Have you been feeling uninspired or a recent lack of enthusiasm for taking photos? Sometimes we just need a few creative photography ideas to boost our energy again.
Just like any passion or job, eventually we have to find new ways to challenge ourselves and our work. Experimenting with photography projects is the perfect way to do just that! Let’s dive into the top 10 ways to boost your creative photo ideas today!
What is Creative Photography?
You can think of creative photography as a specific genre of photography where the artist portrays a certain mood, theme, or idea! Just like anything artistic, creative photography is thinking outside the box of norms and experimenting with ideas that may or may not work.
But that’s the fun of it! The most important thing is to let your mind wander. Take yourself on a photography date with your camera and when something pops out or inspires you, try to find a way to capture it differently.
Creative Photography Ideas
If you need some help getting started, check out our list of 10 ideas below to jump-start your creative techniques.
Tilt-Shift Effect
A tilt-shift lens purposely distorts the focus plane. Using this type of lens, it’s easy to create different perspectives. This may feel difficult at first, but put your creative photography mind to work and you will soon create some interesting images. The trick is to keep moving your subjects around until you create an abstract or interesting composition.
Slow Shutter Speed
Slowing your shutter speed is a fun way to change the mood of your image and at the top of our list of creative photography ideas. Many photographers use a slow shutter speed to freeze water or create movement in their images. It works great in portraiture as well. Have your subjects stay perfectly still while city traffic or other people move around them. Play with motion blur and long exposure to get the best results.
Combine Photos
When you combine or overlap photos you can create a completely new and interesting composition. Using Photoshop or Lightroom you can easily overlay images inside one another to create thought-provoking works of art! Another idea is to take many old photos and combine them in Photoshop to create a family tree or tell a story.
Macro Photography
Many times we shoot our images from the same perspective. To challenge yourself and think outside the box, try getting in extra close to your subjects. Macro lenses are great for this. They allow you to get in close to nature, people, and objects to show details we often miss with the human eye. Many photographers like to rent a lens from the local camera store when testing new creative photography ideas such as this.
Self Portraits
As a photographer, often we forget to get our own photo taken. It’s important to get a feel for what it’s like to be photographed. Try setting up a tripod and getting artistic with yourself! You can use costumes to play characters in your photos or experiment with light and objects to create a new theme. You can even go as wild as Salvador Dali throwing cats and water!
Night Photography
We often avoid night photography as photographers because it can be a bit more difficult to shoot. But that means it’s the perfect photo challenge as well! Use slow shutter speeds, a tripod, and head out to the wilderness to attempt shooting stars and the moon!
Depth of Field
Your subject will always pop better by playing with depth of field. Even more, bokeh is a great tool to create more interesting compositions. Set your camera at its lowest aperture such as f/2.8 and see how the bokeh changes. Take your aperture back up to put everything back in focus.
Painting Photography
Turn your photography into paintings! Easier than you think! There are many apps for your phone and tools in Photoshop to easily turn your photography into a painting within one click! Your photos will take on a whole new life when seen through a different medium.
Crystal Ball Photography
Crystal balls are not expensive and easy to find on Amazon for around $25 USD. Trying placing your subjects inside the ball. Or rolling it across water. Sunset and sunrise are especially beautiful while framed inside a crystal ball.
Reflections
Keep your eye out for reflective surfaces. They are all around you and you may be missing them. Look for puddles in the street, windows, buildings, or even the human eye. When you start looking for reflections, you won’t be able to unsee them.
Conclusion
Creative photography is an important part of our daily photography lives. Just like any type of creative process, they allow our minds to play and give something back to the world. This is is why you should go out and start playing and creating today. Your photography and happiness will surely improve.
Photo Credits
All photos are from Unsplash
Contributing Author Bio
Krystal Kenney
Krystal Kenney is an award-winning photographer residing in Paris, France. She has been photographing for over 10 years and enjoys teaching others about the craft. She spends most days shooting events, portraits, and weddings around Paris and working on writing new books.
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