Tips to Boost Photographic Creativity and Other Basic Photographic Tips

This article provides some basic and perhaps even obvious photography tips and suggestions to help you get a good shot and become more creative in your photographic efforts when out in the field.

A part of that creativity may be in choosing a particular lens, or changing your perspective in relation to the subject, as a part of looking at and “seeing” your subject.

It is recommended first of all that when you obtain new equipment that you first check it out before you head out to shoot the Real McCoy. Even a backyard safari can be a good place to check your new camera equipment or gizmo.

Make sure the equipment works! Become familiar with controls, buttons, electronic readouts, moving parts, etc.

You don’t want to be fiddling with unfamiliar controls or trying to consult your operator’s manual while the rare three eyed pink polka dotted tree marsupial is doing equally rare juggling tricks in the forest on your once in a life time trip to the Daintree area in northeast Australia.

When you first see a subject that you like examine what it is that you truly like about the subject. What is it that caught your eye? What do you want to capture in the photo and show to others?

All this is assuming of course that your subject isn’t fleeting and that you aren’t in some precarious situation where you don’t have the luxury of time. For instance, you have a case of both fleeting and precariousness when you are standing on a railroad track and a speeding train is bearing down on you.

For illustration let’s say you drive by a scene of a huge stack of hay bales in a field on a cloudy day and the scene catches your eye. Is there something about the clouds in the sky combined with the haystacks that you want to photograph or was it the pattern you noticed in the stacks of hay bales that you really want to highlight?

Maybe the green grass field leading up to the haystacks is really what caught your eye and the haystacks are a secondary subject. Perhaps there is something less tangible about the scene that you want to emphasize like the great expanse of this prairie landscape.

These are a few observations about the scene that you can make in trying to conclude exactly what it is about the subject that attracted you to it as a photo subject. Sometimes it is very obvious other times it is not, but this exercise is valuable practice in learning to see. Practice creativity by taking the time to look over a subject.

There is a phrase that states, “Keep it simple stupid”. The acronym for that is KISS. Sometimes those can make some of the best shots. In reference to the haystacks above the KISS shot may be a close up of the stacks showing only the texture in the hay or some isolated section of the scene before you.

Always look for the KISS in a subject. I’ll discuss techniques to use in getting the KISS shot later in this article.

Another consideration when trying to “see” your subject is to vary your viewpoint or perspective. This can be done by either you physically moving or viewing the subject with a different lens. The ability to change lenses on your SLR(single lens reflex) camera lends itself to creativity.

Quite often your movement may be limited by your proximity to the subject and the nature of the surrounding area. Sometimes your back may be literally against the wall or some natural or manmade structure could prevent you from moving closer to, further from, or around a subject.

If you can’t get “where you need to be” wide angle lenses will help you get further back while telephoto lenses can be used to get you closer in the figurative sense.

If physical limitations, real or imposed(ie. 60 degree muddy banks, washed out bridges, or private property) don’t prevent you from doing so then by all means as a part of that attempt in seeing exercise then move around the subject and examine several angles. Changing lenses and changing angles are opportunities to be creative.

Don’t forget to consider high and low perspectives. Walk back beyond your subject if there are trees or other structures in the area and see if you can find some good framing. Look for reflections, leading lines, pattern, and other elements(see my article entitled “Eye Catching Elements That Improve Your Photos” in the Tips and Techniques section of my site) to incorporate in the photo of your subject to enhance the picture.

Also, view your subject with the camera held both vertically and horizontally. Check the subject using different lenses while you are scouting about, all the while watching for distractions that may be in the viewfinder like wayward tree limbs, garbage, distant telephone lines, and such.

For instance, you don’t want an empty beer can floating down the stream of your serene and pristine river as you snap the shot. Yeah, I know I hear the Photoshoppers now saying, “No problema!”, but why remove it if you don’t have to.

Always keep in mind that as you are “seeing” watch for that KISS shot too. You may even decide not to shoot your original subject in doing so.

For instance, perhaps the shadow being cast by your subject is more interesting the way its contours cast themselves on the nearby surface. Or perhaps the fence that you were going to use as a leading line for your chosen subject is a photo in itself simply because of the pattern and the shadows it is casting on the sand.

Isolating a part of your subject can make an interesting photo too. Think about closing in on some aspect of your subject that looks appealing. Perhaps it is not the red barn that looks so compelling, but rather the way the light strikes the horse collar hung on the side of the barn that makes a more interesting composition. That’s KISS!

Time of day, the season, and weather can all be factors that change the appearance of the same subject. I know in a lot of cases we don’t have the luxury of being able to come back to a subject when the light or subject itself has changed due to weather, seasons, or other factors.

Experiment with these factors when you have the chance to see how they affect a subject. We often tire of shooting some of the same areas, especially locally, but the changing seasons, time of day, and weather can open up new opportunities.

Check the following two photos to see what a difference the season and viewpoint can have on a subject.

Seasonal changes can affect the color in tree foliage, shrubs, and grasses which gives an overall different look to the terrain. Fall light casts long shadows earlier in the evening than summer and the low angle of the light can be seen most of the day. Winter snow itself can bring an obvious and dramatic change to a scene.

Aside from snow, weather like rain brings darker clouds and overcast days which change the light on a scene. Rain alone can give subjects a shiny reflective surface. The sunlight that appears after a rainstorm along with lingering clouds can change the daylight dramatically or even cause the appearance of rainbows.

These are just a few examples of how seasons, weather, and time of day can affect a subject.

I hope these tips help you to become more creative and take better photos. Now, get out there and practice!

authored by Lon Britton