if you follow me on Instagram hopefully y’all didn’t mind the long story from the photo shoot the other day. in all honestly though, that was the first time in months that i have been the slightest bit excited to get back behind the camera. now that’s not to say i don’t still enjoy or love photography because that is far from the true. it’s been a passion of mine for as long as i can remember and i am always wanting to capture moments. however, recently (and by recently i mean since summer) i have struggled with photography. instead of it being something i was passionate about it became a stressor. it started with some people not completely respecting my work. needless to say, i took a lot of it to heart. i mean as a photographer you want your clients happy, obviously, but i was so hard on myself. i started disliking taking photos because i was never happy with the outcome of my edits. i always told myself i would come back to them, try again, but no amount of time seemed to shake this funk.

then a couple days ago i had planned to meet up with two amazingly talented photographers (one a good friend of mine and one who i was going to be meeting for the first time - links to their work below) and a model to do a little shot. i was skeptical and completely nervous not feeling confident in the fact that i was even going to produce anything good, but as i was packing i noticed i had a 50mm lens. pretty sure i had never even used it before, but figured what the heck why not. i mean i have nothing to lose, might as well try something new, right? funny thing was i was actually beyond pleased with it and for the first thing in a long time i was a bit excited to be back at it. looks like all i needed was a new perspective. in this case both physically, with the new lens, and mentally, not expecting anything out of it. sometimes you just have to look at things differently.

the story doesn’t even stop there though because we also choose the library as our location, which i have never been a fan of artificial lighting. i swear the day i buy a house the leading factor is going to be good natural lightening. that is besides the point though. even here i was impressed with a few different shots i managed to snag. below is my favorite indoor shot from the shoot.

i guess what i am trying to say is we all go through rough patches in whatever it may be. important thing is if you love it enough you can’t let anything get in the way, especially other people. now i am still not fully out of my creative funk, but i am getting there; i have faith in that. thanks goes to those who have stuck by and supported me and my photography, always encouraging me to pick up my camera even when i didn’t feel like it. friends support friends, and that little push helped me push myself. so what’s holding you back from doing the things you always wanted to do?

need the push? well this is it. do it.

above: outside shots front the shoot

also be sure to check out my talented friends’ instagrams

@nahoniokalani
@thomas.timeless.photography