Familiarity Breeds Contempt

The old proverb, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” describes the concept of how often we find that the things we are most familiar with lose their allure, their ability to hold our attention, and, our perception of their value declines. This also applies to our perception of the area where we live in terms of its value of being something worth photographing. How often you said to yourself, “There’s nothing to shoot around here. It’s so booooring. I wished I lived in ________ , there’s lots of great things to shoot there.” And yet, at the same time someone else is thinking how lucky you are to live where you do with all the great phots ops.

How is it you can live in an area with nothing to shoot and yet a stranger visits and they find lots of photo opportunities? Over time, we become desensitized to the beauty and uniqueness of where we live. As a result, we’re always looking somewhere else to find great photo subjects. A recent post by Joe Smith got me thinking about this and what we can do about it. I’ve become acquainted with Joe since we both use the same third-party service for selling our photos and he also blogs about photography. Take a look at Joe’s sites, he has some amazing photographs.

Joe’s recent blog post, The Mundane, is about how he likes to “photograph those mundane items I come across whenever I find them accompanied by a pleasant slice of light.” It’s an eye-opening article about appreciating the hidden beauty of the everyday objects and sights that surround us. This got me thinking about what to shoot when there is nothing to shoot. So, here’s my list of things to do to overcome the familiarity breeds contempt syndrome.

1. Shoot The Mundane

Just as Joe Smith did, figure out a way to photograph mundane, common things in a way that makes us really see them differently. This can be looking for the light, changing our perspective on them, try out new techniques or even macro photography. It’s time to be creative and challenge ourselves.

2. Get Lost

familiarity breeds contempt — *Dead Trees and Palmettos – Click to enlarge*

Although you are no doubt very familiar with your home area there are probably sections that you’ve never been to or have been to in a long time. Go wandering and allow yourself to be surprised. Drive around aimlessly and enjoy exploring. You can even do this digitally. Google Street View lets you virtually see “what’s down the road” from the comfort of your home.

3. Change Your Perspective

Experiment with composing your photos in some way other than holding the camera level. Try looking up, down or cocking the camera at some strange angle. Lie down on the ground or stand up high on something. Go extreme, don’t be faint-hearted. Get views that you aren’t used to seeing.

4. Follow The Light (And Shadows Too)

Typically, we search for a good subject and then work to photography when it has “good light”. Why not flip the search. Don’t look for an object, look for good light and interesting shadow patterns. Then photograph whatever we find in it. Good light and interesting shadows can really make most uninteresting subjects better and worthy of shooting. It’s also a good way to expand our “photographer’s eye” in regard to seeing the possibilities in what most others consider just ordinary.

5 Think Specifically

We often look at our environment in grand vistas through our windshield spread out before us as we drive through it. This, in turn, plays a large part in our perception that there is nothing to shoot here. Truth be told, that everyday grand vista probably is boring and not photo worthy. However, within that large picture there are countless other smaller scenes that are most definitely photo worthy. To train your eye to look for smaller scenes go out shooting with the goal of only shooting one specific type of item. For example, go out looking for only doors, neon signs, or a specific color.

6. Upon Reflection

Our view of our world can change dramatically if instead of looking directly at something, we instead look at its reflection. Out of habit we usually dismiss reflections when we’re out and about. However, reflections can give us an interesting new perspective in our world. Look for reflections in store windows, mirrors, puddles etc.

7. Experiment With A New Genre

Switching genres is about forcing yourself to try a different style of photography to get a new view of the world around you. If you are a landscape photographer go out and try your hand at street photography. If you like to photograph architecture, give nature photography a try. You’ll develop new photography skills and expand your view of your world at the same time.

8. Change Your Schedule

We are all creatures of habit. For the most part we travel through our part of the world on a set routine. For example, we are used to seeing certain parts of our town only on the way to or from work or school. This means we are used to seeing these areas only at certain times of the day. Try visiting them at other times such as early morning or late at night to get a different view of the scene. This could change your whole idea of the world you travel through on a regular basis.

9. Check The Weather Forecast

Being a fair-weather photographer has a certain appeal. It makes things easier. After all, who wants to go out when it’s raining, or snowing, or foggy. The thing is, we are forgoing some great opportunities. This is because, varied weather really changes the atmospherics (ouch – bad pun – sorry). Wet streets make for great reflections, cloudy skies add drama, snow and fog can be very moody. So, bundle up and venture out!

10. Get Inspired By Others

You are not alone in thing there nothing to shoot nearby. Other photographers in the area have also had the “familiarity breeds contempt” syndrome. However, you can bet that others have found things to shoot in your area that you didn’t think of and vice versa. Google Search and photo sites such as Flickr.com, 100ASA.com or photoimaginart.com can be a great source for photo ideas in your area. Study other photographer’s work. It will spark ideas and creativity.