - give it time. I don't have time to actually shoot too much what with the kids, but my enthusiasm goes up and down a little. I haven't gotten to the point where I feel like I'm in a slump - but again, I'm not shooting as much. Meanwhile, in the past month or two, I'm been on the uptick. My current thing is to use manual focus only, trying to brush up on my skills - I haven't mounted an AF lens in a few weeks.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

I was there a month ago and dont even have the drive to review them all. I got a couple of gems, but out of all the photos I just cant bear to go through them all. Most were just nightshots around Pop, I didnt go to any parks while I was there (wish I had used my give a day ticket). DW wants to see them all because it was a boys trip but it was very difficult getting inspired with all those cold beers being forced my way...

 

[zackiedawg]

Agreed on the lens idea - a new lens, that has a completely different focal range or perspective, can really open up new photographic ideas for you. Shooting with something like an ultrawide requires looking at even the same things in a completely different way, and shooting them from a completely different angle and proximity. Once you start seeing the different perspectives it provides, it can inspire. Same goes for shooting a macro, or a telephoto longer than you've used before, or a fisheye. Lots of ideas - and you don't have to spend a ton...some used lenses can fit into different ranges than before, and be found for as low as under $100. Older manual lenses, as Groucho mentioned, can be lots of fun - forcing you to manually focus, and set the aperture on the lens ring...becoming more interactive with the process (I too have been enjoying a lot of manual focus lately - more out of need than just for fun, but it wakes up old skills from the film days and makes me realize sometimes how lazy we can get with AF everything!).

 

[GrillMouster]

I've experienced the same thing. DW and I live about 1.5 hours from WDW and have been passholders for several years, so we've been to the parks enough times that I sometimes feel as though I've already photographed everything there and don't need additional GB of duplicate images on my hard drive. That feeling went away a little after we started a family a few years ago, because I had a renewed interest and a different perspective. New eyes.

When I'm in a slump, aside from taking a break, I like to give myself an assignment. Something specific, like "signs", or "the color purple" (the actual color, not the book). We've been to WDW so many times that I don't really need to take a bunch of "we were here" snapshots. I don't mind coming home to a set of pics with hardly any or none at all with us in the frame. By having an assignment, I'm not just wandering the park aimlessly thinking, "What to photograph? What to photograph? What to photograph?” Instead, I have subjects already defined (I just need to spot them) and I'm forced to examine stuff that I have overlooked in the past. Serendipity takes hold, and I'll often find magical shots outside of my assignment that present themselves. It's kinda like that saying that you'll find what you're looking for when you stop searching.

You don't even need to have a camera to practice this. I paused while typing this post (as I often do) and took a walk around my office suite, repeating the word "purple" in my head. I found myself tuning out all the distractions that I usually "see", and instead, anything purple seemed to jump out at me. On my secretary's desk there was a container of disinfectant wipes with a vivid purple lid. On an employee's desk there was a pad of purple Post-It notes among other colored notes. In the break room there are black powder-coated chairs with purple seat cushions. I felt compelled to slide the chairs near each other and photograph the pattern they made (filling the frame) with my camera phone. Back in my office I found my favorite thing of all in this five-minute exercise -- a little toy figure of the purple-suited Joker (villain from the Batman cartoon) that my toddler put in the bag I take to work. I wasn't planning on photographing anything during this exercise, just taking "mental snapshots", but I felt compelled to whip out my Droid X and take a macro shot of this toy sitting on my desk at work. The juxtaposition of this playful item surrounded by recognizable, yet slightly out of focus, professional office gear is comedic. Suddenly, my mind wanders and I find myself thinking of a picture consisting of several Joker toys in an office settings, or me and a bunch of other people dressed like the Joker, and the caption "I work with a bunch of jokers" or the corporate world is filled with jokers/villains" (I personally don't feel that way). Now that I'm in a playful mood I jump to a completely different idea for a picture: a D cell battery right next to a salt shaker with the caption "A Salt and Battery" (get it?). I think I'm loopy from exhaustion.

Okay, I'm rambling. I just wanted to share one way I get my creative juices flowing and how once they start flowing they branch out into other areas beyond my original parameters, and that's cool. I just go with it. Sometimes things work out and other times they fall flat -- and that's cool, too. Just get out there and keep trying. Keep playing.

 

[WillowBelle]

Sounds like a good reason to go back and try again?????

How about a new lens next time? If you have a wide angle, maybe a fisheye. If you've focused on wide shots, maybe rent a fast telephoto to focus on the details?????

To address this suggestion re: new lens. I actually have a fisheye lens. I sometimes use it as my 'walk around' lens because I LOVE the bend so much. Maybe next visit I'll give a macro lens (rental!) a shot. I rented a UWA lens for a trip to NOLA last October and was not a fan of it. Not sure if I can put why into words but here's an example....trying to photograph the St. Louis Cathedral I felt like I couldn't get high enough to get 'even' with the structure. Really threw me for a loop. Found it a difficult lens to shoot with. I've never tried a macro before - maybe that's key.

I was there a month ago and dont even have the drive to review them all. I got a couple of gems, but out of all the photos I just cant bear to go through them all.

So glad it's not just me! I feel your pain.

When I'm in a slump, aside from taking a break, I like to give myself an assignment. Something specific, like "signs", or "the color purple" (the actual color, not the book). We've been to WDW so many times that I don't really need to take a bunch of "we were here" snapshots. I don't mind coming home to a set of pics with hardly any or none at all with us in the frame. By having an assignment, I'm not just wandering the park aimlessly thinking, "What to photograph? What to photograph? What to photograph?” Instead, I have subjects already defined (I just need to spot them) and I'm forced to examine stuff that I have overlooked in the past. Serendipity takes hold, and I'll often find magical shots outside of my assignment that present themselves. It's kinda like that saying that you'll find what you're looking for when you stop searching.

That is how I felt the entire time walking around. I LOVE the suggestion of a color theme! I was in such a slump that I found myself even forgetting to take pics of the food that we were eating for my trippies! That suggestion, right there, may be my answer!

 

[Docarino]

I just got back last night and had a very similar experience- felt like I was in a slump, had no interesting or creative thoughts. I felt like on my last trip I really pushed myself and grew as a photographer and this trip I was moving backwards. I also had a lot of people involved in this trip so I think that really distracted me but I tried to focus on taking pictures of people because those would be pictures I wouldn't be able to get on the next trip.

I don't have any great "how to get out of a slump advice" but wanted to say that I'm there, too! I'm hoping to find some creative post processing angles to salvage some things