Okay -- I'm one of those people who are never satisfied.  I want every sitting I do to be at least a little better than the previous ones.

I'm also a believer in a concept I call "pace", meaning how often you host a sitting.  If I host too many sittings in a row, I find that I just repeat old concepts from previous sittings.  If I host too few sittings, I find that I get a little too anxious for a sitting for me to try new things, and I fall back on old habits & past successes.  What I need is enough time between sittings to process the images, study them, and come up with new things to try next time.

But sometimes, I just got to take a break, put the camera down, and take a few weeks off, just to recharge my creative batteries.

Anyone else like me?  If you have to take a break, how long does it last?  What do you do to make sure that you are growing as an artist?

I am taking 6 weeks of as of July 1st. I have other projects that are more important to me. I let inspiration come on it's own, or not.

I seem to take about two years off after every two or three years of shooting.  Been that way for the last 20 anyway.

-Don

I need a break all the time, but I rarely take one.  I'm one of those people that if I act lazy for just a moment I'm afraid I won't start working again.

That and who am I kidding...I become a real son of a bitch when I'm sitting around doing nothing.

I'm in the middle of my break, helps keep me refreshed. Well, until next weekend, and then all hell breaks loose again.

I find such "down time" essential as the creative whirlwind times, it really about reenergizing, refocusing, allowing new stimulus into view. to others it may appear as if you're not doing anything, however it's important to the creative process.

I used to give myself some creative/spiritual breathing space by switching between myriad hats, continually working but rarely at one 'thing' for too long. I have over the years eliminated some of the hat wearing, and in so doing have discovered burnout which is much harder to recover from. Avoid burnout. Take a break!

Once a year for a week,i close my studio,leave the wife and kids at home,and fly to New York City and hit the photogalleries for insperation ,hang out with a couple of friends in Greenwich Village who are incredible photographers...when i get back home,i'm totally rejuvinated,motivated and ready to rock!
( i just finished shooting catalogue  for an international uniform company,800 tops and bottoms about 3 & 1/2 weeks in-studio work)get this NO MODEL,just a headless dummy on white seamless...though paid very well...it still sucked! New York City here i come!! so give yourself a break and rejuvinate!!

I have a little hiatus going on, but not by my choice.  First, I developed an occluded vein in my eye, which effected my vision -- it looked like a greasy smear over the lens of my glasses for my left eye, and that's the eye I habitually use to focus my camera.  Then, I broke my digital camera (those digital cameras just don't like studio strobes).  So, my productivity is very low. 

Well, the eye is mostly resolved, and I should be getting my camera back any day now, and I find that I'm not in a hurry to get back on the horse.  I'm a bit worried.

I agree with you... It's hard to take a really good shot and not do the same thing over and over.  I'd love to shoot everyday but get burned out.  I only need a few weeks to recoop though.  I broke my best camera 3 weeks ago and I should be getting it back soon.

It's forced me to take a break and I'm starting to feel the creative juices flowing again.

I get like that as a model, but I think that has to do with working 2 part time jobs and wanting to spend my days off in bed eating Honey Nut Cheerios from the box and watching Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

And surfing MM from my laptop.

~Keeper

Some down time is definitely good.  Sometimes, I definitely feel the need to take a week or two off from shooting.  Once I resume, I feel refreshed and filled with new bursts of creativity.

Shooting can be very mentally and physically draining, especially because we find it to be enjoyable and get by on adrenelin. My day job has never been as grueling.