Let's Talk About Creativity

[W.Y.Photo]

This is a subject I think about a lot. Being creative with photography, breaking the mold, and doing things with photography that no one else is doing.

How do you come up with ideas for your creative work in photography? Do you Think a lot about what to shoot next or do you let the ideas come as you are shooting? Coming from a background in Fine Art Photography this subject is really very intriguing to me.

Personally I do a little bit of both, sometimes I get ideas about what to shoot next by thinking long and hard about it and sometimes it seems like the ideas just flow right through me.


There are so many things to discuss when it comes to creativity.. How do you decide what to do to an image in post? Is there really anything that hasn't already been done with photography?

What do you all think about the creative process?

 

[pgriz]

It's a big world out there, and there are lots of people taking lots of pictures and making all kinds of images. To be "original" is to come across a combination that no-one else has yet put together. And that is, given the number of people doing art and photography, pretty unlikely. Frankly, I think that originality (for its own sake) is overblown. As for creativity, it happens when we venture out of our comfort zone, when we try something different for ourselves. Note that it may not be original (in the sense that no-one else has done it), but it may be new to you. I consider personal growth to be the benchmark against which I can measure my own journey.

There is a way to be creative without venturing into terra incognita, and it is to successfully set aside the cultural goggles that we all wear. This is easier to do for those that have lived on the boundaries of cultures, than those who live deeply inside it. But living at the boundaries is often not a comfortable place. Yet it is there where the dominant group-think and perception bias is shifted somewhat so that the same set of facts can be seen in a different way. It doesn't have to be political - the same group-think applies to esthetics, to perceptions of risk, to ideas of worth and belonging. And yet, to see things in a different way than the predominant culture can end up branding you as crazy or deluded. Or at least a lonely voice. Which means that to be "creative" you need to be different, but not so different that no-one knows what you're going on about.

Does that make sense?

 

[tsabary]

I'd say it changes a lot between different forms of photography. At this point in my progress as a photographer I enjoy street photography more than any other form of photography, so I'd say creativity comes into play by keeping my eyes open and looking for different situations/angles that may be interesting but are not obvious.

 

[Overread]

I see creativity as an extension of skills, tools, opportunity and experience.

Skills - the skills the photographer has. These can be technical and artistic skills as well as any that relate to the subject-area that they are photographing. As such the more skills a photographer can pick up in these three core areas the more options they give themselves to be creative with.
We can all see this early in our learning as we gain control over the camera - you learn how to control aperture and what it does - suddenly you've now got choices to make!


Tools - not just what tools a photographer has, but also understanding those tools. Knowing their limits, their capabilities, their suitability. These might not just be photography tools, but other support items that can bolster their choices and chances of getting a shot.
Again the more you have the more options you've got open to you.


Opportunity - a fairly catch-all term that sums up both the photographer finding and making sure that they get the opportunities to shoot where and what they choose to; but also the opportunities that present themselves. The unplanned, the better than planned, the different etc...


Experience - each of those sections above also relies upon experience. The photographer can have all the tools and all the theory skill; but they've got to have the experience to back all that up. The wider the range of experiences the more they can pre-visualise a shot; thus the more opportunity they have to think about the shot. Or maybe its that experience that teaches them to be prepared for the shot to appear just around the corner because they know this sports game well and the ball is going to go that way!





No single element of those 4 is the best. No single one is the "have this and win" element. Each is important in its own right.
Further each shot will be a combination of the above weighted differently - some will require high levels in all - some just in one area or two. Again this further proves that no single element is "the best" no single part is the most important. Thus one should aim to learn and experience as much as they can in as diverse a range of subjects and situations

 

[Ilovemycam]

I try to be exposed to creative work and learn form them. I'm not that creative myself. I wish I was, but my forte is just in bringing home strong documentary images. I just strive to do it somewhat creative.

 

[bribrius]

have to clear my mind first, of the clutter. And that almost never happens. Maybe next tuesday. i will have to take the phone off the hook, shut off the televisions, lock the wife and kids in a closet and somehow put some muffs on just to block the sound of screaming to set my mind at ease. Then on the second day, provided nothing has change from the first. i might be able to play a little classical music to put me at ease as my head continues to clear of the clutter. On the third day, again as long has nothing has changed from the first. i will stop the classical music and go to dead silence, for at least eight hours. Hopefully by this time no one has gotten out of the closet yet. At the end of that final day, my head cleared, feeling refreshed, i will have a few drinks of whiskey, put my camera in hand and walk out the door with a entire new perception and clarity, ready to envelope the creativity my mind can now provide.

 

[Designer]

How do you come up with ideas for your creative work in photography?

I am often inspired by the work of others. I see something that I like, but mentally make adjustments to come away with something better.

I can visualize the editing process as well, which often includes going off the "deep end". Simply visualizing it is the easy part.

 

[W.Y.Photo]

It's a big world out there, and there are lots of people taking lots of pictures and making all kinds of images. To be "original" is to come across a combination that no-one else has yet put together. And that is, given the number of people doing art and photography, pretty unlikely. Frankly, I think that originality (for its own sake) is overblown. As for creativity, it happens when we venture out of our comfort zone, when we try something different for ourselves. Note that it may not be original (in the sense that no-one else has done it), but it may be new to you. I consider personal growth to be the benchmark against which I can measure my own journey.

There is a way to be creative without venturing into terra incognita, and it is to successfully set aside the cultural goggles that we all wear. This is easier to do for those that have lived on the boundaries of cultures, than those who live deeply inside it. But living at the boundaries is often not a comfortable place. Yet it is there where the dominant group-think and perception bias is shifted somewhat so that the same set of facts can be seen in a different way. It doesn't have to be political - the same group-think applies to esthetics, to perceptions of risk, to ideas of worth and belonging. And yet, to see things in a different way than the predominant culture can end up branding you as crazy or deluded. Or at least a lonely voice. Which means that to be "creative" you need to be different, but not so different that no-one knows what you're going on about.

Does that make sense?

That makes a lot of sense. The greatest artwork comes from looking at the world differently than most but also being able to translate this view into something that those who do not see things the way you do can understand.

I like your point about originality, I guess what I meant by originality is really, as you stated, taking the road less traveled in the way you create work.

I see creativity as an extension of skills, tools, opportunity and experience.

Skills - the skills the photographer has. These can be technical and artistic skills as well as any that relate to the subject-area that they are photographing. As such the more skills a photographer can pick up in these three core areas the more options they give themselves to be creative with.
We can all see this early in our learning as we gain control over the camera - you learn how to control aperture and what it does - suddenly you've now got choices to make!


Tools - not just what tools a photographer has, but also understanding those tools. Knowing their limits, their capabilities, their suitability. These might not just be photography tools, but other support items that can bolster their choices and chances of getting a shot.
Again the more you have the more options you've got open to you.


Opportunity - a fairly catch-all term that sums up both the photographer finding and making sure that they get the opportunities to shoot where and what they choose to; but also the opportunities that present themselves. The unplanned, the better than planned, the different etc...


Experience - each of those sections above also relies upon experience. The photographer can have all the tools and all the theory skill; but they've got to have the experience to back all that up. The wider the range of experiences the more they can pre-visualise a shot; thus the more opportunity they have to think about the shot. Or maybe its that experience that teaches them to be prepared for the shot to appear just around the corner because they know this sports game well and the ball is going to go that way!





No single element of those 4 is the best. No single one is the "have this and win" element. Each is important in its own right.
Further each shot will be a combination of the above weighted differently - some will require high levels in all - some just in one area or two. Again this further proves that no single element is "the best" no single part is the most important. Thus one should aim to learn and experience as much as they can in as diverse a range of subjects and situations

I have to say, this is a really good description of what it takes to be creative!! It motivates me to make myself better in all of these respects and to open myself to opportunities for creativity more often.

 

[Buckster]

Most of what I do these days is portraiture, and I really don't try very much to be creative with it, per se. Other than using digital backgrounds in post processing, I try to stick to the tried and trued basics of the genre, when it comes to light and shadow and posing and that sort of thing.

When I want to be creative, I go to my files and pull out one of the many concepts that's hit me in the brain somewhere along the line, set it up, and carry it out.

The concepts themselves can come to me anytime anywhere, and I just write them down for later exploration. Over time, I will often get ideas to add to the basic concept, thinking out and adding more detailed info and sketches on lighting positions, gels, modifiers, which lens to use, aperture to use, what props I may need to find, buy or build, which I'll begin to gather over time, model and costume considerations if there will be a model involved, background sets, and so forth.

I really don't have any interest at all in setting the world on fire by doing something it's never seen before. The conceptual stuff that gets my creative juices flowing is really just for my own personal satisfaction.