Photography Burn-Out: How to Avoid It: by Marc Sadowski

Photographing weddings for a living is fun. The way I see it, I get to do what I love. I get to go to a kick-ass party and get free food at the same time! This is the life! What can possibly be bad?

For long time wedding photographers, there is one little issue that adds up as the season goes. Repetition.

When you look at it, the routine for a wedding is essentially the same. Get photos of the bride getting ready, the ceremony, the portraits, the reception. Even the music is the same. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the song
“I Gotta Feeling.”

Adding to this: wedding photographers have to constantly be aware of what is happening. Our job is to be where the action is. We can’t afford to miss a beat. The constant awareness increases that sense of repetition.

So how do you shake the repetitious feeling?

For me, I take a Zen-like approach. At least once a month, I take a day trip. It doesn’t matter where as long as it’s interesting and as long as I can enjoy the location.

The purpose for the day trip is not to take the best photos. Instead, I go deeper. I focus on the photo process rather than the result. With a wedding, certain things need to be shot fast, and setting your camera almost becomes instinctive. But on the day trip, by focusing on the process of taking the shot, I can slow down, be in the moment.

Allow me to use my trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire as an example. I try to visit this area at least a few times a year to unwind. I travel light, one camera and a couple lenses (my Canon 5D, 24-70mm L lens and 70-200MM L lens). In addition, I carry a very simple point and shoot camera.

And I drive. I tend to frequent the slow lane because I’m constantly looking at the surroundings. There are plenty of places that you can pull off to the side of the road/highway and photograph, especially waterfalls.

When you find that certain something you want to photograph, look at it before you even bring your camera up. Just let the sight sink in. When I finally bring the camera up and look through the viewfinder, I still just take in the view. I don’t need to remember photography rules. Just look to see what you like and take a shot.

I try not to keep track of time. I find that if I’m looking at my watch a lot, then I’m clearly doing this wrong. If I find myself doing this, I move to another area or just take a few deep breaths and try again.

Once I feel like I’ve taken all my desired shots, I pack my gear. And then I look one last time at what I was photographing, just taking it in with my own, unfiltered eyes.

I then go and look for another location.

I know that this article may have a lot of “duh” moments. It may sound very obvious, but how often do we bring our skills back to the basics, back to the very root of our ability. This is where we found our joy in photography. We very rarely go back there during our busy times. In a busy life, it’s very easy to miss the obvious. This process is merely one way to slow down and catch up with our love of photography.

Marc Sadowski is a wedding photographer as well as the managing editor to The Lens Wipe (www.lens-wipe.com), a site dedicated to the love and fun of photographer and other visual arts. You can also tune into The Lens Wipe Podcast every week. You can find The Lens Wipe Podcast on iTunes as well as the web site.

Webiste: http://www.lens-wipe.com
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Photo Credits: © 2010 Marc Sadowski

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