I don’t think there is any skill harder to develop than the ability to stay motivated. No matter what you are doing, taking photographs, building your latest MOC or writing the next great novel, staying motivated is hard.
It’s easy to get distracted by day to day obligations, or worse yet just quitting altogether, because creating art is hard. But there is a trick to not quitting, make friends with people who share your passion. Surround yourself with supportive excited people who like to do what you do. Get together on a regular basis and share what you’ve been working on. Geek out, it’s fun!
I know that toy photography is a rather specialized photo niche and Instagram can be a great substitute for a local photo club. It can function like the most amazing and supportive group of fellow photographers you could ever hope for. Plus by getting in the habit of posting once a day, every other day or whatever you can commit to, you will be getting better just by shooting consistently. It is also a great place to make friends who share your passion for toy photography.
So get out there and shoot some photos with your camera, your phone, your fancy DSLR…it doesn’t matter what the photo looks like. Some days your photos will be awesome, other days, not so much. It goes with the territory. Post your photo to Instagram, get some feed back and do it again tomorrow. It’s doing the work that is important. Of course the real fun begins when you look back over your feed and see how much you have grown.
And THAT will feel much better than quitting.
Do you find it hard to stay motivated?
How do you stay motivated?
I totally agree with you on the importance of having friends who share your passion and being part of a community of like-minded people. Last fall, my publisher dropped me, and this March my agent told me she was retiring from handling projects for children and teens. This is pretty much the story of how writing careers die. I started putting in applications for alternative careers that would have precluded my being able to write fiction (because money), and the thing that most broke my heart about doing it was leaving all the friends I’ve made over the years. Fortunately, one of those wonderful friends brought one of my manuscripts, the one my agent loved but believed to be unsaleable, to her editor at a smaller publisher. The editor loved it too, was willing to take a chance on it, and will be bringing it out next year. Friends are so crucial for an artist. They offer support and encouragement, and when everything seems lost, they always seem to come through.