How to Stay Motivated as a Photographer (Even When You’re Not Travelling)
For many travel photographers, motivation flows naturally when we’re exploring new places, but what happens when you’re at home, back in a routine, or unable to travel for an extended period? How do you keep growing your skills when there’s no immediate adventure on the horizon?
Photography is not just about capturing distant landscapes or famous landmarks; it’s about staying engaged with the world around you. Here’s how to keep your creativity and enthusiasm for photography alive, even when you’re not on the road.
1. Give Yourself Personal Projects
One of the best ways to stay engaged with photography is to set yourself a creative challenge or project. You don’t need to be in an exotic location to capture compelling images, your home city, backyard, or even everyday objects can become subjects when approached with curiosity and creativity.
Ideas for Personal Projects:
Local Documentary: Approach your home surroundings and local area as if you were a tourist, capturing details you usually overlook, and having experiences that visitors to the area enjoy, the ones we overlook as familiar.
Daily Photo Challenge: Set a goal to take one photo every day for a month, each day focusing on a different theme (light, texture, movement, etc.).
One Lens, One Subject: Restrict yourself to one lens and capture different perspectives of a single subject over time.
*The images below were taken on a black table using flora with a double exposure to get comfortable with this style and using movement and contrast as an example.
2. Revisit & Edit Old Photos
Going back through your archives can be an eye-opening experience, allowing you to see images with fresh eyes. You may have changed your post processing workflow, have new editing skills, tools, or presets available to you, and using your old images is a wonderful way to create.
Taking the time to reflect on your past work can also reignite inspiration and highlight areas where you’ve improved.
Re-edit older photos: Your editing style may have evolved, and revisiting older images can breathe new life into them.
Create a print portfolio: Instead of storing all your work digitally, print your best shots and compile a collection.
Curate a new series: Look for recurring themes in your work and group images into a series for storytelling.
3. Experiment with a New Style
Challenging yourself to try a different style of photography can be a great way to stay motivated. If you typically shoot landscapes, experimenting with street photography, minimalism, or black and white can open up new creative pathways.
Try black & white photography: Focus on contrast, form, and mood without the distraction of colour.
Explore film or vintage processing: Shoot with a film camera or replicate film aesthetics in post-processing. Just the process of film can help to boost creativity and motivation.
Photograph everyday objects: Use lighting and composition to transform the ordinary into something artistic.
4. Find Inspiration Beyond Photography
Sometimes, the best way to refresh your creative approach is to look beyond photography itself. Inspiration can be found in art, literature, music, or film, all of which can influence the way you see and compose images.
Study paintings for composition techniques.
Watch films with strong cinematography to understand how light and movement are used.
Read travel literature to immerse yourself in visual storytelling through words.
Absorbing different forms of creativity will naturally enhance your photographic approach.
5. Engage with a Photography Community
One of the most effective ways to stay motivated is to connect with other photographers, like minded creatives who love planning adventures, talking travel, and improving their skills. Being part of a group, club or community keeps you engaged, provides accountability, and introduces fresh perspectives.
A photography community can offer:
Creative Challenges: A reason to keep shooting with new themes each month.
Constructive Feedback: Helping you see your work from a different perspective.
Inspiration & Encouragement: Staying inspired through the work and experiences of fellow photographers.
Inside The Travel Photography Club, members participate in monthly challenges, image critiques, and discussions—all designed to keep motivation high, even when you’re not actively travelling.
6. Set Small Goals to Maintain Momentum
Photography is an evolving craft, and setting small, achievable goals will help you maintain momentum. These could be as simple as:
Learning a new editing technique each week.
Shooting five images in different lighting conditions.
Uploading a selection of images to a portfolio or social media.
By focusing on progress rather than perfection, you’ll stay engaged without the pressure of creating something extraordinary every time.
7. Plan Future Photography Adventures
Even if you’re not travelling right now, planning future trips can be a great motivator, I’m all for scouring Google Maps, creating wish lists, shot lists, dream trip lists, and more. Research locations, and find unique angles that will set your work apart when you do visit.
Scout locations using Google Earth & Maps to plan future shoots.
Create a photography bucket list of places you’d love to capture.
Follow travel & photography blogs to keep inspired by destinations.
This keeps your passion alive and ensures that when the time comes, you’re fully prepared to capture incredible images.
Looking for a space to stay inspired and connected with like-minded photographers? Join The Travel Photography Club today and keep your photography journey thriving!
Your invite to join our creative community of travellers! If you’re not already a member, come and join The Travel Photography Club where we’re having discussions about topics just like this! The club is an exclusive online space filled with creative resources, challenges, and travel advice for photographers.
