It’s never the perfect conditions. If it’s the weather or what’s happening at home, sometimes getting out to shoot can be harder than you think. And then there’s the frustration when you see others absolutely smashing it on instagram. But what’s stopping you? and what would help to get you out? I’ve made a list to help you get you out and create.

So what’s stopping you? Honestly? We’ve all felt like this but what’s getting in your way? There will always be exceptions, but a lot of the time it’s fear. Fear that you aren’t going to produce the best possible image on your first attempt. Fear that others on Instagram, Facebook etc are doing a better job than you already. But how do you know what you are going to create if you don’t walk out of the door?

Have your camera ready, make sure there is a full battery charged, you’ve got some memory cards ready and you can pick up the camera and go at any point. 

Think light

If you have the joy of owning lots of equipment pick what you need and keep it minimal. The goals is to enjoy photography more and you aren’t going to do that by thinking about changing lenses or filters etc. Make it simple so that you can focus on the light, composition and your subject. At the point in writing this I love going out with the Sony A7iii and the 35mm 1.8, it’s such a light combination and yes there have been times that I’ve thought that I wish I had a longer lens for this certain situation. But honestly you can only work with with what you’ve got so thoughts of extra equipment quickly go when you see something you want to capture. 

Go somewhere new

It really helps. Or at a different time of day or even better ,different weather and light. The images below are taken at sunrise when storm Ciara had just hit, unfortunately as the day unfolded a lot of the towns around us ended up flooded with high winds pushing through. 

Go out when it’s not normal for you, go somewhere new. It doesn’t have to be planned to an inch of its life, just grab your stuff and go and have your camera ready. One of the things we’ve talked about a lot is when creating something, if it’s a photograph, or a piece of art, what’s best for you? Do you plan it, come up with the theory and create a vision for it, or do you create first then tell the story after?  There is no right or wrong answer but for the joy of photography, just get out and start taking pictures of what you are drawn to and then come up with a plan later.