Homebody Photo Tip: Get Creative

            As you get further into your photography there may come a time where you feel dissatisfied with your pictures.  You’re coming along in your skills but everything seems to have that “same old, same old” look about it. 

            Lately I’ve begun to have this same feeling: Like I’ve hit a plateau.  I’ve been on the look out for ways to spark creativity.  There are several ideas that seem to be consistently recommended to boost your photographic creativity.  I’d like to share a few with you.

1. Commit to taking a period of time, say one month, and only shoot with one lens.  Shoot a variety of subjects with this one lens.  For example, if you have a “prime” lens, say a 50 mm lens, just shoot with this for a month.  If you only have a “kit” zoom lens, commit to shooting at only one focal length for the period of time you select.
2. Commit to learning and using manual mode for a period of time (perhaps not a month!).  Manually set the aperture, shutter speed and ISO for each shot you take.  This will force you to slow down and think about each shot and what you want to communicate.
   
3. Shoot what you know intimately.  Your family, your job, your hobbies or interests, your community, your pets--anything that you know well.  Try to communicate the essence of your subject or tell its story.
4. Shoot what you don’t know:  Take something you are unfamiliar with and learn about it and then communicate what you learned with your camera.
5. “Steal like an artist.”  This is actually the title of a great book by Austin Kleon (Workman Publishing, 2012).  There really isn’t much that has not already been done by the people that have come before us.  What is new is us, and our unique perception of the world.  Study the work that has been done by the greats (Ansel Adams perhaps); and the not-so-greats that you admire.  Adopt their ideas and approaches but put your own unique perception, or “spin,” on it to make it your own.

            To spark my creativity, I’ve decided to take the month of October and only shoot with a prime lens, an 85 mm short telephoto lens.  I’ve also started two projects, both long exposure oriented.  The accompanying photo, My Shed, is a trial shot of one project:  Landscapes that are taken at night and only illuminated by moonlight.  I can’t wait to see the results.

            Kings Park Photo Club:  Our next meeting will be on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 7 PM at the Kings Park Library.  We will be talking about doing another photo op like our sunset/moonrise shoot last month.  Come on down and bring a friend!