That’s what this article is all about: enhancing your creativity and learning some techniques you can use to put a stamp of originality on every image you create.
Enhance Your Creativity
Great photographs are made by creative photographers who stretch the envelope. You can enhance your creativity by trying new things. Schedule a time each week when you experiment with new techniques or new equipment. Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, calls this an “Artist’s Date.” When I do this, I limit myself to one or two lenses, and I often visit familiar territory. When you photograph a familiar place and the goal is to enhance your creativity, do things differently. Shoot from a different vantage point and use a different lens than you’d normally use for the subject.When I was out on a recent “Artist’s Date,” I spotted this colorful mask while visiting the Ringling Museum. Normally I’d photograph something like this with a 50mm lens. Instead I put my Lensbaby Composer with the Double Glass Optic on the camera with and composed the scene through the camera viewfinder.
Look at things in a new way to enhance your creativity.Great photos always inspire me to get out the camera and take some pictures. Great photos can also help you become more creative. When you see a really great photo, dissect the image and try to figure out what the photographer did to make it so compelling. Was it a camera technique, or did the photographer do some editing after the fact to make the image pop?
You can find great photos on the Internet in lots of places. One of my favorite places is Photo.net. Here, you’ll find many types of inspirational photographs — from portraits to drop-dead gorgeous landscapes. You can even join Photo.net and upload your own images. Next time you need something to spark your creativity, look at some great photographs!
You can enhance your creativity while you’re taking pictures. Stretching the envelope is a wonderful way to create interesting photographs.
The following points can help you stretch your creativity:- Simplify the scene to its lowest common denominator. A great way to do this is to use a large aperture (small f-stop value) and focus your camera on the most important part of the scene. Or you can compose your picture so the viewer’s eye is drawn to a single element in the image.
- Look for patterns. Patterns are everywhere. For instance, migrating birds in flight create a unique pattern; scattered leaves in the gutter create interesting random patterns; and flower petals create compelling symmetrical patterns. Of course, nothing says you have to compose an image symmetrically.
- Don’t fall in love with your first shot. Before moving on, think of other ways you can capture the scene. Perhaps you can move to a different vantage point, switch lenses, or select a different aperture. Milk a scene for all it’s worth and remember to look down. An interesting photograph may be beneath your feet.
- Explore your favorite subject and create a theme of photographs. For example, if you’re a cat lover, photograph your cat and then photograph the neighborhood cats. When you photograph the same subjects or places frequently, you think of new ways to create interesting pictures. Your creative juices start flowing and before you know it, you see your favorite subject in a different way. Photographing your favorite subjects and photographing them often helps you master your camera.
Compose Your Images
A photographer’s job is to create a compelling image, an image that makes the viewer take more than a casual glance. When you compose an image properly, you draw your viewer into the image. Lots of rules exist for composing a photo; I mention many of them in this section. Your job as a photographer is to figure out which rule best suits your subject. This section is designed to make you think about composition when you look through the viewfinder of your Nikon D780. You can use the camera viewfinder grid or the live view framing grid as a visual reference.When you compose an image, look for naturally occurring curves that you can use to draw your viewer into the photograph. Curves are everywhere in nature: Birds have curved necks, and roads and paths have curves. The trunk of a tree curves to cope with Mother Nature like the trees in the tundra regions of Rocky Mountain National Park. Look for naturally occurring curves and compose your image so that the curve draws the viewer’s eye into the picture.
Many photographers take pictures in landscape orientation (where the image is wider than it is tall). When you’re photographing a scene like a waterfall, a person, or anything that’s taller than it is wide, rotate the camera 90 degrees. This is known as portrait orientation. My photograph of a brown pelican on a post is an example of shooting in portrait format. Other compositional elements are in this picture: The curve of the bird’s body draws you to the bird’s eye.
Using curves as part of your composition.Many photographers place the horizon line smack-dab in the middle of the picture. Boring! When you’re photographing a landscape, take a deep breath and look at the scene. Where is the most important part of the scene? That part of the scene should occupy roughly two-thirds of the image. For example, if you’re photographing a mountain, the mountain base should be in the lower third of the image. When you’re photographing a sunset, place the horizon line in the lower third of the image to draw your viewer’s attention to the sky. In this figure, I wanted to draw the viewer’s eye to the majestic peaks from Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park, so I placed the horizon line in the lower third of the image, and the majestic mountains dominate the image.
Placing the horizon line.When you’re composing an image, you want to draw the viewer’s eye to a center of interest in your photo. In a composition rule known as the Rule of Thirds, imagine your scene is divided into thirds vertically and horizontally, creating a grid. Compose your picture so a center of interest intersects two gridlines. The grid you can enable in the viewfinder doesn’t quite get the job done, but it does give you a point of reference.
Be in the Moment
If you’re going to become a good photographer, you must learn to see photo opportunities. And when you see them, you need to make the best of that “Kodak moment” and capture some keeper photos on your memory card. To recognize subject matter that contains the raw material to create a good or perhaps great photograph, you must be observant, or as they say, “in the moment.”When you create images, don’t think about what you need to do this afternoon or tomorrow, and don’t put a time limit on your photo shoot. Observe what’s around you, imagine the type of images you can create with the subject matter before you, and create lots of images.
Just taking a quick glance into the viewfinder and then pressing the shutter-release button is not being observant. So many people go through life with blinders on. They drive to and from work without observing the beauty around them and the changes in their own neighborhoods or hometowns, and they always take the same routes whenever they go somewhere. Armed with your Nikon D780, a creative spirit, and the ability to see photo opportunities, you can capture some wonderful photographs of the town in which you live or any place you visit.Practice ’til Your Images Are Pixel-Perfect
If you use your camera only once in a blue moon, your pictures will show it. Letting your gear gather dust in the closet won’t help you become a better photographer. Instead, use your camera every chance you get. Consider joining a local camera club — networking with other photographers is a wonderful way to get new information! You may also find a mentor there. Simply strike up a friendship with an experienced photographer and tell her you want to tag along the next time she does a photo shoot.The best way to practice photography is to take pictures of people, places, and things that interest you every chance you get. Practice your photography when you see something that inspires you, such as a compelling image in a magazine or a picture on the web. With that inspiration fresh in your mind, grab your camera and take lots of pictures of similar subjects.
I often do a photo walkabout. I grab one or two lenses, my trusty camera, and my imagination and then drive to a part of town I haven’t photographed before. Then I park the car and start exploring. This photo walkabout gives me a chance to learn how to use a new piece of gear or experiment with a new technique, which enhances my creativity. This figure shows an image created with a 85mm macro lens.
Practice makes perfect.Become a Student of Photography
When you decide to seriously pursue photography, you can find a lot of resources. Great portrait photography is all around you. For instance, you’ll find portraits of everyone from celebrities to politicians to scientists in publications like The New York Times or The New Yorker, or you can find great pictures of places in magazines like Outdoor Photographer, National Geographic, or Travel+Leisure. You can find great pictures of things in magazine advertisements. Your local newspapers and magazines are also great resources for compelling images.When you see an interesting image in a magazine or newspaper, study it carefully. Try to determine the type of lens the photographer used. See if you can tell whether the photographer used a fast or slow shutter speed or a large or small aperture. Also try to determine how the photographer illuminated the subject. Did he use available light, camera flash, or fill flash? If you study great images carefully, you can get a rough idea of the settings the photographer used to take the picture.
Another great way to understand portrait photography is to study the masters. Here are just a few examples to get you started, depending on what kind of work you’re interested in:
- Portrait photography: Annie Leibovitz, Greg Gorman, Richard Avedon, or Arnold Newman
- Street photography: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz, or Helen Levitt
- Landscape photography: Ansel Adams or Clyde Butcher (affectionately known as the “Ansel Adams of the Everglades”)
You can also find lots of examples of great photography at Photo.net. Other photography sites such as Flickr and 500px can be sources for inspirational photography.
Never Leave Home without a Camera
You can’t ask a photo opportunity to wait while you go home to get your camera. Photo opportunities happen when you least expect them. So, never leave home without a camera!If you’re nervous about taking your expensive Nikon D780 with you wherever you go, I don’t blame you, and I actually feel the same way. That’s why I bought a relatively inexpensive point-and-shoot camera that I carry with me everywhere I go. When I see something I want to photograph, I reach in the glove box of my car, grab my trusty point-and-shoot camera, and snap the picture.
Nikon makes the CoolPix A1000, a wonderful point-and-shoot camera with professional features; it’s a great camera to augment your D780. The A1000 won’t fit in your shirt pocket, but it will fit in your pants pocket, coat pocket, or glove box.
If you’ve got an old cellphone, it’s hard to get good images. However, if you have a relatively new smartphone, you may have a very good camera. If your portable device doesn’t have a great camera, you can still use it to create a digital sketch of a scene you want to photograph at a later date with your D780. As photographer Chase Jarvis is fond of saying, “The best camera is the one that’s with you.”
Wait for the Light
If you don’t have the right light for your photograph, wait. The quality and quantity of light can change quickly, especially in the early morning or late afternoon. Light can make the difference between a mediocre photo and a WOW! photo of a scene. If you’re photographing in the middle of the day when the light is harsh, but there are clouds in the sky, wait a few minutes until a cloud eclipses the sun. If it’s a thick cloud, you’ll have very nice lighting. If it’s a thin cloud, the harsh light will be diffused to an extent, and you’ll get a better photograph than you would have without the cloud cover. In addition to buffering the light, a cloud drifting by can add interest to a photo. Clouds can be used as compositional elements, as well as light modifiers. Wait patiently until the cloud is in the right position to add interest to your photograph. The next time you arrive at a great scene but don’t have the right light, wait.Also, wait when you’re shooting candid pictures of people. Minutes may pass with nothing exciting happening, but don’t put away the camera yet. If you wait patiently, something will happen that piques your interest and compels you to press the shutter-release button.
Define Your Goals
Before you press the shutter-release button, get a clear idea of what the final image will look like. If you don’t have a goal for the picture or the photo shoot, you’re wasting your time, and if you’re photographing a person, you’re wasting your time and your subject’s time. Of course, the goal doesn’t have to be a great image. You can go on a photo shoot to experiment with new ideas, master a new technique, or experiment with a new lens. After all, practice makes perfect.When you know why you’re taking the picture, you’ll know what settings to use, how to light the photo, which lens to use, and so on. If you’re creating an image for a friend or a client, adhere to the standard rules of composition, but also take a couple of pictures using a unique vantage point or a slightly different composition than you’d normally use; you may end up with some interesting pictures your client will like. On the other hand, if you’re creating photographs for yourself, the sky’s the limit and you can get as creative as you want. You can shoot from different and unique vantage points, tilt the camera, break the composition rules, use an unorthodox lens, and so on.
Find Your Center of Interest
When you create a picture of a person or place, decide what the main point of interest is and how you’ll draw the viewer’s eye there. For some photos, the point of interest may be a person’s face or a landmark, such as the Lincoln Memorial. If you’re creating a portrait of a pianist, a picture of him playing the piano would be appropriate and your center of interest could be his hands on the keys.Sometimes, you have more than one center of interest. When this occurs, you can compose the photo in such a manner that one center of interest leads the viewer’s eye to the other center of interest. For example, if you’re photographing a cellist on a beach near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, you have two centers of interest — the musician and the bridge. Your job is to marry these two centers of interest to create a compelling image and guide your viewer’s eye through the photo. You also need to compose the photo so that one center of interest doesn’t dominate the other.
Locate the Best Vantage Point
The decision you make on your best vantage point depends on what you’re photographing. In most instances, you want to be eye to eye when photographing a person. The only exception to this rule is when you photograph a short adult. Take one picture at eye level, and then drop to one knee and point the camera up. If you’re photographing a landscape and the sky or a mountain is the dominant feature, choose a vantage point that causes the sky or mountain to dominate the upper two-thirds of the image. If you’re photographing a scene in which a lake or the ocean is the dominant feature, lie on your belly and compose the photo so that the water feature occupies the bottom two-thirds of the image. If the subject is a towering mountain range, position the camera so that the mountain and sky occupy the upper third of the image. Yup, the old Rule of Thirds is at work.Think about What Else Is in the Picture
A good photograph doesn’t come easy. To create good photographs, photograph what you love, condense the three-dimensional objects before you into a compelling two-dimensional image, and then arrange the elements in the frame to tell your story and show your viewers why you took the picture. Some photographers make the mistake of including too much information in their photographs. When you create an image, take time to see everything in the frame and ask the following questions:- Are the elements arranged in a manner that will convey my message? If not, move until the composition pleases you and does tell your story.
- Does everything need to be in the frame? If not, walk closer to your subject (also known as “foot zoom”) or move until the distracting elements are no longer in your picture.
- Are the elements on the left and right sides of the frame balanced? The balance can be light to dark, or it can be about the number of elements in each side of the frame. An unbalanced frame can also be useful. If you do create an image with an unbalanced frame, make sure the side with the heaviest visual impact is where you want to draw the viewer’s attention.
- Are there any distracting elements at the edge of the frame? Many photographers only pay attention to the center of the frame. Pay attention to everything in the frame including the edges, and get rid of the distracting elements to create better pictures.
Don’t just look at your viewfinder and snap the picture. Take a bit of time to see what’s in the frame and make sure the information you want to include in your photograph is in the frame and nothing more. You can always move to the left or right, crouch down, or move to a higher vantage point to get the image you envision and take care of any potential problems at the same time. Do this and you’ll create a much better image.
