Dear Devlin.
I think I’ve massively lost my interest in taking photos and I’ve never felt so lost and confused.
Because I’ve been running this business as a wedding photographer for almost 6 years and it’s my full-time job. For the past 2 years I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s just weddings that I’m not a fan of anymore, maybe I’m bored and should start photographing other things yet I’ve not been motivated to pick up a camera at all or make plans to do so. I’ve just been shooting whatever comes my way. It all feels like a chore. I’m no longer doing it for fun, ever. Except when I’m on holiday and I’m visiting a new place.
I feel totally lost and alone in this.
This is all I’ve ever wanted to do or so I thought. I studied Photography at college and at Uni because I didn’t know what else to do back then either and I figured since I always had a camera in my hand and enjoyed creating pictures I would just do that. I’ve never had a job in anything else so I don’t have a plan B to fall back on and have NO IDEA what else I would do. It breaks my heart that I’m considering giving it all up after this long but I don’t really see any other option at the moment. I’m not very excited about it anymore.
I don’t know whether this is just a phase but if it is, it’s an especially long one. People have said to me that I may well still be suffering with the fallout and stress of the pandemic but I’m not sure it’s that.
I guess I’m just looking for advice, to be honest. I just want to know if anybody else has felt the same and has gone full circle or if anybody has left and come back or do we all feel this way at some point? How can I combat it?
What would you do? ?
Seeking Someone to SoLvE aLl My PrObLeMs 🙂
Dear Seeking Someone to SoLvE aLl My PrObLeMs 🙂
Thank you for submitting your issue. I set up Dear Devlin to be totally anonymous so that people could submit any issue without fear of others knowing who they are. This is because I want this to be a space where we might discuss issues that do not get brought out into the open so much.
Losing the love for this career is one of those topics potentially. In my position, I meet a lot of eager beaver photographers coming into the industry all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Even if you try telling them that the reality can be long anti-social hours, many challenges to overcome, and very little thanks, they still tend to focus on the fun parts of the job.
If you love it, you will put up with a lot but when that love starts to wane, what you are left with is just the hard work part. And that’s not so much fun.
I have been exactly where you are now but it was after a decade working as a music industry photographer. The elements that I loved in the beginning – lots of travel and working with celebrities – became the elements that I hated by the end.
Similar to you, I had no real CV to speak of and the thought of a 9-5 was never very appealing. It sounds to me that it is weddings and not photography that you’ve fallen out of love with. However, one of the great things about being a photographer is that there are very many potential genres that you could work in.
What Do You Do If You’ve Lost the Love of Photographing Weddings?
You might be struggling to see which one for now so my advice is this. Go back to the beginning. Think of when you first found a passion for photography. What did you enjoy the most? Where did you find inspiration? What fired you up? Try to reconnect with those feelings that you had when you first started and get shooting. Without the pressure of a paying client, shoot for fun.
You say that recently the only time you’ve been feeling inspired to shoot that isn’t a paid job is on holiday. Where it’s a new environment with a better landscape and better weather maybe.
I don’t know what your personal circumstances are but not many of us can leave our lives behind and become full-time travel photographers. And it’s very difficult to earn the kind of money that wedding photographers do from shooting landscapes.
Depending on what you enjoy shooting, there is another genre that you might not have considered yet that would allow you some travel and is well paid. That is shooting interiors and lifestyle for hotels. They all need content, now more than ever as everything is about showing up on social media. Hotels regularly have photo shoots so that they can access this content.
They no longer want static images that just show you what a room looks like, they want aspirational content that allude to what it feels like to stay with them. I shot one this year for the W Hotel group who wanted to get a sense of 24 hours at their new resort in The Algarve. I actually loved shooting it although it was a challenge working on a property that was still under construction and shooting for a corporate client. But as they are hotels, they also provide accommodation which is fun.
How To Pivot Your Photography Career
The weddings are keeping me busy enough for now but maybe if they disappear, this is something I would look to shoot more of. So how would you get a portfolio of work like this? First thing I would do is book a room in a nice hotel somewhere! Shoot your room, create lifestyle shots there and in and around the hotel. I shoot my couples in hotels all the time and nobody ever questions what we are doing because nobody in a hotel knows everything that is going on that day. As long as you don’t get in the way, you can get away with a lot.
Be strategic about it – most hotels are part of a chain and are owned by bigger chains. So getting in with one can open up a whole world of potential work. I’d find out who the relevant marketing people are and get into their inbox showing my portfolio. I’d start a social media account devoted to this kind of imagery. They love things like hands holding cocktails, trays of breakfast in bed, girls nights in – little vignettes and this is all stuff that you could shoot in your own home.
I’m getting carried away but you get the idea. Find what it is you love about photography and find a way to make it pay. The fact is that there is plenty of other work around for photographers. I think that it’s very unlikely that your passion for weddings will return after two years of feeling like this and it’s 100% fine to walk away. I know many that have since 2020 and they’ve often found their own path.
Like Lexi Laine, who was a wedding photographer but now combines her passion for freediving with photography and creates incredible fine art imagery that she sells through galleries and art fairs. Did this happen overnight for her? No, it was hard work but she completely loves it.
I recently heard about Shelley Richmond who pivoted from wedding photography into shooting stock images for book covers. Her shoots are fascinating and it looks like a fun way to make a living from photography.
There can be times in life that feel like you reach a blank page, that the future isn’t mapped out, there’s no plan for you. That can feel terrifying but it can also be the best thing for you at that point. Your blank page could fill up with anything – and actually, that’s very exciting.