You’ve made this photo before.
Maybe not exactly, but close enough. The same composition, the same light. Sometimes it starts to feel like you’re just going through the motions.
If you’re feeling stuck with your photography right now, I get it. I’ve been there too.
These are the times I like to give myself a small assignment, a constraint or a little rule to follow, and I see where it leads. These are exercises I return to again and again. They don’t require travel, or fancy gear, or perfect light. Just a willingness to experiment and look a little closer.
The next time you’re feeling stuck, pick one of these, and let it take you somewhere unexpected.
1. One Lens, One Walk
This is one of the easiest ways to reset your eye. Take one lens and go for a walk. Leave the rest of your gear behind.
We have a tendency to get into habits and reach for the same lens all the time. Instead, pick the lens in your bag that you use the least and go exploring with it.
The constraint is what makes this powerful. Suddenly, you stop trying to photograph everything and start asking, “What can I do with this?” You’re forced to work within limits, which – oddly – opens things up. You stop switching lenses all the time and find out what you can do with the one lens you have.
And that’s the point.
A wide lens forces you to step into the scene – to get close to something and fill the frame with intimacy or scale. A telephoto compresses everything, flattens the space, and makes you look further out instead of closer in. A prime keeps you honest and forces you to move your feet to get the composition you want instead of using a zoom.
Every lens comes with its own way of seeing. Its own challenges and gifts.
Instead of chasing the perfect shot, you’re learning how to make something within a constraint.
And that shift, from control to cooperation, is where things often open up.
2. One Subject, Ten Frames
Find one subject in the landscape that draws you in. A tree. A tide pool. A boulder. It doesn’t have to be dramatic, just something that holds your attention.
Then, photograph it ten different ways. This time you can use all the lenses in your bag.
At first, it might feel obvious. You’ll shoot it the way you always do. But then you’ll run out of ideas, and that’s where it gets interesting.
Step closer. Shoot through something. Blur it. Crop it oddly. Change your angle. Make it abstract. Let go of the idea that each frame has to be beautiful. Instead, treat it like sketching: rough, exploratory, and a little messy.
This is one of my favorite ways to push past the surface of a subject. You don’t get to know something by glancing at it once. You get to know it by circling it slowly, from all sides.
3. Follow a Colour
Pick a color and go on a photo walk searching for only that colour. This can be a little more difficult if you are out in the wilderness, but works great if you are in a city.
It’s like the red car effect. As soon as you start looking for them, they’re everywhere.
This kind of exercise slows you down because you’re not chasing a shot – you’re following a thread. It turns a walk into a search, and that search pulls you deeper into noticing.
And at the end of the day, put your photos together in a collage, just to see what your eyes found.
It’s a simple and fun way to reconnect with curiosity.
4. Photograph Only Reflections
Some days, the obvious views feel like they’ve gone quiet. The mountain is still there. The light is fine. But it all just feels… flat.
This is when I start looking for the landscape turned inside out.
Reflections are an easy way to make the familiar feel strange again. Shoot puddles, wet rock, glassy lakes, or even ice. Notice what disappears when the image is doubled. What gets distorted. What shows up behind you, without meaning to.
You can shoot reflections clean and crisp, or abstract and blurred. You can play with angles until the reflection becomes more interesting than the subject itself.
There’s something disorienting about it in the best way. It reminds you that photography is never just about what’s there. It’s about what you choose to show.
5. Collect Textures
Sometimes the wide view is too much. The weather’s wrong, the light’s too harsh, or you’re just not feeling the scale of it all.
That’s when I zoom way in.
Start looking for texture instead of subject. The cracked skin of a dry riverbed. The grain in weathered wood. Frost clinging to pine needles. Smooth stones. Rough bark. Patches of moss.
Photograph them as plainly or as abstractly as you like. There’s no “scene” to capture here, just surfaces, patterns, and the tactile memory of where you’ve been.
This is where you really start noticing the details you might have walked right past before.
6. Make a Diptych
This one is about pairing. Try to represent a place in only two photos.
They might come from the same scene—a wide shot and a close-up. A shadow and the object casting it. A bold shape and the space around it. Or they might come from totally different places, but feel like they belong.
You’re not just pairing photos here. You’re making a relationship. A conversation between images. Side by side, they carry a rhythm. A call and response.
Diptychs are a quiet practice. They ask you to slow down, to see not just in isolation but in connection.
Try printing a few and laying them out on a table. Or place them together on a screen. The right pairings will hum a little. Like they’ve been waiting for each other.
7. Tell a Short Story (Photo Essay)
This is where you step back and think in sequence.
Pick a mood or moment in the landscape like a fog rolling in, sunlight moving through the trees, or the tide receding on a rocky beach. Or simply pick a location.
Then, photograph it like a short story. Take three to ten images that together say something you couldn’t say with just one.
Start wide. Then get closer. Then maybe something abstract. Look for a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Don’t force a grand narrative. Sometimes the story is just: this is what the light did, before it went.
There’s a real satisfaction in laying those images out and watching the story emerge – not in words, but in shape and tone.
8. Look for One Element of Design
Choose one design element – like line, symmetry , or frame in frame – and go hunting for it in the landscape. Let that element shape how you frame things.
This is a great way to train your eye and build composition skills without overthinking it.
This exercise is especially helpful when you feel like your images are getting too comfortable, too similar. It adds just enough structure to knock you out of your usual habits.
If you want a deeper dive into this, I wrote a full tutorial on using the elements of design elements in landscape photography.
One Last Thing
None of these exercises are about getting the shot. They’re about showing up with curiosity, paying attention, and letting the land reintroduce itself.
If you try one of these and it doesn’t spark anything, try another. Or repeat the same one tomorrow. The point is not to perform, or impress, or produce. The point is to remember that you are a person who sees.
Sometimes, all you need is a reason to look differently.
I’d love to hear what this brought up for you — a new technique you’ve tried, a breakthrough, or something that inspired your creativity.
Even a simple “thanks” or “me too” is always appreciated!
Wish your photos had more impact?
If you’re ready to move beyond snapshots and start making photographs that truly stand out, my eBooks The Compelling Photograph (Books 1 & 2) will help you get there.
These eBooks will help you understand the principles of good image design, exploring the elements of design along with creative techniques and composition ideas — all explained with clear lessons and plenty of visual examples, so you can start composing with intention and impact.
Great ideas, they inspired me to grab my camera and start looking for new ways of seeing potential photos!
Outstanding, I’m so happy when my posts inspire people to get out there and photograph! Thank you so much for the great feedback Silvina, I appreciate it.
Thank you Anne great tips .They made me think and practice more.
That’s what I like to hear, glad you enjoyed it Mohammed!
Great thoughts Anne
Thank you for sharing
You are welcome Kapil! I appreciate your visit and comments.
Thank you for the kick in the pants! It’s been rut-ville here. I’m going to plan out my personal reinvigoration challenge with these suggestions. Cheers!
Hi Val, that is wonderful, I’m so glad my post can help you plan out some self-assignments. I appreciate your comments!
Another inspirational article, I was particularly struck by Point 1: One Lens, One Walk.
18 months ago I exchanged my Canon gear and numerous lenses for a Leica Q3 with 28mm lens which is now my primary camera. Being constrained to 28mm means I have to work hard for each shot – I have to think, get close in, work on my shooting position and numerous other aspects to get the picture. Yes it’s hard work but at the same time it has rekindled my interest in photography and every shot is a pleasure and often a challenge. I enjoy taking photographs again! I accept it’s not for everyone but a short focal length for landscape, street, architecture and life in general works for me.
Anne, I enjoy your blog, posts on X and software. Thank you.
Hi Nigel, Thanks for the great feedback and I love your comments about how using a wide angle rekindled your interest in photography. My habit is to reach for my 24-70. Last summer I realized I hadn’t been using my wide-angle much so I got it out, a 10-20, and made some of my favourite photographs of the season. I love how you can get in close to your subject and get a whole different perspective. I also love it for minimalist images of the ocean. They really are fun to use. But often when people first try them everything seems small, so I like to encourage people to pick it for the one lens outing because it can take a bit of time to get the hang of it. Your comments are much appreciated Nigel, thanks!
Great tips and thoughts. Made me think more of the surroundings and not just the shot. This came at a good time because I’m going on a relatively short visit and will take my Z6iii. I decided to take one lens only which will be my Z 24-120mm f4 S. Hopefully I’ll get some opportunities to go exploring. Thanks again for great tips, thoughts, and advice.
I’m so glad you found it helpful Al. About surroundings, that’s another fun thing to try. When you find a good subject, try getting it with totally different backgrounds. Sometimes the background can make or break a photograph. Try different depths of field too and see whether you like the background blurred or not. Try getting close with just a blurred colour in the background, or try a different angle so you get more of the surrounding scene – the whole environment – in the photograph.
I love how these comments are inspiring me to try different things!
Anne, as always well written and totally inspiring. Funny this was in the inbox. Yesterday was drizzly yucky day here. But I grabbed by 105 macro and a jacket and out I went. I found some amazing fungi. I had so much fun. Up close, far away…..Sometimes you just have to get to it. Thanks for the reminder. Janet
Hi Janet, isn’t it funny how on those rainy days we are reluctant to go out, yet when we do there are all kinds of things to photograph: light reflecting in puddles, ducks in the rain, raindrops on leaves. It can be really beautiful and I always end up being happy I went out instead of staying inside. Unless its windy too, that’s different. I have really grown to dislike wind. Now you’ve inspired me to grab my macro and get out and find some fungi! Thanks for your comments.
Hello Anne! This is an inspiring tutorial! While I do not have the photographic equipment necessary for the kind of work you do, I feel that your recommendations and advice would apply to most any artistic medium. Most recently, I have been having great success with non-representational mixed media collage using a gel plate. Each print will be different and unique, like a photograph. It’s up to me to decide how to present the images. I will keep this tutorial at hand and refer to it when I need a “nudge.” Thank you!
Hi Hety! Oh, I tried the gel plate thing a few years ago. I didn’t have much success, but it was fun and I’ve been meaning to get it out and try it again. In fact, when I tried it, it was summer, and I think the problem was that my paint was drying too fast.
But you’ve raised an excellent point. Another way of staying creative is to play around in another art form. Painting, music, even visiting a museum and looking at sculptures – all these things can inspire our creativity. Thanks for your comments Hety.
All good tips. We all need to adjust or reset our clocks once in a while.
So true! I get into habits all the time. Especially since I travel a lot – I am always photographing a new place, which is awesome, but I need to do these kinds of exercises too or I end up getting distracted by new subjects and spend less time playing with techniques. Thanks for your comments Paul!
Well written & said! I especially like the sentence; “None of these exercises are about getting the shot. They’re about showing up with curiosity, paying attention, and letting the land reintroduce itself “I’ve done a few ‘reflection’ type photos over the years, your article will motivate me start l”paying Attention” for more now… THANK YOU !
You are most welcome Herb. I think we tend to put too much pressure on ourselves to make something beautiful every time and that can end up limiting how much we are willing to just play around. It’s in the just playing around time when we discover something completely new. Thanks for your comments, always appreciated!
Thanks Anne. This is a great reminder for me. I love photographing birds but at this time of year, there are fewer of them around. I want to keep working on my skills with my new mirrorless – Canon R5 mii – so grabbing a different lens, finding a new viewpoint and working on different skills will help me stay connected to my camera through the winter. Great inspiration. Thank you!
Hi Wendy, So glad you found it helpful! I love bird photography too. I like to practice on birds I might not ordinarily photograph, like seagulls (which are actually really beautiful birds!). Or you can practice on other moving objects like people riding their bikes, or a sporting event. Even if that isn’t your thing, you’ll keep your skills sharp for when the birds return. But yes, sometimes just trying something completely different can be a lot of fun. Thanks for your visit and comments.
These are great ideas, thank you for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed them David, thanks for the feedback!