How hobbies make you a better photographer

I recently got some much needed downtime on our annual Lake Tahoe family vacation. It’s so beautiful down there and the weather is incredible so boating, swimming, golfing and relaxing were all on the menu – along with a few cheeky margaritas 😉 I even managed to squeeze in a night out with my mom at a Paul Simon concert (a big tick for the bucket list).

I’m passionate about my work and I love my business, but it was so nice to have a break from the normal routine. In fact, I believe getting away from your business for a while and actively engaging in something completely different is vital to boosting your creativity. Standing back from the day to day grind also helps you look at your business with fresh eyes.

Constantly working and always being ‘on’ in your business, means you can’t always see where the gaps are or where things aren’t working properly. When you allow yourself to step back from it all it’s much easier to see where improvements can be made and where best to put your time, resources and energy so you can quit trying to be everything to everyone.

Despite feeling that old familiar pull to work on my business while in Tahoe, I chose instead to focus on a couple of passion projects that have slowly made their way to the back burner. Life isn’t all about money, but these things weren’t income producing activities so I didn’t make them a priority. But, it’s important to make time for the things you enjoy or want to try. Doing the same thing day in and day out is a recipe for boredom and burnout.

If you follow my Instagram, you may have gotten a sneak peek already into two of these side projects – underwater photography and learning to paint!

Ok, so let it be known right now that I have zero experience in either of these fields, but I really enjoy them both, and well, I don’t think I did a bad job at either of them!  

It was so nice to have a creative outlet and do something different to my usual client photography sessions – which I absolutely love btw. It’s also so interesting to see how doing something out of the box can change the way you approach your usual work.  

Since I started painting I look at the way colors compliment each other, the contrast between thick strokes and thin ones, and how negative space can be used to make a subject pop.

And with underwater photography, I just love the perspective I can get looking at things from half in and half out of the water. It definitely opens up new possibilities for ways to stage and shoot my normal client work.

Now, I’m not telling you to take up painting or to go buy an underwater camera housing (unless you really want to, in which case I’ve posted the links below so you can check out the equipment I used).

What I do encourage you to do is try something new, something that you would normally consider out of the box.

Doing this can open up all sorts of new creative avenues and add more depth to your work. I think you might even be surprised to see how it makes you excited to do what you love again.  

Getting burnt out is one of the worst things that can happen to you and your business, yet it’s so common and can happen to the best of us. Don’t let it happen to you!  

A while ago I recorded a webinar to help passionate, time-poor photographer’s (like you!) avoid burnout – it’s aptly called Photographer Burnout is Real! It has tons of tips to help you balance your life and your business (because they are NOT the same thing) and build a profitable business in a way that’s sustainable. It’s 50 minutes long, it’s free to watch, and I know you’re going to get so much out of it – pour yourself a drink, get comfy and watch it here.

I would absolutely love to hear what you do to help get your creative juices going. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you’re working on – and don’t forget to share the webinar with your photog friends!

** Here are those links I promised!

www.dickblick.com – art supplies

http://www.robertburridge.com/ – he has wonderful tutorials on how to paint

http://www.ewa-marine.com/ – this is where I got my underwater housing

www.bhphoto.com – they have tons of underwater housing options as well

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