If you lose your interest in photography, can you find it back

When I browse the photography community on social networking sites, I often see posts from people who are depressed because they lose interest in their hobbies. They usually mention that they can’t muster up enthusiasm to shoot anything, and they haven’t picked up a camera in weeks, months or even years. They lost their love of photography and wondered if they could find it back.

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s no big deal to lose your interest in photography, and you really should stop blaming yourself for it. Therefore, in this case, buying a new camera or lens cannot solve the problem.

I’m seriousPhotographer。 From a commercial perspective, photography is a sideline for me, but in the long run, photography is definitely my first hobby. I spent more time taking landscape photos than I thought, which has always been my way of life since I became an adult. However, although I like taking photos, processing photos and sharing photos, I also experienced some ups and downs. During these periods, I lost interest in landscape photography, for example, when I turned off the alarm clock and continued to sleep late instead of getting up to watch the sunrise, or when I stayed at home and watched TV dramas with my wife instead of going to shoot the sunset

During this period, my photography productivity declined dramatically, my social media sharing dried up, and my camera was idle. But this is really not a big problem.

Much of what we do in our spare time is driven by our hobbies. It should be a happy thing to fill our precious time after work with hobbies. But when the hobby becomes reluctant, it is also possible to stop and have a rest for a period of time. It’s better to treasure the camera and look forward to the next chance to open it again.

Our interests fluctuate like all the natural rhythms in our life. If you force yourself to continue, you may make things worse in the long run. Even if your photographer friends are taking cool pictures outside and posting great pictures on their social media – so what? Their interest in their hobbies is on the rise, while yours is on the decline.

Sometimes the time of interest decline is much longer than the time of interest increase, but I can assure you that in the near future, your friends will be in the same position as you. Some photographers try to create some freshness by investing in new equipment, such as buying a new camera, a new lens, and some filters – but it seems that this is not omnipotent.

I know a local photographer who is very successful and has begun the transition to a full-time professional photographer. He has gained a lot of fans on social media, and it seems that he entered the senior level of photography by rocket. But one day, he quit the photography circle and only made a few insipid comebacks occasionally. He would post on his Facebook page, saying, “Sorry, I’ve been very quiet, this is a picture I took”, or “Take a break, but hope to come back soon.” Next, I knew that he would sell all his camera equipment and switch to other industries.

Since then, he has never taken a photo, but occasionally sent photos of himself and his family having a good time. When he realized that photography was no longer suitable for him, he did not force himself, nor did he lament the loss of the price of all the equipment he had bought over the years. Maybe he would start photography again in the future, perhaps not, but in the final analysis – he had loved photography, and photography had made him experience the happiness he had never experienced.

Our life is cyclical. The change of the sun and the moon has a physiological effect on our bodies. The change of seasons has changed our mind and body. As we grow older, our bodies will change over time, and our brains will also undergo “chemical reactions”. The problem is that we don’t realize this very often. We often verify our love for photography through the release frequency of social media, and begin to treat it as a “job”, but later find it even becomes a compulsion.

Most of the time, we dare not take a break for photography to prevent us from losing our image as a “photographer” in the eyes of others, which may be completely contrary to the original pursuit of photography as a hobby. If you ignore the natural periodicity of your interest in photography, it may make things worse.

Learn to accept the comings and goings, and give your interest in photography some breathing space. You may find that you are back in the passion, get up again, and instill a feeling of infatuation, adventure and happiness again. As the song goes, “Let? It? Go”