It’s tempting to assume you want a brand new piece of images gear to grow to be extra artistic. While typically it’s true, (macro images, for instance, is far simpler with a macro lens) creativity works greatest inside restraints.
So, how do you turn into extra artistic with out shopping for extra gear? Here are some concepts to take you out of your consolation zone and offer you new expertise to grasp.
B. Find a brand new topic
Every photographer has a favourite topic and others that they photograph not often, if in any respect. For me, that might be any sort of nonetheless life, together with meals images. The first problem is to discover a new topic. It must be one thing that you simply haven’t photographed earlier than. Even higher if it helps you study new images methods.
For instance, are you a panorama photographer who has by no means taken photos at night? Then set your self the problem of taking some nice photographs of the night time sky. You gained’t want any additional gear – simply the will and drive to study a brand new talent.
Once you’ve discovered a brand new topic ask your self the query, “How can I take this to the subsequent degree?”
For occasion, in my case (utilizing the sooner instance of meals images) it’s straightforward to go to a restaurant or cafe, order some meals, and take a photograph of it. There’s hardly any work concerned because it’s the chef’s duty to make the dish look good, as this photograph under exhibits.
It’s so much more durable to do the identical your self at residence. Preparing the dish from scratch and presenting it correctly so it seems to be scrumptious is rather more troublesome. But you’ll study much more about meals images from the method.
P. Find themes and tasks
A theme is a connection between photographs. One method to determine the themes operating by way of your work is to select your favourite 10-20 pictures taken within the final 12 months. Examine your decisions analytically. What topics are you photographing probably the most? What lenses do you employ most frequently? Are your favourite pictures colour, black and white, or a mix of the 2?
You are in search of themes that assist you to determine what you need to photograph subsequent. When I did this train I noticed that two themes dominated – lengthy exposures and street photography. This is a long exposure photograph from Spain.
This is a road portrait taken at Carnival in Cadiz.
As a outcome, this coming yr I will discover some new places for lengthy publicity images, and extra cultural occasions to photograph. The concept is to construct a physique of labor round an fascinating theme. The project will grow as you pursue it.
O. Find new mild
Let’s say you’re a portrait photographer who works in natural light. You wish to be on location together with your fashions on the finish of the day and work through the golden hour.
If that is you, what different forms of mild might you shoot in? If you usually shoot outdoor, what about an indoor location? If you want engaged on sunny days, how a few cloudy or wet day?
I lived in Wellington, New Zealand for a number of years. There have been solely two or three foggy days throughout that point. It was a brand new sort of sunshine for me – right here’s one of many photographs I took within the fog.
You can apply this to any style of images. Think about the kind of mild you favor to work in, after which change it round by making an attempt one thing totally different.
A. Use the fallacious lens
The earlier train of choosing your greatest photographs from the earlier 12 months ought to spotlight the lenses you favor to make use of in your favourite topics. What occurs for those who attempt one thing totally different?
The concept right here is to make use of the fallacious lens for the job, or no less than a lens you’re not accustomed to utilizing.
Imagine, for instance, that you’re a photographer who solely ever makes use of telephoto lenses to shoot portraits. What occurs in case you use a wide-angle lens as an alternative? How are you able to make it work? Yes, the portrait will look horrible for those who get too near your mannequin with a large-angle lens. But what about taking a extra setting strategy? The mannequin turns into a part of the scene and the broad-angle lens helps you seize it. The train will pressure you to see in another way and discover artistic methods to make use of unfamiliar gear.
But what about taking a extra environmental strategy? The mannequin turns into a part of the scene and the broad-angle lens helps you seize it. The train will drive you to see in another way and discover artistic methods to make use of unfamiliar gear. I made this portrait with a 24mm lens. It’s okay, however the distortion means it in all probability wasn’t one of the best lens to make use of.
Here’s one other photograph, taken with the identical lens. I used it to photograph the mannequin in a pure surroundings and it labored a lot better.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these artistic workouts will assist you to grow to be a greater photographer. Feel free to adapt and mix them. For occasion, what occurs should you shoot a brand new topic with the incorrect lens in a new sort of sunshine? You gained’t know till you attempt it, however you’ll have enjoyable discovering out.
If you loved this text and want to study extra concerning the artistic aspect of images then please take a look at my e book Mastering Photography.
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