I’m curious – how do you take time out when you start to feel pulled in too many directions?
I’d been feeling pretty burnt out in the run-up to Christmas. That’s a slightly uncomfortable thing to admit, especially when I genuinely love what I do. Add the festive season into the mix – family, logistics, noise, joy, chaos – and while it’s wonderful, one thing it absolutely isn’t is a mental break.
The problem is, I’m not someone who can just sit and unwind.
I don’t recharge by stopping, I recharge by doing.
Which is why the Society of Photographers London Convention couldn’t have come at a better time.
This was my third time attending the Convention, and I spent five full days in London making the most of everything it had to offer. Learning, listening, watching, absorbing, reconnecting.
It was a chance to catch up with friends in the industry and make new connections. To dust off old skills and layer in new ones. To remind myself why I love this work in the first place.
I attended ten masterclasses in total, covering everything from lighting techniques to TikTok, AI to the importance of “feeding your eyes” with the right kind of creative input. That last one really stuck with me – creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and what we consume matters far more than we like to admit.
I even sat in on the print judging despite the fact I don’t currently have any plans to enter a photography competition., Watching the process, listening to how images were dissected, discussed and debated was fascinating. It sharpened my eye in ways I didn’t expect.
So here I am now – back at home, slightly tired in body, but with a head full of ideas and more energy than I’ve had in months.
And it’s reminded me of something important:
Sometimes we don’t need to step away from work entirely.
Sometimes we need to step sideways from it.
A change of perspective. A different kind of focus. Space to learn rather than produce. To absorb rather than output. That’s often where the real reset happens.
Huge thanks to the brilliant masterclass speakers, and to the lovely friends I have within the industry who I was able to catch up with!
If you’re curious, here’s a very quick overview of what I got up to while I was there:
