Limitation Exercises for Dog Photographers

Photography is a subtractive art. 

You start with the entire world in front of you - with it’s endless combinations of subjects, locations, weather, and light. 

The question is - with the whole world in front of you, what are you going to aim your lens at?

Speaking of lenses. Which lens are you going to shoot with? What camera body should you use? Are you using off camera flash? If so, which flash? Which modifier? 

The more you think about it, the more you realize that a single photograph is made up of 1,000 tiny micro decisions. Some of those decisions are difficult to make, while others are made nearly subconsciously. And it’s not one single decision, but the combination of all those decisions that make up the look, or the style, of a single photo.

With all possible decisions laid out in front of you, it’s easy for the simple act of pressing your shutter to become overwhelming. 

I’m sure some people revel in the endless possibilities, but if you’re anything like me, you may find that was actually helps spark creativity is the elimination of possibilities. 

“No way man, you can’t hold me down!” - You right now. 

Now hear me out, and let me introduce you to…. *drumroll*

Limitation Exercises! 

Before I was a photographer, I was a musician (if you consider guitar players musicians). I studied hard, put in countless, endless hours of practice, played in bands - I even graduated from Berklee College of Music. #studentloans 

With music (just like photography) it’s incredibly easy to fall into the trap of doing the same old thing over and over again, with your work becoming tired, stale, and recycled over time - and whenever my guitar playing would grow stale, I loved using limitation exercises to help spark creativity. 

A limitation exercise involves limiting some aspect of your creative process. Essentially, you’re taking options off the table, forcing your brain to stop choosing and start working with the limited options available to you.

Here’s an example I used when practicing guitar: I limited myself to using just 4 notes to create an epic rock solo. So, what could I do with only 4 notes? Quite a lot, it turns out. When limited to such a small number of possibilities, I found myself thinking less, and playing all sorts of interesting things I would never normally play - truly pushing the boundaries of my creativity. 

Now - to the task at hand. How do you apply limitation exercises to your dog photography? 

Well, short answer - you have to find something to limit about your work, and you have to stick with it.

For example: What if you pledged to shoot nothing but silhouette images for one month? 

You’ll show up on location with your dog model, and have to figure out the best spot for a silhouette. 

You shoot it, nail it, look around, and say “Hey, we’ve only been here for 15 minutes. What else am I going to shoot?”

Knowing that you’re limited to strictly silhouettes is going to force your brain to move in a direction it’s not used to. 

Now you’re thinking “Oh, I wonder if I could do a silhouette action shot? I wonder what pose would look best for a dog and owner silhouette shot? I wonder if I can pull off a silhouette shot in the middle of the day? How about a silhouette shot with a reflection?”

Do you see where this is headed?

By the time the month is over, you’re the master of silhouettes - and at your next client shoot, you can nail an epic silhouette shot with ease. 

As far as limitations go - it’s not just types of shots that are on the table. What if you own an 85mm lens, but you rarely use it. You’re always falling back on your 24-70mm, or your 70-200m. They’re safe, and the 85mm scares you. 

Well…It’s time for a limitation exercise with your 85mm. Maybe you strictly use that lens for a single shoot. Maybe you use that lens exclusively for a month? 

I kid you not, I shot with a 50mm lens for a FULL YEAR as part of a limitation exercise. The result? Not only did my shoots become quicker and easier, but I finally felt like a real style was starting to emerge. A consistency between my photos that simply wasn’t there before. 

Styles come from repetition. Don’t believe me? 

How many Kaylee Greer photographs are wide angle, outdoors, with off camera flash?

How many William Wegman photos feature Weimaraners? 

How many Seth Casteel photos are shot underwater? 

Repetition. 

It’s hard to get the needed repetition if you’re showing up to your shoot completely scatterbrained - unsure of what lens to use, what type of lighting to use, what kinds of shots to use. 

Limitation exercises help you focus, get that much needed repetition under your belt, and help your style emerge. 

Now for the truly hard part: No one is going to force you to do this. You have to do it, and you have to be strict. 

 The slightly less hard part - choosing the limitation. Again, nobody is going to choose it for you. 

Here’s a random list of possible limitations if it helps get your brain moving. 

• Silhouettes only
• Centered photos only
• Manual focus only
• Midday light only
• Black and white only 
• Available light at night only
• Slow shutter speeds only (like 1/30th for motion blur)
• Reflections only
• Negative space only
• No direct eye contact
• No low angles
• No natural backgrounds

There’s infinitely more possibilities -so spend some time brainstorming! 

Limitation exercises are a massively underutilized creative tool, and I implore you - if you ever feel stuck, try this. From experience, it works.

If you decide to give this a try, I’d love to hear about the experiment. Talk about it in the Dog Breath Photo Society, show off your work, tell us about your struggles, and your victories! 

(Oh, and what if you only used doors as backgrounds?)