Appreciate Photo Opportunities as They Happen

Photo Title: Archangel Wing

Whether you are flowing or ebbing when it comes to finding no pressure photo opportunities, I've found that learning to appreciate photo opportunities as they happen is a great way to make taking photos not only fun but also pressure free. This is one of my all time favorite photos and after I finished playing with it, I made sure to appreciate it by realizing that the same exact feeling I had after I finished it isn't likely to be repeated again.

 I know that it tends to be human nature to try to recapture what we once felt or had. However I've found that letting go of this tendency is one of the keys to not only being a little happier but also to finding more no pressure photo opportunities.

Go With The Flow Not Against It

Photo Title: Aura

There are times when you discover something new and you want to do it over and over again. Sometimes when you repeatedly do the same thing again and again, you worry that you're not being creative enough or that you're limiting yourself. For a while, I kept making my photo edits look completely abstract and different from what the original photo looked like and I felt like I was restricting myself from being creative. 

It took me a while to realize that if a particular type of "flow" was coming to me while I was playing with my photos, then I should be thankful that I'm getting creative ideas. Even if they don't seem to be what I want to do at the moment. At this point I realized that this is probably what's meant by that saying "Go with the flow, not against it".

Turn One Shot Into Multiple Photos

After realizing that I need to pay more attention to the photos I already have as opposed to always forcing myself to look for more photo opportunities, I challenged myself to see how many new photos I can get out of a single shot. In the process of this self made photo challenge I learned many new editing techniques and created a lot of interesting photos such as these ones. 

Photo Title: Mosaic Fish

 Photo Title: Rainbow Fish

The fact that I was creating so many good photos that I really liked was very encouraging to me. It helped me keep my motivation up to take more photos and look for more photo opportunities. Seeing so many new photos also helped me keep the pressure off of taking more photos and made it more fun for me. Now I don't just look forward to finding photo opportunities, I also look forward to what I'm going to do with them afterwards.

Review What You've Done in The Past

Photo Title: Double Koi

I took this photo while at six flags with my sister inside the Butterfly exhibit. It wasn't until months later that I remembered this photo when I was starting to have trouble keeping my no pressure mindset and hadn't taken a photo for a few days. Since I was unable to find or make new photo opportunities, I decided to pay more attention to the photos that I already had.

I really love this photo editing set for the fact that it makes things look a little like a cartoon. The Polaroid effect is a nice twist to the cartoon feeling. I wasn't trying to come up with a new photo editing set but I ended up coming up with a set that I use almost everyday now. The fact that stumbling on this great looking editing set happened so effortlessly made me want to take more photos to experiment with the editing set I found.

Focus on The Same Subject For a Longer Period of Time

Photo Title: Double Power

I love going for walks around my neighborhood. I've found that going for a walk is a great way for me to find no pressure photo opportunities. Walking the same way I normally do has it's benefits sometimes. Sometimes it takes seeing the same things over and over again helps you realize that there's a photo opportunity starting you in the face. These powerlines are a great example of that.

After I saw that if you angle the powerlines correctly you can get a pretty good photo, I ended up taking a lot of different shots of the same powerlines. The fact that I saw something ordinary in a different way also helped me get creative with not only my photo taking skills but also my editing skills. Here are some related photos of the same powerlines.

Photo Title: Rainbow Lines

Photo Title: In the Distance

All of these photos were taken on different days when I decided to go for a walk. I paid attention to the way the powerlines looked while I was walking by them and found multiple photo opportunities in the same subject. The fact that I took these photos over the course of a few days made it so that I felt no pressure in creating a new and interesting photo.

3 Ways To Find No Pressure Photo Opportunities

“There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.”

- Ernst Haas 

As time goes on it's easy to lose your inspiration or your motivation for taking photos. Some people may go for weeks, months or even years without taking a single photo. I know from personal experience the challenges that photographers face when trying to maintain the passion in their beloved hobby. However I've stumbled across a few helpful things that has helped me gain what I originally lost.

1. Make Having Fun Your Top Priority

If you don't have fun while doing something, then why do it? You must be willing to have fun while taking photos and this means cutting out anything that makes taking photos not fun. It also means doing what it takes to make it more fun. If you hate carrying your heavy camera around with you, start using a lighter one. I fell in love with photography again after I started using my camera phone with my editing applications instead of my SLR or point and shoot. Taking photos shouldn't be a chore that you have to force yourself into doing, it should be something that you're enthusiastic to do so that it comes naturally to you. If you focus on having fun, it'll be difficult to put your camera down.

2. Stop Trying to Get The Next Masterpiece

In order to have fun taking photos and take the pressure off finding photo opportunities, you have to lose all of your expectations for your photos. It took me a while to accept the fact that I'm a camera phone type of photographer. Especially considering the fact that my camera phone isn't what you would consider to be a great camera. However I found that the convenience of having a light camera that I take with me everywhere to be more valuable than stressing myself out over trying to get the next masterpiece. I've also found that learning to love an "imperfect" photo is more rewarding than having a "perfect" photo that you stressed yourself out over.

3. Fall In Love With Photography

Think about what a photograph means to you and learn to appreciate photos for what they mean to you. Come up with your own motto's and helpful quotes that inspire you. If you can't come up with anything, use what other people have said that sticks with you and inspires you to take better photos. You can find more no pressure photo opportunities if you fall in love with photography and find something that will continually inspire you or help you see and find more opportunities. By learning to love photography again, you not only gain a new perspective when taking photos, you also gain a new perspective on yourself. After all, what we see is what we are.

Turning on The Artistic Eye

Photo Title: Asymmetry

You know that you're a photographer at heart when you look at something and say "That would look really good in black and white". I've noticed that sometimes I have my days where I see photo opportunities in black and white or sepia and Polaroids.I used to fight it before I learned how to take advantage of spontaneous photo opportunities but now I go with the flow and lose any expectations I have for my photos.

Taking photos this way, where I have no expectations and I don't really try to find photo opportunities but instead let them find me has made taking photos a lot more fun for me. I feel like before I was afraid that I wouldn't take as many photos unless I forced myself to look for them. However I've found that so long I turn on that "artistic eye" and imagine how what I'm looking at would look like as a photo, it's almost impossible to not find at least one photo opportunity every day.