My advice for photographers who are losing their passion or lost it already

For almost a year now I’ve been struggling to find passion in my photography, it’s my 7th year doing photography and this was the only time I really lost my passion for it, some of it was due to me never being able to capture something new because of school and work always taking up time, and some of it was me looking at others who do the same style of photography and being discouraged.

I tried changing up my style a bit, trying to use color (I shoot primarily b&w), shooting film, new cameras with different form factors ( Ricoh GR III, Nikon D7000, Nikon N80, Fujifilm X-Pro2) but none of this worked for me. I like the color of film and how in the moment and more personal the photos feel, but processing, development, etc. would be too much of a turn over time for me. I tried color profiles on cameras to replicate film. And it didn’t work for me. So I was really stuck in what to do. Go with film and deal with it and be patient or digital and not have to worry about all that goes into developing film and buying film etc. But then it struck me. It was never the camera or the unique color of film. I was trying to do a form of photography that wasn’t me.

So what’s my advice for photographers who are losing their passion or lost it already.

Go back into your archives, find some photos you absolutely adore that are yours, and think to yourself, “How did I capture this” (was it a simple inconspicuous candid shot? was it a full 6 point lighting setup?) For me, it was just being in the moment at the right time and hoping my ISO wasn’t too high lol.

Go back to what made you passionate about photography, don’t worry if your pictures aren’t fundamentally good, it’s about how you like them. Go back to your roots and enjoy what you originally fell in love with. Don’t feel as if you need to impress anyone with your photos, or that you need to upload them anywhere, try to make your photography more personal and think to yourself what you enjoy about your pictures.

About the Author

Lawrence Anca is a photographer based in Riverside, CA. His work has been inspired by the likes of Steve McCurry and a lot of other photojournalists, and his main style is black and white street photography and some photojournalism. You can follow Lawrence’s work on his Instagram here and here.

Brenda Jamieson

It happens, some of my equipment hasn’t seen daylight for about 2 years!
Shachar Weis

I shot this with my phone yesterday. Because I can.
John Murray

I only did it for the money. Haven’t taken one image in two years.
Roger Morris

This is actually an important concept for most photographers. I think a lot of us look at our past work and feel some of it (or even all of it) was somehow “better” than what might be more recent work.

I have always felt I did my best work when I had my OM-1d and three Zuiko primes, and I always try (don’t always succeed, but do try) to remember how easy and rewarding it was to use my OM-1, even though it’s all full frame digital for me now, along with a bunch of more expensive glass.
I’m often tempted to purchase an OM-1d again, but I know full well you “can’t go back”, and that it wasn’t actually the camera that made those great past photos, it was ME with the OM-1 in my hands, and the fact that it was that particular camera I was using when I actually first developed my lifelong passion for making photographs.