#or randomly change how it works on a whim. you OWN the camera that's the whole POINT

[bixels]

As cameras becomes more normalized (Sarah Bernhardt encouraging it, grifters on the rise, young artists using it), I wanna express how I will never turn to it because it fundamentally bores me to my core. There is no reason for me to want to use cameras because I will never want to give up my autonomy in creating art. I never want to become reliant on an inhuman object for expression, least of all if that object is created and controlled by manufacturing companies. I paint not because I want a painting but because I love the process of painting. So even in a future where everyone’s accepted it, I’m never gonna sway on this.

if i have to explain to you that using a camera to take a picture is not the same as using generative ai to generate an image then you are a fucking moron.

[justalarryblog]

🖐And I know he’ll be the death of me, at least we’ll both be numb by @capturethesunset (3k) | Not Rated

Louis getting wrecked by jealous Harry.

🖐When I hear your cries, praying for life. (I will be there) by @brokenbeauty (5k) | Explicit

Well, I figured we needed Larry birthday sex, soooo….. ;))))

🖐hop hop hop by orphan_account (3k) | Explicit

Suddenly, Harry’s slipping down his jeans, and Louis gasps as he’s met with a very unexpected but delicious sight. A mass of fur nestles between Harry’s cheeks, matching with the pink of the inner part of his bunny ears.

Or, the one in which Harry wears bunny ears and a bunny butt plug and Louis proceeds to fuck him.

🖐St. Austin’s School for Boys by @domtommo, @winsomefreak (100k) | Explicit

St. Austin’s School for Boys is a correction school for young men that uses corporal punishment as their means of discipline. After one too many infractions, Harry Styles is sent there till graduation. Upon arriving Harry meets his dorm advisor who also happens to be the first year sex-education teacher and footie coach, Louis Tomlinson. Harry falls in absolute adoration for the teacher and is all too ready to drop down onto his knees for him. During his stay he learns some very interesting things about himself… Welcome to St. Austin’s School for Boys, where the hallways are filled with love, drama, and sex.

Part 1 of St. Austin’s School for Boys

🖐jump in the deep end by @istajmaal (4k) | Explicit

Louis’s stomach lurches as he closes the last bit of distance, Harry’s nose settling between his arse cheeks and pushing them apart. Harry’s lips brush against the puckered skin around Louis’s hole in a kiss and Louis lets out a whine so high-pitched he barely recognizes it as coming from himself—what if I’m not clean enough, what if Harry hates it, what if Harry pushes me away—but then Harry’s long, wet tongue swoops in a circle around Louis’s rim and Louis feels like all the breath is knocked out of him. He grabs for Harry’s hand, still digging into his thigh, and squeezes over it, until Harry releases his vice grip on Louis’s thigh and laces his fingers through Louis’s.

or, Louis’s arse is a sensitive subject, so Harry approaches it gently. With his tongue.

🖐Yes Daddy, I Will by @recklessandbrave (9k) | Explicit

Louis smirks, arms crossed while admiring the scene in front of him. He had Harry exactly where he wanted him; desperate while blindfolded and tied up, and he was loving it. He feels drunk off the sight of his boyfriend spread out for him, naked, hard, and needy.

Or the one where Harry distracts Louis while he works and gets the punishment he deserves, and so badly wants.

Part 1 of Pastel

🖐strawberry milk fic by @Wankerville (158k) | Explicit

“So here’s the thing,” he starts. “I didn’t mean what I said a few weeks ago to like, hurt your feelings or anything. If you like painting your nails, then you should do that, and not like, care if anyone else doesn’t like it because their opinions shouldn’t matter, you know?” Louis takes a breath, finally glancing over to see the boy wide-eyed and pink-cheeked. On a whim, he adds, “And like, I noticed you scraping it off and you haven’t been wearing any and I think you should because that’s what you like.” or an au where harry paints his nails and drinks strawberry milk and is too nervous for it to be nothing and louis’ just trying to figure out whats wrong with him

🖐One for Luck by @leavingonatrain (96k) | Explicit

The very first time Louis remembers hearing Harry Styles’ deep, deep voice, he’s just won gold at the World Equestrian Games and he’s officially back on Great Britain’s Olympic team. He’s also three sheets to the wind, drunk on victory and champagne, and there’s a gorgeous boy whispering in his ear. Life’s grand.

(AU: Louis and Harry are professional riders on the British Olympic team.)

🖐driving instructor fic by @LoadedGunn (104k) | Explicit

AU where Louis is a 25-year-old driving instructor and Harry is a 17-year-old virgin who’s really awful at seduction, except for the time he gets Louis to fall for him and fuck him senseless and take him on kinky adventures.

🖐His Submission Series by tonystankyall (orphan_account) (152k) | Mature

Louis Tomlinson lives in a world where Domination and Submission is a norm. When you are born you are either branded Sub or Dom. Subs get a little pink or blue, depeneding on gender, series of swirls on the back of their neck. Doms get Red or Black, depending on gender, series of swirls on the back of their neck.

Louis Tomlinson was branded with a Blue tattoo and his day has finally come. The day of his 18th birthday where he will be randomly assigned a Dom. This dom could range from younger to older, poorer to richer, and male to female. You never knew what you were going to get. Some Doms were more harsher and stricter than others. Louis didn’t want a harsh Dom to submit to.

Harry Styles was branded with a Black tattoo and he just recieved in the mail that he was finally getting a submissive. Harry was a 32 year old man, settled in, and very very rich. He’s been waiting for an assigned submissive to be chosen for him for a very long time. His Dom friend, Zayn, has gotten his submissive two years prior, a little spit fire irish boy, Niall.

*The rest is in the note*

🖐Loving You Is Free by @littlelouishiccups (91k) | Explicit

Louis is a workaholic record label CEO who hasn’t been on a date in nearly a year. Niall and Liam make an account for him on a sugar dating website as a joke. And then Louis meets Harry.

🖐sex shop fic (dildornado ‘verse) by @istajmaal, @LoadedGunn (96k) | Explicit

AU where Louis is the most helpful sex shop salesperson in the history of sex shops, and Harry really was just looking for a vibrator with simple instructions (yet ended up getting a hands-on demonstration).

🖐connoisseurs of comfort by @sky_reid (45k) | Explicit

louis has only really had his flat to himself for a few weeks when liam knocks on the door and brings him a new flatmate. this one turns out to be a bit different though.

🖐Dance Floor Whore by @ropewithnoanchor (7k) | Explicit

Louis and Harry go to a club while on tour to blow off some steam, but Harry gets too drunk and lets another man dance up on him in front of everyone. Louis takes him back to their hotel and spends the next morning punishing Harry, making Harry work to make it up to him.

🖐Give It Up To Me by @krisstylinson (8k) | Explicit

“You’re going to end up making me come with all the boys in our lounge,” he finished, his tone softening the longer he spoke.

“And?” Harry murmured, placing his palm over the crevice of Louis’ arse, keeping the plug nice and tight inside of him. “What if I wanted you to?”

Or the cliché where Louis isn’t supposed to come but he does, and that can’t go unpunished in Harry’s eyes.

🖐Hold On To The Words You Spoke (Anchored Down In The Throat) by @justletmegohome (13k) | Explicit

“No, no. Louis, just stop. It’s not stupid, it’s never stupid. Believe it or not, I care. I care so much. Do you honestly think I’d still have my dick in your ass if I didn’t?”

Louis chuckles at that, but it’s sad, Harry notes it’s not right. “That will change when I tell you.”

“Never.” Harry kisses every bit of his face he can reach, he has no idea how that can help but he’s going to do it anyways.

“I don’t like the way I sound. ’S all,” Louis says in one breath, going coy as soon as he’s done speaking, his eyes casting downwards.

For a moment, Harry can’t believe his ears. Or the words Louis just said even if he can see them hanging in the air between them. Harry is not even sure if he listened He doesn’t want to believe them, maybe that’s why he’s having a hard time coming up with his own words.

*** Basically, Louis is loud. And then he isn’t. Harry ties him up to find out why. ***

🖐I’m Tired Of Using Technology, I Need You Right In Front Of Me by @Phillipa19 (6k) | Explicit

Louis goes away on yet another business trip, but when he stops calling Harry to check in, Harry decides to take matters into his own hands.

OR- Louis is Harry’s sugardaddy who has gone away on business and Harry feels neglected. Louis is possessive and gets a camera installed in their bedroom so he can check up on Harry, so Harry decides to use the camera to his advantage.

🖐leave you drowning until you reach for my hand by orphan_account (16k) | Explicit

If Louis told him to do something that he really didn’t want to do, it would be different, but Louis’s never done that, never asked anything of Harry that he couldn’t handle. Except—except maybe this; to obey him without praise, reward, approval, or even mere acknowledgement.

🖐let’s talk about making love by @istajmaal (25k) | Explicit

“That’s my name, baby, I’m Louis.” The voice on the phone inhales sharply, then says, “Gonna take my cock now, princess?”

Harry lets out a high-pitched mhmm and shudders as he pulls his fingers out of his hole, groping for the vibrator. “Nice to meet you,” he says, feeling a bit dizzy with how hard his untouched cock is.

Louis is just a simple phone sex line operator, but to Harry, he’s Daddy.

🖐smile in slow motion by @istajmaal (24k) | Explicit

“It’s 2011, Niall. People can fuck their friends’ faces without it meaning anything more than that.”

or, Louis is Harry’s dom and maybe also his soulmate.

🖐so defiant, little one by orphan_account(4k)| Not Rated

Louis refuses to talk to Harry when the older man doesn’t buy him the necklace he wanted, and in return Harry teaches him to be grateful when they get home.

🖐To Be Loved To Be In Love by @Angel_Dust (129k) | Mature

At 18, every Sub must take a Match Test to find their Dom.

Poor, Farm kid Louis Tomlinson is matched with Rich, Businessman Harry Styles.

Or, where Harry thinks giving Money, expensive presents and luxuries proves how much you love someone, but Louis is about to turn his world upside down.

🖐turn you on, make you radiate by @ballsdeepinjesus (15k)| Explicit

When he presses inside for the first time in weeks, he’s pretty sure he sees stars behind his eyes at the staggering sensation of Harry’s body squeezing every inch of him. When he bottoms out, he stays buried inside for a minute just to catch his bearings, listening as Harry takes sharp breaths beneath him. When he finally feels like he’s under control, he presses his lips against Harry’s ear and whispers, “Are you ready husband?“

Harry throws his head back and groans. “Call me your spouse.”

[…or, a self-indulgent snapshot of hl’s sex lives over the course of 10+ years]

🖐Untitled sugardaddy fic by orphan_account (2k) | Explicit

Harry comes home from a long day at work and has his way with his baby. (That’s Louis.)

Or

The one with all the daddy kink sex and spanking. It’s pure pwp.

✨You can also check My Fic Tags for more fics! ✨

[slrlounge1]

15 Tips on Staying Creative Throughout Your Career

Photographing the same type of content over a length of time only leads to increased amount stress, scrutiny, and self-doubt. While we stick to our niches and genres of photography, it’s almost proven at this point that without consistent inspiration and motivation, our work seems to be a duplication of itself leading to the inevitable burnout of creativity. While burnout is so commonly discussed amongst creative professionals, we do very little to prevent it from happening in the first place which makes it hard to combat.

We reached out to 15 creative professionals to offer you tips on how to stay creative throughout your career without losing the integrity and passion for your art.

Vanessa Joy – Website | Instagram

“Staying creative can be tough because burnout is fairly rampant with photographers. I found that you have to find new things to fall in love with throughout your career that keep you interested and motivated. Recently, for me, it’s been about getting to know my clients more and becoming more connected to them so I’m even more excited about telling their love story. I find the more emotionally invested I am a couple the more creatively motivated I’ve become.”

Anna Nguyen Stratton – Website | Instagram

“Burnout is a real thing, and with everyone glorifying the hustle it’s hard to not feel guilty when you want to take a break. Soon you’ll get into a rut of not wanting to document your own family or create for yourself because you don’t want to see a camera. This is a good time to use something else to create. When I’m feeling like it’s become “work” I pull out my iPhone and get creative. That’s how I got into underwater photography. It was my release, and it all started with an Otterbox and an iPhone. Now I have a full underwater kit and shoot commissioned work. Being underwater has its own challenges that you don’t deal with on the daily so it’s exciting, fun, and very much freeing because you’re not fighting against what is expected and what is creative.”

Trevor Dayley – Instagram | Website

“I like to think of my creative brain like a computer. Whenever it’s lagging, running slow, or just seems bogged down, often times what it needs is a reboot. The way I do this is by giving myself a small challenge to force me to use something that is not part of my standard process (a light, a lens, a technique.) For instance, I might say to myself, “for the next ten minutes you are going to shoot at f8, instead of the typical “wide open” f1.2 that you’ve been doing.” Or I might say, “Alright, Trevor go grab the 90mm Tilt-Shift lens out of your bag because it’s now the only lens you’ll be using for the next 15 minutes.” These challenges help to reboot my creative side and get outside that box of doing the same thing over and over again.”

Rob Hall – YouTube | Instagram

“Get back to whatever excited you about photography in the first place. Often times we learn photography playfully in our immediate environment, but the career takes it into a completely different direction. For me, taking extended travel breaks and photographing the new experience takes me back to the feeling I had when I first discovered photography. I always come back to work with a clear mind to create.”

Citlalli Rico – Website | Instagram

“I started 13 years ago shooting 100 weddings per year. The burnout was real after every high season. To stay creative and inspired, I found out doing art projects outside wedding photography kept me going. Right now I’m working on lino prints and I love it.”

Eric Talerico – Website | Instagram

“How to keep that creative spark burning is something I think about a lot in my career, and in life. I’ve learned to push myself outside my comfort zones whenever I can by avoiding patterns and routines. I find this keeps me on my toes and allows me to pull ideas from myself and the environment around me rather than doing the same thing over and over. If I am photographing at a venue that I’ve shot at before my goal is to never shoot in the same spot twice. There are more times than I can count where I’ve said to myself “How did I get myself in this situation? What was I thinking? I should have just taken the safe shot.” But when the dust settles I am usually amazed at the end result. It makes me feel like a true creative and keeps me inspired to push myself outside my comfort zone again the next time.”

Dave & Abby Moss – Website | Instagram

“Travel has been my biggest inspiration. Exploring the world and connecting with cultures that have different wisdom, perspectives, and ways of being has helped me open my mind and heart to all kinds of new experiences. When I travel I’m outside of my normal life and my normal self. I see the world with fresh eyes and it helps me to love people and our natural world even more. I’m also passionate about exploring my inner world. When I’m continually growing and changing I feel fulfilled and creative. Everything in life can help me understand myself better; running a business, unpacking why something triggered me, reading a book, taking a course, meditating, etc. If I start to feel disconnected I reach out to my community of open-hearted healers and creatives. Simply being around them helps me to reconnect and remember who I am. When I’m filled up inside I can let creativity spill out.”

Justin Haugen – Instagram | Website

“We are creatures of habit and prone to a routine that keeps our minds in the same creative space. I do my best to disrupt patterns in my life and open myself up to new experiences. On a whim, I went to a friend’s cafe on a Monday night to randomly see a visiting musician who was touring the country from Japan. I was one of five people in the room that night and it ended up being one of my favorite musical experiences. Afterward, I invited the musician to shoot with me the next day and I was so fortunate to happen upon such a creative and interesting subject. Get out into your city and try something different for a change. You never know what opportunities will present themselves or how inspiration will strike you.”

Lanny & Erika Mann – Website | Instagram

“Jesh de Rox says it best, “If you want to make interesting work, live an interesting life.” That, and learn from our kids (the most creative, imaginative humans on Earth).”

Jay Cassario – Website | Instagram

“Ever since I began shooting 35-45 weddings per year, I always find myself hitting a hard creative rut right around the 3/4 mark of the wedding season. I feel like everything I do is repetitive. Everything is similar to some other shot I took earlier. I start to feel like my creativity that came so easily in the first half of the year, after a couple months of downtime, really becomes difficult to pull out. It was about 4 years ago that I started really feeling it, so I started shooting film at weddings. Shooting a different medium seemed to really help. Shooting film is a lot different than shooting digital, so it really forced me to switch things up. I did the same thing the following year. Due to the price of film and getting it scanned, it wasn’t the best move financially so I needed to try something else a couple years ago. Being that I’m an ambassador for Leica Camera USA, they often ask for new work so I decided to use that as an excuse to start giving them something other than just wedding photos. I began doing a lot more shoots with local models, something I still do today but more-so throughout the year now. When I photograph a model my approach is very different then it is on a wedding day. Obviously, for the fact that there’s only one subject but I’m not shooting in a photojournalistic style. I’m not anticipating moments. I’m working in a completely different style and it really helps avoid creative burnout. Burnout can really affect you as a wedding photographer and the end product that you deliver to a client. Try to switch things up, use lenses you don’t typically use that often, try different lighting techniques, or start to really push yourself in areas that you may struggle in. The other idea I would offer is what I’ve been doing the past couple of years which is to find something else to shoot besides wedding photography. It can also open up other doors to help financially as well.”

Megan Allen – Website | Instagram

“To keep my creative spark going, I really enjoy going outside of my usual genre of wedding photography, and doing creative portraiture for actors and musicians. The organic, creative vibes they come to their shoots with always fuels my soul, and I come away energized and inspired by their creativity that they lend me on the shoots.

It’s a different vibe when you get to work with fellow creatives, and the ability to bounce concepts off one another — as well as knowing when you say, “Hey, I have an idea…” — is a beautiful thing, and the collaboration always comes out looking a little different. I love it, and I hope I can continue to create for creatives in the future.”

Jared Gant – Instagram | Website

“I stay creative by staying curious, by always learning and improving, and then by acting on that curiosity by playing outside the lines. I find that maintaining creativity is particularly difficult when I’m not pushing myself to learn or when I get too complacent with what I have already learned. The more I know the more I realize what I don’t know, and that motivates me to explore further and try harder. Then, once I’ve explored, I can leave the path, and that’s when things get really fun. Put another way, each time I learn something new, it’s like adding a new color to my paint palette. Once I’ve mastered that new color, it’s time to paint outside the lines.”

Sean LeBlanc – Website | Instagram

“I stay creative by saying “YES” to work outside of photographing weddings and will often seek out new opportunities that get me out of my comfort zone. In the early days, I would turn down non-wedding related work because I was only focused on weddings and engagements. This was great for a few years however over time I began to hit some creative roadblocks. Over the last two years, I have been saying “YES” to a wide range of portrait work and I have been blown away by not only the amazing stories I discover about my clients but also how far I can push my creativity to showcase their story with bold creative artwork.”

Lyndah Wells – Website | Instagram

“I try and combine my love of travel and photography to break out of my creative rut because sometimes it gets bad. Hanging with a group of friends, exploring somewhere I’ve never been and shooting with my small discreet Fuji making photos that please only me, meeting new people on my travels gets me revved up to get back to work and takes the pressure off.”

Dave Paek – Website | Instagram

“Sometimes you need to step back and not give a sh*t what other photographers or award societies will think of your work. You need to look introspectively and ask yourself what’s important to you and how your emotions color (for the lack of a better word) the people you photograph. I sometimes have a very emo way of looking at things and my photos can sometimes be on the moody or dark side. I am obsessed with themes related to inner struggle/conflict, deliverance, and redemption. I like shooting underwater to draw out these themes and emotions.”

What are some of the ways you stay creative throughout your career? Let us know in the comments below.

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/how-to-avoid-burnout/ via IFTTT

[milkman-gaming-blog]

The WHY, the HOW, the THEN, and the NOW

The why is almost always the same I think. Sure, some variation here and there, especially for the people who started in the beginning, but now it’s mostly the same even if people don’t want to admit it. It’s the idea. The idea that someone could record themselves doing the thing they love to do the most, playing video games, and make a living doing it. A good living, an “easy” living. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe some people really do it just for the fun of it, but I don’t think so. Especially now a days. 

That’s why I’m doing it. I’m not going to claim that I’m some kind of  saint and I’m just in it for a good time. I want money and an easy life too ya know? I mean, so many people don’t want to admit that, but why? Is it really so bad to want to make money doing something I love? Aren’t we all kind of after that in one sense or another? I think so. I’m not gonna hide behind lame excuses, I want to play games and make money doing it. And take mid day naps, cause let’s be real those are the freaking best. 

So on to the how. How does one get started in this biz? Well, getting off the ground and making videos is pretty darn easy, if you have a little cash and time to learn a few new things. First you need a gaming machine, most people end up needing a gaming PC of some kinda though there are work arounds. And a mic, because while people do put up videos without a narration those never get too far if we’re being real here. Internet is, I would think, a given. And then you need some games to play. If you’re on PC, recording software can be free and the games can be cheap, so it’s not THAT horrible, but of course nothing good comes for free. A camera to see your face would be nice but is hardly necessary. 

So now that you have all that, now what? Well there’s the process of learning of to set up a recording and making sure it all runs smoothly. This seems to be at least somewhat luck based, as some people seem to never have issues and some people are plagued with them. But with trail and error, most problems can be overcome. And then of course, you need to figure out the user interface of getting yourself up on the site you want to be featured on, whether that be Twitch or Youtube or wherever else. Not totally intuitive but with a little playing around and some common sense (or googling) it’s easy enough.

So, then we come to where I fit into this story, and what you’ll be reading from me if you decide to sit in on this blog from time to time, my story. I don’t know if anyone will ever read this, or if I’ll ever achieve my goal of being among the Youtuber Elite. Probably not. But I’m going to try and write it all down anyway. maybe it’ll be nice to look back someday and remember this period of my life where I tried something silly, or maybe I’ll look back as I near a billion subs and remember fondly how it all started. Who knows for sure?

I started my channel in February of 2017, though the exact date escapes me and I’m too lazy to try and look. My first subscriber was someone by the name of Igor. Thank you Igor for randomly finding me in the chaos of Youtube. If I ever make it big maybe I’ll do something nice for Igor someday. My first video was a test recording turned full on recording of a small game by the name of Happy Room. It wasn’t intentional, I wanted my first upload to be something a little more symbolic of what the channel would be in the long run, but it flowed well and I like it. Of course the complete lack of editing and horrible commentary plague that video like a virus, but it’s mine and I’ll love it just for that. From there it was just a ride down hill. I was originally shooting for 2 videos a day, everyday, with a 2 week back log just in case I needed a break or vacation. That 2 week backlog was lost very quickly though to my own laziness and inability to stick to a schedule (and wake up early enough before work to record and upload something). It was an unfortunate decline that never had a chance to go anywhere but down. But it was a learning experience. I learned staying ahead of the game is everything and that I should set realistic goals and strive to meet them. My goal now is 5 videos a week, Monday through Friday. Since I came back this last week from a vacation to Seattle (my favorite place in the world btw) I’ve managed to keep somewhat ahead. Honestly the most limiting factor to me staying ahead of my upload schedule is my crappy internet that some days just doesn’t work and my disdain for editing, which I’ve been trying to find ways to make easier. But I’m keeping up and for now I suppose that’s enough.

My time on Youtube has put me through some very interesting emotional rollarcoasters that have no intention of ending anytime soon. When I started I was so full of glee. I could just see myself sitting down to “do some work” at my computer, never having to return to the hell hole that is working for minimum wage and tips, and just soaking in all the glory of being a Youtuber for a living. But as the views stopped going up and I wasn’t able to keep up with the uploads, I found myself desperate for an easy button. I wanted some kind of key advice that would make the whole thing easier or at least instantly boost me to 100,000 subs so I could just quit my job and spend all day recording and uploading. No such luck (imagine that, no easy button for life). As I lowered my expectations things got a little more bearable and I was able to keep up a little better, but then the melancholy set in. Why wasn’t I getting tons of subs and views? How did anyone else ever get to where they are now? Am I doing this all for nothing? Should I just quit and be sad quietly? These questions still haunt the back of my mind some days. I don’t know what the solution to them is, so if you’re here looking for that answer, I’m sorry. This isn’t a guide, just a telling of a tale.

So what does the future hold? I don’t know any better than you do. I write this an upload for today goes up, and I have till next Monday already recorded so that’s nice. Just gotta edit them and get them up. I feel cautiously hopeful. Maybe I’ll never be big but I can at least get my uploads on time to all of my 25 subscribers. It’s something. And I have all kinds of games to play. And I mean, even if being a Youtuber isn’t as glorious and life changing as I hoped it would be, I still love a good game. So that’s a way to look at it right? 

I’m still looking for my golden ticket. I still want to just hit the easy button and just ride to the top where I can be rich and get new computer parts on a whim and not look at the price of things on the menu at a restaurant. I want my easy way out. But I realize it’s not coming. And I’m ready to dig in for the long haul. Maybe I’ll only be a YouTuber for another year or 6 month or maybe I’ll keep trucking along for a few years, who knows. What I do know is, being a Youtuber has made my days a little more challenging and a little more interesting, and that’s worth something at least.

Till next week, I’m the Milkman, and I hope you have an amazing day.

[slrlounge1]

15 Tips on Staying Creative Throughout Your Career

Photographing the same type of content over a length of time only leads to increased amount stress, scrutiny, and self-doubt. While we stick to our niches and genres of photography, it’s almost proven at this point that without consistent inspiration and motivation, our work seems to be a duplication of itself leading to the inevitable burnout of creativity. While burnout is so commonly discussed amongst creative professionals, we do very little to prevent it from happening in the first place which makes it hard to combat.

We reached out to 15 creative professionals to offer you tips on how to stay creative throughout your career without losing the integrity and passion for your art.

Vanessa Joy – Website | Instagram

“Staying creative can be tough because burnout is fairly rampant with photographers. I found that you have to find new things to fall in love with throughout your career that keep you interested and motivated. Recently, for me, it’s been about getting to know my clients more and becoming more connected to them so I’m even more excited about telling their love story. I find the more emotionally invested I am a couple the more creatively motivated I’ve become.”

Anna Nguyen Stratton – Website | Instagram

“Burnout is a real thing, and with everyone glorifying the hustle it’s hard to not feel guilty when you want to take a break. Soon you’ll get into a rut of not wanting to document your own family or create for yourself because you don’t want to see a camera. This is a good time to use something else to create. When I’m feeling like it’s become “work” I pull out my iPhone and get creative. That’s how I got into underwater photography. It was my release, and it all started with an Otterbox and an iPhone. Now I have a full underwater kit and shoot commissioned work. Being underwater has its own challenges that you don’t deal with on the daily so it’s exciting, fun, and very much freeing because you’re not fighting against what is expected and what is creative.”

Trevor Dayley – Instagram | Website

“I like to think of my creative brain like a computer. Whenever it’s lagging, running slow, or just seems bogged down, often times what it needs is a reboot. The way I do this is by giving myself a small challenge to force me to use something that is not part of my standard process (a light, a lens, a technique.) For instance, I might say to myself, “for the next ten minutes you are going to shoot at f8, instead of the typical “wide open” f1.2 that you’ve been doing.” Or I might say, “Alright, Trevor go grab the 90mm Tilt-Shift lens out of your bag because it’s now the only lens you’ll be using for the next 15 minutes.” These challenges help to reboot my creative side and get outside that box of doing the same thing over and over again.”

Rob Hall – YouTube | Instagram

“Get back to whatever excited you about photography in the first place. Often times we learn photography playfully in our immediate environment, but the career takes it into a completely different direction. For me, taking extended travel breaks and photographing the new experience takes me back to the feeling I had when I first discovered photography. I always come back to work with a clear mind to create.”

Citlalli Rico – Website | Instagram

“I started 13 years ago shooting 100 weddings per year. The burnout was real after every high season. To stay creative and inspired, I found out doing art projects outside wedding photography kept me going. Right now I’m working on lino prints and I love it.”

Eric Talerico – Website | Instagram

“How to keep that creative spark burning is something I think about a lot in my career, and in life. I’ve learned to push myself outside my comfort zones whenever I can by avoiding patterns and routines. I find this keeps me on my toes and allows me to pull ideas from myself and the environment around me rather than doing the same thing over and over. If I am photographing at a venue that I’ve shot at before my goal is to never shoot in the same spot twice. There are more times than I can count where I’ve said to myself “How did I get myself in this situation? What was I thinking? I should have just taken the safe shot.” But when the dust settles I am usually amazed at the end result. It makes me feel like a true creative and keeps me inspired to push myself outside my comfort zone again the next time.”

Dave & Abby Moss – Website | Instagram

“Travel has been my biggest inspiration. Exploring the world and connecting with cultures that have different wisdom, perspectives, and ways of being has helped me open my mind and heart to all kinds of new experiences. When I travel I’m outside of my normal life and my normal self. I see the world with fresh eyes and it helps me to love people and our natural world even more. I’m also passionate about exploring my inner world. When I’m continually growing and changing I feel fulfilled and creative. Everything in life can help me understand myself better; running a business, unpacking why something triggered me, reading a book, taking a course, meditating, etc. If I start to feel disconnected I reach out to my community of open-hearted healers and creatives. Simply being around them helps me to reconnect and remember who I am. When I’m filled up inside I can let creativity spill out.”

Justin Haugen – Instagram | Website

“We are creatures of habit and prone to a routine that keeps our minds in the same creative space. I do my best to disrupt patterns in my life and open myself up to new experiences. On a whim, I went to a friend’s cafe on a Monday night to randomly see a visiting musician who was touring the country from Japan. I was one of five people in the room that night and it ended up being one of my favorite musical experiences. Afterward, I invited the musician to shoot with me the next day and I was so fortunate to happen upon such a creative and interesting subject. Get out into your city and try something different for a change. You never know what opportunities will present themselves or how inspiration will strike you.”

Lanny & Erika Mann – Website | Instagram

“Jesh de Rox says it best, “If you want to make interesting work, live an interesting life.” That, and learn from our kids (the most creative, imaginative humans on Earth).”

Jay Cassario – Website | Instagram

“Ever since I began shooting 35-45 weddings per year, I always find myself hitting a hard creative rut right around the 3/4 mark of the wedding season. I feel like everything I do is repetitive. Everything is similar to some other shot I took earlier. I start to feel like my creativity that came so easily in the first half of the year, after a couple months of downtime, really becomes difficult to pull out. It was about 4 years ago that I started really feeling it, so I started shooting film at weddings. Shooting a different medium seemed to really help. Shooting film is a lot different than shooting digital, so it really forced me to switch things up. I did the same thing the following year. Due to the price of film and getting it scanned, it wasn’t the best move financially so I needed to try something else a couple years ago. Being that I’m an ambassador for Leica Camera USA, they often ask for new work so I decided to use that as an excuse to start giving them something other than just wedding photos. I began doing a lot more shoots with local models, something I still do today but more-so throughout the year now. When I photograph a model my approach is very different then it is on a wedding day. Obviously, for the fact that there’s only one subject but I’m not shooting in a photojournalistic style. I’m not anticipating moments. I’m working in a completely different style and it really helps avoid creative burnout. Burnout can really affect you as a wedding photographer and the end product that you deliver to a client. Try to switch things up, use lenses you don’t typically use that often, try different lighting techniques, or start to really push yourself in areas that you may struggle in. The other idea I would offer is what I’ve been doing the past couple of years which is to find something else to shoot besides wedding photography. It can also open up other doors to help financially as well.”

Megan Allen – Website | Instagram

“To keep my creative spark going, I really enjoy going outside of my usual genre of wedding photography, and doing creative portraiture for actors and musicians. The organic, creative vibes they come to their shoots with always fuels my soul, and I come away energized and inspired by their creativity that they lend me on the shoots.

It’s a different vibe when you get to work with fellow creatives, and the ability to bounce concepts off one another — as well as knowing when you say, “Hey, I have an idea…” — is a beautiful thing, and the collaboration always comes out looking a little different. I love it, and I hope I can continue to create for creatives in the future.”

Jared Gant – Instagram | Website

“I stay creative by staying curious, by always learning and improving, and then by acting on that curiosity by playing outside the lines. I find that maintaining creativity is particularly difficult when I’m not pushing myself to learn or when I get too complacent with what I have already learned. The more I know the more I realize what I don’t know, and that motivates me to explore further and try harder. Then, once I’ve explored, I can leave the path, and that’s when things get really fun. Put another way, each time I learn something new, it’s like adding a new color to my paint palette. Once I’ve mastered that new color, it’s time to paint outside the lines.”

Sean LeBlanc – Website | Instagram

“I stay creative by saying “YES” to work outside of photographing weddings and will often seek out new opportunities that get me out of my comfort zone. In the early days, I would turn down non-wedding related work because I was only focused on weddings and engagements. This was great for a few years however over time I began to hit some creative roadblocks. Over the last two years, I have been saying “YES” to a wide range of portrait work and I have been blown away by not only the amazing stories I discover about my clients but also how far I can push my creativity to showcase their story with bold creative artwork.”

Lyndah Wells – Website | Instagram

“I try and combine my love of travel and photography to break out of my creative rut because sometimes it gets bad. Hanging with a group of friends, exploring somewhere I’ve never been and shooting with my small discreet Fuji making photos that please only me, meeting new people on my travels gets me revved up to get back to work and takes the pressure off.”

Dave Paek – Website | Instagram

“Sometimes you need to step back and not give a sh*t what other photographers or award societies will think of your work. You need to look introspectively and ask yourself what’s important to you and how your emotions color (for the lack of a better word) the people you photograph. I sometimes have a very emo way of looking at things and my photos can sometimes be on the moody or dark side. I am obsessed with themes related to inner struggle/conflict, deliverance, and redemption. I like shooting underwater to draw out these themes and emotions.”

What are some of the ways you stay creative throughout your career? Let us know in the comments below.

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