How to Escape your Creative Ruts (a thought for makers) 

Sean, thank you so much for doing what you do. I discovered you late last year when I was in a bad place. I lost friends to covid, my girlfriend left me, and my mother had passed from cancer. I had no drive at all to go out and do the thing I love. I started watching your videos, especially your philosophy playlist, and your videos really helped me through those dark times. Thank you again.

The days that I take pictures just because I fancy a walk and feel like hearing the sound of the shutter, those are the days I take images I am happy with. Because I am completely open. No expectation, no need to results.

This could not have come at a more perfect time. Such solid advice from one of the best. Thank you Sean

This is great! I’ve realised that perfectionism is a lie. Perfectionism is insecurity in disguise for me 💗

The ‘Rembrandt’ lighting you’ve used on your face works exceptionally well with the portraits on your wall behind you, never really noticed until now. Your vlogs always inspire me to think differently, thx Sean.

Always such great advice, a wonderful video Sean, thanks for sharing. Missing your work on Instagram.

As a perfectionist, I never felt ready to start my channel. When I finally gave up keeping everything under control, I was ready to take the risk.

Nine years ago, my vocal coach told me that I had to 'give myself permission to make a noise'. That advice has stuck with me to this day.

This was super helpful. Thank you brother. Really loved it and got a lot out of it.

I really needed to hear this this right now. It’s so easy to get caught up in the expectations of your audience. Thank you, Sean.

All your life experiences have led you to make videos like today's - nobody else I've found on RU-vid is doing this, at least not with a photographic concentration. This is where you shine when it comes to creative education and motivational speaking. Keep it up Sean.

Nice kick! ⚽ Can't score, if you don't take the shot. 🎯 Love Simon & Meg🐶 Carry on!

At 53 I am still in my first year of photography, just, and still enjoying the "wonder" of seeing what happens when.... At the moment I am focusing, sorry :-), on product photography and enjoying the path and learning. I believe I have nailed my Astro photography (moon shots) which I enjoy capturing and sharing. Yesterday I started to enjoy small bird photography, visitors to my garden, and just running with that for now. I see many similarities to my attitude to drumming in the last 33 years and my new photography path. At my core I am a rock / blues drummer but venture into jazz, funk, hip hop & nearly all flavours of drumming where I learn something that adds to my core drumming and has made my style. So, in 32 years’ time I will come back and tell how my photography journey went :-) I wish you well Sean and thank you for the inspiration.

Gut, subconscious, feeling, emotion. Important words when finding our voice. Nurturing instinct is a term I like to use. Many thanks for the shout-out buddy :) Fab video, as always!

This was absolutely fantastic, engaging, and well-written. I was absolutely immersed from beginning to end in your message, and it's exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you Sean :)

Sean you've literally pulled my camera bag from under my bed! Thank you!

I can think of nothing less fun and more killjoy than fussing for hours to make a perfect picture. The more I photograph the more I understand HC-B's "Decisive Moment." You see the picture and take it exactly when you feel it or you miss it. Photographs are taken, not made. They only exist for an instant and then they are gone.

I've seen so many folk on RU-vid suggesting you'll have a more successful page on Instagram etc if you stick to one style of photography, whether it's B&W, light & dark, wedding, landscape etc etc. I've always refused. I prefer to come across as more rounded and more experimental. And post a mix of photos, yes I guess it's more cluttered, but I care more about enjoying photography than likes, followers etc. Plus I think it gives people more of an idea about you as a person. I look forward to learning more about the art, and pushing myself more into different aspects of it.. I'm onioki69 on Instagram if anyone's bothered. I think this a fantastic thoughtful RU-vid channel for creatives and would like to see work from others who are watching as I am. So we can all enjoy each others journeys so to speak..

Excellent advice. Always appreciate your transparency and vulnerability. Thanks for sharing.

This resonated a lot, will work on giving myself permission to explore more. Been coming to your channel for calming, sound advice, and to get away from the flashy/gimmicky side of Instagram/RU-vid, and I definitely did not leave disappointed. Thanks Sean!

My daughter recently purchased one of those $10 disposable cameras. When she got the images back after being developed, she loved them. It wasn’t because of the clarity, composition etc. in fact it was the imperfections she loved. The blur, the color, the raw genuine moments, nothing posed or perfect. So I decided to get my DSLR, put on my 50mm lens and change my settings to Auto. I too LOVED the images, at times being tempted to pose the scene but left it as is. It’s such a freeing experience. 😀

Damned virus. Got stuck. Then I bought some stuff like developer, 30 meter film and bulkloader, grabbed my old Nikon FM2 and kept rolling, started my Instagram Account „solidbwfilm“. One image every morning. I didn’t know what to do else to keep myself alive as a photographer.

Your perspective is always changing thts why it important to keep getting out there and surprising yourself , you never know what's round the corner . I got in my car last weekend fully intent on going to a specific destination and found myself in a dissused car park with some old rail junk and a concrete silo factory next door , im sure the universe took me there I had a ball

Excellent advice Sean. Thank you. And greetings from icy Portland, OR

Great advice as always. Similar to the examples you gave, I found that changing ‘format’ helped me out of a rut, I started shooting film about 12 months ago or so and now, if I could only shoot one format, it would be 4x5 large format. I’ve found that the slower process has made me think a lot more about the ‘why’ of an image rather than churning out the same old digital images that started to feel like filler....

This video and your voice is so necessary during the creative void of COVID - i really needed to hear this - Thank you!!

Drop the tags. Be just a photographer and stop pleasing people on social media. You will be fine.

Make a mess? Oh yes, I'll certainly be doing that. Quite literally. There will be woidshavings and dust and paint and stuff all over the shop. Your videos are a wonderful combination of inspiration and helpful tips. You manage to package your message and your advice so succinctly, that I always feel the to e watching has flown by. Immersive indeed. Thank you Sean.

But is this technique of letting go what you can do best and experimenting, isn't that counter productive for your career of becoming a photographer? Because people won't recognize you when you keep changing what you take pictures of... Awesome video anyway, Sean!

Excellent thank you Sean. This really spoke to me (pun not intended but why not!) Been wrestling with a new direction for some time and I recognise the issues you spoke about. Some of the remedies are new however and especially - as a dedicated control freak manual shooter - I’ll be hitting that auto mode soon. Well, maybe aperture priority to start with ;-) but there’s a lot of good common sense stuff there. Thanks again.

I watch yours and Belinda's channel. As a relative newbie I have recently retired and took up photography. I am currently been watching some of the episodes and they have been brill. I tried your suggestion of just taking anything which interests.. and felt it works. Actually I have got my best photos...I have "tested" them out on a couple of sites and I have had good response. I also liked your advise about cataloguing each year and the info on the printer you suggested. Thank you!

Your new style of street photography reminds me a little bit of the work of Wolfgang Zurborn. A german photo artist. He is a master of this accidentical but planned style. And I like, that you do more color photography. That means not, that I don‘t like your black and whites 🙂

Yes. Just take a photo in that moment. Do not thing about. Just shot it. Mostly in that way I creat "living" photo. And they're mostly not "in the rules". ;) But I love doing that.

Hey Sean, Thank you for another great video, the content is on point as usual. But, I think the message could have been emphasized and amplified by allowing yourself to also be bold and creative when it comes to your RU-vid video “template”: the intro to your video of quotes on top of musical slow moving scenes, the way you talk about the topic sitting on your couch with the same camera angle, the way you articulate yourself and tell the story and the language you choose, the type of music you choose etc. I don’t mean to say that what you do is bad, it’s not, it’s great. But it does follow your template and it is “safe”. What I am saying is: I’d love to see you be more bold on that front as well! Stay safe.

Just received Collection IV. Thanks for the work & the wisdom!

Great message. I find you videos very uplifting for life in general not just for photography. Hope you’re doing well.

Permission to play. It’s great advise and real words not just philosophical positive rubbish based on no creative reality. Thanks for being so honest.

Very interesting, I understand when people get bored when doing the same thing all the time. We are stuck on this idea of « you have to find your style and do it consistently », but we don’t always understand that it only applies to work, not for art (which is to me the reflection of our inner being). Because we evolve as people, it’s normal to evolve as well on the subjects and topics that we take pictures of.

I very much like the retrospective element of this video: thinking about what we like and perhaps dislike. Speaking of likes: at the time i write this, your video has 8k views and almost 1k likes. The likes to dislikes ratio is 200:1. It may be meaningless to you, but let me tell you those stats mean that you are clearly doing something right 👍 Keep at it Sean.

Took a chance and went out in the Wisconsin snowy weather downtown Milwaukee and to my surprised I stayed out there for almost 3 hours! It was crazy, the longer I stayed out there the more my eyes saw as potential photos. It was addicting. Getting out and just doing it is the sauce that I needed. I feel like I leveled up today. Thank you for your videos as they play a pivotal role to my photography’s evolution. Cheers!!

Sean, I really enjoy your extraordinary videos and talks. You're one the most authentic artists I've seen on the web. Keep doing these videos which are inspirational for beginners like me.

This video talked so much to me. Not That I am in a creative rut, more that I am in a creative mess. I was a lot into landscapes, starting to feel it a bit empty shooting this, needed something else. Tried abstract minimal architecture shots, bought books from Cartier Bresson and other french naturalists, received my first rolls of analog film back with portraits of family and friends, tried to shoot while skateboarding at the park... Right now everything is a mess and I really don't know what will come out of it. But still, watching it gave me confidence to strive for that search and that something will eventually come that I will be proud to call my work.

Thanks for this Sean, have been doing seascapes for some time but planning to venture out to a sunflowers field for a change. Time to play with close up or vista. I will give myself permission to play.

Sean's off the hip, wrong settings shot is better and more artistic than my well-thought-out and composed shots are....😆

I believe as an artist you shouldn't care about the opinions of others else you'll just stifle your own creativity, but we live in an age where affirmation from social media has become an obsession. getting 'likes' is all that matters and thus we end up with boring, stagnant or 'trending' image styles that all look the same. The quickest way to cripple yourself creatively is to try and produce work that you think will appeal to the masses. Forget the omnibus, walk your own path and enjoy where it leads you.

Thank you Sean for inspiring me to start my own RU-vid channel!😊❤️

People tend to oppose any consistency, so if you tell yourself or if you’re told too much that you’re supposed to be creative you may resist. The best thing to do if that happens is to allow yourself to conflict with whatever pressure you’re under and run away if it feels right. Don’t let others tell you when you’re procrastinating as it will only reenforce your opposition. People shouldn’t bring it up either. Very unconstructive. I know it sounds counter intuitive and contradictory, but that’s people. Living itself is a contradiction so allow yourself to live and allow others to live and don’t enforce alot of labels. Ideally, people come back to their passions without pressure or maybe even a second thought.

I always think it’s sad when people feel pressured to have a specific ‘Genre’. I suppose if it’s for your business, that’s a different matter but in your free time, it must be useful to explore different genres just to keep things fresh, if nothing else. I love photographing anything, it’s the beauty of the light as it hits a subject or just the feeling that pressing the shutter gives me. The whole creative experience really.

You yes you are an inspiration for people like me. so thankful for your words... your every words has its own presence that I so look up to. Thank you Sean Thank you very much(:

As always, excellent and thought-provoking content! Thank you for making all these videos, and for this one particularly.

Thankfully I don't do photography as a job but as my hobby so I shoot what I want when I want. Also being very partially sighted there are a lot of times that I just can't pick up my camera and take photos or even edit due to my eyes not behaving themselves

Thanks for the notes , Stay well man ..enjoyed.

I thought you said at some old video of yours consisrency is key, now you want to make different kind of photography styles simultaneously? Multifacet as u said

Very brave to critique your work like that, but I knew immediately what the critique would be when you mentioned it. I notice the role of social media in this circle as you respond to likes and comments. The instinctive shot is very fresh and what great luck for the hand to swing into the light!

I’m sorry, I couldn’t finish this video. I was in too much of a hurry to grab my camera and go shoot. Thanks for that Sean.

I know I'm a controlled and rigid photographer, years ago a couple of models in Italy told me to loosen up and allow the process to immerse into my soul and drop the guards. I found this information to have been the best bit of information I've received and and every so often I will remember this and drop my wall and go for something without such structure. Even my art teacher told me that I need to shoot more from the hip.

Another great video! I recently received my copy of your most recent collection. Your work is always inspiring. Thank you.

Amazingly intuitive and precisely what I have been considering as my weakest characteristic. I am stunned at how often your videos come at exactly the right time. Thank you and take care.

"If you're anything like me, i promise you, if you're feeling stuck the answer will be to make a good mess and see what it unlocks in you." Thank you for this sentence alone. That hit home pretty hard.

I have Joel Meyeowitz's book now (and yours obviously) 😁

I find that the reckless, impulsive art you make is almost always better than the structured art. I always find myself more impressed my the impulse shots than the carefully planned ones. I am glad I have a second opinion on this. My profile picture for instance is one of those shots. I got home, grabbed my tripod and phone, put it on the street and shot a few images, but for some reason my hair was in the way and I tried to get it out of my eyes, and at that moment the shutter went off, creating a natural shot more than a composed one.

This was EXACTLY what I needed! I've been struggling for so long and every day wondering what to do about it. I will be watching this a couple more times just so it sinks in more and pushes me on. Thank you.

flipping the image upside down sounds like a great advice, thanks!

Absolutely love this! I so appreciate your sharing❣

Do people get stuck in one genre and worse still do they end up following the crowd? Enjoyed your talk.

I wish I had seen this sooner. I needed a kick in the pants to get out of my nearly 2 year long rut. At the beginning it was health related but now it is simply inertia.

Hope your doing well Sean! Thanks for your wise words!

Excellent video. I love the idea of shooting from the hip on auto then examining to see if you can find something fresh.

Loved this video! Perfect timing as usual.

I know you probably get this a lot, but I think you should start a podcast.

Honest, thoughtful and inspirational as always.

I’m going to try this, I’m sure it will help me develop in some direction. Thanks Sean

Every now and then, you've just got to say 'what the fuck'.

Wonderful insights and reminders , thanks Sean!

I remember a member of my family saying to me some years ago "relax and enjoy what you are doing, you will then get better at doing it"

Yet another great video Sean and great contents. Thank you.

Great information! Thanks again for your insight!

Really needed to hear this right now. Thanks!

The flipping of the image is a great idea. I first heard of it from Joe Cornish. Also it was suggested to edit and then leave it for a day then come back.

Sean, go out! I miss those videos when you quietly tell your wisdom in middle-of-no-where setting with a beautiful scene, and just you in it. Those videos were cathartic.

Thank you Sean🙏🏻

Great video as always. Really nice advise and wise words.

So helpful! Thank you! I need this currently!

Thank you for the kick I needed to take the next step

Thank you for this video Sean!

Amen to that Sean. I will continue to experiment, and challenge myself....Always love your work, and your wise words.... Looking forward to seeing this new chapter....

Thank you for the advice.

Well articulated. Thanks

Thank you for making this video Sean. I really needed to hear this.

Sean you’re awesome thank you!

Another gem of a video. ❤️

Sean, thank you for putting this out!! :) I always appreciate your wise words. I can't agree more with you on giving yourself permission to "play" (key word). Often times we find ourselves doing what we know works and not looking outside of that (aka having tunnel vision). Sometimes it's not always about the results but rather allowing ourselves to make mistakes and trusting the process. Great video!

Yes, indeed. My fear of losing the approval of others. Especially prior to watching your videos for the past several months. But you've helped me think of the long game and continued growth. And I'm grateful for that. I'm a continuing work in progress. Good to see you Sean. Wishing you positive vibes with every Roger Deakins movie I've been watching. ;) Thank you!

I think that there is a lot of this going around right now. A few weeks ago I was very stuck and I watched a lot of your videos to get some inspiration. I ended up giving myself a challenge to just go out and take pictures, forgetting what I thought I should be doing and just trying to be more intuitive. I made a video about my experiment, and funnily enough, I shout you out because you were my inspiration for the challenge. You have said the sentiments that I was trying to say in a much more eloquent and concise way, which I love. Photography should be about fun before about creating in any particular way. I look forward to seeing your experimentation, without a doubt it is going to be amazing. Stay strong Sean and have fun! 😊

Me: RU-vid: Me: Fantastic shots at the end, and great advice overall. And I agree about Meyerowitz's ability to reinvent himself whenever he felt the urge.

Hi Sean, Andrew here in Ottawa Canada, a great video. My background is in Quality and I have always been described as a perfectionist even in my current profession that uses my skills. Fear is exactly how I feel, the fear of the unknown. Giving myself permission is great advice that I will use both in my profession and my photography. Thank you Sean

Inspirational......Thank you.

whose photos are behind of you?

What a wonderful sharing, Sean, born of your struggles with creativity and your willingness to risk! You've given me some ideas, and encouraged me to risk also. Thank you!

Came to the right time. Thanks Sean.