Discussion: Creativity in Photography
This article is more of a discussion about photography as a medium rather than as a guide on how to be creative.
Creativity is not something that can be taught, it is an inherent trait that everyone possesses.
The difference between people is how we channel it and how we access it. People that think they are not creative simply haven’t found a way of accessing it.
Photography is often regarded as a documentary medium, which is the way a lot people use it (including myself).
But accessing the creative aspect is what we strive for as photographers.
Pushing beyond merely recording and adding a piece of ourselves to the image.
Turning the photograph into art is what most photographer’s want with their work.
Bit of Background
My introduction to photography was in my secondary school (high school for anyone from over the pond). In the UK, in secondary school instead of having one diploma to say you have graduated, we go through a series of qualifications. (Kind of like what happens in Harry Potter with the OWLS and NEWTS).
These qualifications are divided by the subject studied and you get an individual grade for each, which will determine what you study next and which will ultimately determine what you study at university. The absolutely amazing thing is that although there a some compulsory subjects (english, science, mathematics), you also get to choose some subjects. The choices can be vary varied and one of mine was photography.
My photography class in secondary school was taught by my art teacher. It was a really fun course but as I mentioned in my article ‘What the Hell is Depth of Field?’ we didn’t go over a lot of the technical details but it was a great introduction. The first few classes we looked at how the camera works and some of the basic settings.
The next few were about learning printing basics. We were extremely lucky and had a darkroom. So we learnt how to make prints by making pictogram silhouettes of everyday objects.
Then we had assignments, we got a subject and we had to interpret what to capture and how to capture it.
The best part of this class is that although we didn’t learn a lot of the technical aspects of photography, we did channel the creativity of art into creating images that fit into a project.
Being unconstrained by the technicalities meant that we could explore the ideas and open our minds to a different way of thinking and use the camera simply as a medium for art rather than as a documenting tool.
Photography as a Means
Often photography is seen as a documentation tool, recording what the viewer sees but the truly great photographers move beyond that to record not only what they see but what they feel.
This is what all photographers should be striving for. Evoking emotion with images. That idea can be applied to any sub-genre of photography: from landscapes to portraits. Emotion and connection to the subject will always set an image far above those that are found on social media nowadays.
Don’t get me wrong, social media is useful, but I personally feel that a lot of what is popularised through those channels are idealised fantasies that lack a connection to the artistic root of photography and have just morphed into advertising mantra: “I want an image like this because that’s how everyone else does it and it means that everyone will like me and I can become an influencer and be the next Kim Kardashian.”
This removes the impetus to develop photography as art. As a thing in itself.
That being said there are a million amazing photographers out there on social media trying to make a following to give them clients or customers, so that they can earn a living. The struggling artist ideal is still live and well and is rampant in the world of photography.
Especially in the age where photography is sold at stupidly low prices benefitting only the large corporations that use hard earned work to further their own agendas. The big advertising companies and stock photography websites have reduced the cost of a photograph to the fraction of the second that is needed to take the image, disregarding the time it has taken to find, compose, set up and take the image, as well as the cost of the equipment necessary to get those high quality images.
This has really impacted creativity in photography because there are some images that by a miracle manage to earn the photographer some actual money, and so people see that and start copying his style diluting the market again.
But it can also encourage creativity.
By thinking outside of the box you could be that photographer to actually earn some money from a single stock photo.
Clouded Mind
Getting back to what I was saying above, during my photography classes at school we missed a lot of the technical details, but this allowed our minds to venture beyond:
“is this image going to be sharp?”
“Have I considered my depth of field?”
“is there a foreground to give interest?”
And all the other questions that float around in an amateur photographer’s mind. We were focusing on composition and subject and that was it.
We set the settings the camera told us and hoped it would look alright. This lead to some amazing images but also a lot of crap.
As I enjoyed photography a lot though, I started to read books and articles outside of school and began to learn some of the technical aspects. Article titles like “get the perfect sharp image” and “choose the right aperture for portraits” made me realise there were some gaps in my knowledge.
So I read the techniques and I read everything I could get my hands on. But this had a negative impact on my photography!
Instead of taking images, I was worrying about composition, settings, aperture, iso, grain, depth of field, motion blur, etc. I needed this new lens because it was sharper according to article x and I needed this camera body to really make it because of article y.
It stunted me.
I began obsessing over the smallest details and problems that I couldn’t take any more photos. I couldn’t think creatively about composition because I was too busy trying to remember everything that I read and how do I use it.
It’s only been in the last couple of years that I have managed to absorb all of the information that I had taken in and push to be more creative again. I missed my ignorance as the saying goes ‘ignorance is bliss’ and it is very true in the world of photography.
Now though, I can think about those technical aspects in a fraction of the time and come to a decision about the photograph that I am going to capture. Whether or not it will be like others work is not as important as it was when I had a clouded mind.
That being said knowing the technical aspects will necessarily increase your productivity in photography, if at first it decreases your creativity.
Knowing what to do quickly can mean you get the image a lot quicker. And when I was younger most of the time my images were a bit hit and miss, where if I had known the technical aspects I would have had more images of use.
Being Creative
As I said I struggled with photography for a long time. I got disheartened by all the amazing images on social media and in general circulation, and I thought I could never make those images.
My mind became clouded wondering what settings to use for what situation and composition techniques to make the most of what I see with my eyes. It came to the point where I hardly ever used my camera because there was always something wrong, instead of there always being something ‘right’.
I focused on the negative rather than the beauty that attracted me to photography in the first place.
What changed for me was turning off my brain. I know. It’s a hard thing to do. But just stop thinking about all that stuff for that moment and capture what you are seeing to the best of your capability.
That helped me develop confidence in photography again and which lead to me being more creative in my pursuits as well.
Assignments and projects from books such as ‘The Photographer’s Playbook’ pushed me to go out and take photos, and not care about every detail. I am trying to use that inspiration in my challenges section with assignments for you to go out and have a go at, such as ‘Photography Challenge: Trees’ in which I challenge you to use trees as your subject in a mini-project. I will even have a look at your images and give some advice, and discussion to try and develop your creativity and photography.
Conclusion
As I mentioned above this was a discussion about creativity in photography, the things that can stifle it and how I have developed as a photographer.
Reading this I hope that you have drawn some conclusions about your own photography and know that there will always be ways to get back to that creative soul you had when you first started.
That’s what the challenges section is all about. Use those ideas and assignments as stepping stones back to your own creativity and as inspiration for new projects.
That’s the aim at least.
Learn the technical aspects of photography because they will help you make stronger images, such as the rule of thirds and depth of field, but don’t get bogged down by them and continue to get some images! The most important part of photography is to have fun!
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Written by Daniel Long
Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.
