Photography is the same as design. It takes talent, and a good eye. Its typical for a photographer to take hundreds of shots and only be satisfied with one or a few. When it comes to photography, especially if you're using digital, go snap happy. Getting different shots of the same subject gives you options down the road on how you want to portray the image.

When it comes to assignments being hard to get around, I know what you mean. I am currently an Digital Art/Photography major in college (jay28: take some traditional upper level photo classes and its not quite as easy), so I've had my fair share of boring topics. The thing you have to do is figure out how to make the topic your own. Something like landscape photography could mean so many things. I work a lot in the surreal and abstract with my art, and sometimes in my photography. I once did a landscape photo in abstract using a wall and street lights to create a fake landscape in black/white using different exposure times (click here)

If you really get interested in photography, learning the tips and tricks of the trade can help you be more creative just in the fact that you can look at something in front of you, and imagine 20 different ways to capture that same image. To me, thats just fun.