turning points

I’ve been through some kind of a creative crisis lately. Okay, who isn’t once or twice in a lifetime. But I feel like I’ve reached a turning point with no clue which direction to take.

I’m glad that I don’t have to worry about models for photo shootings anymore. I constantly get new requests and weekly shooting dates are scheduled through early February. But in my constant search for the extraordinary, my ideas can’t keep up with the amount of upcoming shootings. I have tons of ideas for creative self-portraits and I was considering starting a “52 weeks” project on Flickr, but given the amount of upcoming shootings I’m starting to think about adapting some of those ideas for other models than my humble self.

I’ve thought about cancelling some (or all) of those scheduled shootings to focus on some ideas and projects and to contact the models when needed. But on the other hand I don’t want to put them off because they showed trust in my photographic skills and asked me to take their pictures. Kind of a predicament.

I cancelled one shooting though, namely a family portrait shooting. I’ve decided not to do those anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I love kids. I really do. But it’s just not my type of photography. You have to be fast, accurate und funny at the same time and that’s just not the way I can work at the moment. I want to take my time to set up the lighting, trying different styles and approaches. And you just can’t do that with children. I’ve done a couple of family portraits in the past, but the results never satisfied me and didn’t live up to my own expectation. So I put that on a hold for a uncertain time.

So I’m at least starting to discover what I don’t want to do. Because sometimes one has to be honest enough to ask himself “was it fun?”. That’s what it’s all about. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth sacrificing your time.

There are some new pictures up on my Flickr photostream. So be sure to check them out!