Creative spark?

[CycleDog]

I'm a technician. My photos are properly exposed and (usually) well composed. My daughter, however, takes all that and applies a more creative, artistic approach.

I'm not looking to mimic someone's work, but I'd like to expand my abilities. The question is how to do so. I've started an ideas notebook, for one thing, but are there other ways to do this?

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[snowbear]

Take a couple of basic, beginner's art classes, either online or at a community college/adult education center. Not photography, but more the composition/color theory, "learning to look" level. You'll get to play with pencils and paints, which is a good thing!

A quick exercise would be to shoot a single object from several different perspectives (angles, distances, high/low, etc.) -- fire hydrants are very popular.

 

[fokker]

Smoke weed.

 

[480sparky]

I usually find sticking a fork into a wall outlet creates enough spark for me.

 

[weepete]

I think understanding the essential elements of your image and leaving only what is needed in for a successful image can help.

 

[vintagesnaps]

You would, Sparky. LOL You're an energizing high voltage kind of guy.

What are you doing now and what do you want to be able to do? It might help to narrow it down, there are all kinds of things you could do.

 

[Rick58]

I'm a technician. My photos are properly exposed and (usually) well composed. My daughter, however, takes all that and applies a more creative, artistic approach.

I'm not looking to mimic someone's work, but I'd like to expand my abilities. The question is how to do so. I've started an ideas notebook, for one thing, but are there other ways to do this?

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I'm just the opposite. My joy in photography is attempting to make technically correct record shots that may hold some interest. In 40+ years, photography has never been about art to me, and when I attempt conform and push myself out of that niche, the joy of being behind a camera gets pushed out with it.

 

[Derrel]

Take a couple of basic, beginner's art classes, either online or at a community college/adult education center. Not photography, but more the composition/color theory, "learning to look" level. You'll get to play with pencils and paints, which is a good thing!

A quick exercise would be to shoot a single object from several different perspectives (angles, distances, high/low, etc.) -- fire hydrants are very popular.

THAT ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^, yes!

Look up "the elements and principles of design." Learn about the elements and principles of design. Take pictures that make use the elements and principles of design.

As a technician, you probably understand the idea of KNOWING the criteria or measurements in order to control situations or to gather good data and notes. In art, you need to understand the criteria, the measurements, the fundamental principles, of "art". Surely you have heard of "scientific principles" and "the periodic table of elements", no?

Art education involves study, the same way science education involves study; why that is not blatantly obvious to more people, is a mystery to me.

 

[apaflo]

I'm a technician. My photos are properly exposed and (usually) well composed. My daughter, however, takes all that and applies a more creative, artistic approach.

I'm not looking to mimic someone's work, but I'd like to expand my abilities. The question is how to do so. I've started an ideas notebook, for one thing, but are there other ways to do this?

As Ansel Adams said, "There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." Talented technicians tend to make a lot of those, while only artististically talented folks tend to have sharp concepts but get a fuzzier image. Both get great images, but a widely talented person can fly higher and farther with more keepers.

You have nailed one very important part of it though, because mimicing someone else will never produce anything that is great. On the other hand, in the early stages of learning it can be very important to learn how to mimic almost every style. A journeyman craftperson can do exactly that, and the benefit comes when you have your own artistic brain fart. If you can mimic anyone you can also mimic what you see in your mind's eye!

But it turns out that both the artistic creativity and the technical abilities are not as easy as one might think. Study composition. Study visual symbolism and communications. Photography is the art of communicating, with visual symbols, your creative idea into the mind of a person viewing your photograph. Composition is the arrangement of the symbols into an appropriate hierarchic structure that gives weight to symbols important to your message while preventing less important symbols from being a distraction rather than an assist.

And never forget something Picasso said, "Art is the elimination of the unnecessary."

In short, just as with words, learn to say only what you want to convey. Only then when you have something to say will the photograph have impact.

 

[deeky]

I would suggest going out on a photo walk without your camera. When you find something you would shoot, take time to walk around it, look from different angles, different light, different background, etc. Don't rush it, pay attention to all of what you see both in the subject and around the subject. Identify specifically what makes it interesting. I think it will help you really see your subject and lay out your shot better without the distractions of the technicalities.

 

[fokker]

I would suggest going out on a photo walk without your camera. When you find something you would shoot, take time to walk around it, look from different angles, different light, different background, etc. Don't rush it, pay attention to all of what you see both in the subject and around the subject. Identify specifically what makes it interesting. I think it will help you really see your subject and lay out your shot better without the distractions of the technicalities.

I dunno, this seems like kind of a terrible idea. The only way to get better at anything is by practicing, and that means taking photos.

 

[bratkinson]

I'm just the opposite. My joy in photography is attempting to make technically correct record shots that may hold some interest. In 40+ years, photography has never been about art to me, and when I attempt conform and push myself out of that niche, the joy of being behind a camera gets pushed out with it.

Rick took the words out of my mouth. I'm more interested in accurately recording what I am seeing than trying to come up with the 'artsy' types of shots. When I do make an effort to get something 'artsy', the large majority of the time, it's a waste of perfectly good pixels. On the other hand, sometimes I get lucky and happen to be in the right place at the right time. Perhaps my lack of 'art' is that I spent 35+ years designing, writing and implementing some very complex computer applications. I sometimes feel like Sgt Joe Friday (Jack Webb) of Dragnet fame..."just the facts, ma'am".

 

[Rick58]

I'm just the opposite. My joy in photography is attempting to make technically correct record shots that may hold some interest. In 40+ years, photography has never been about art to me, and when I attempt conform and push myself out of that niche, the joy of being behind a camera gets pushed out with it.

Rick took the words out of my mouth. I'm more interested in accurately recording what I am seeing than trying to come up with the 'artsy' types of shots. When I do make an effort to get something 'artsy', the large majority of the time, it's a waste of perfectly good pixels. On the other hand, sometimes I get lucky and happen to be in the right place at the right time. Perhaps my lack of 'art' is that I spent 35+ years designing, writing and implementing some very complex computer applications. I sometimes feel like Sgt Joe Friday (Jack Webb) of Dragnet fame..."just the facts, ma'am".

:cheers:

 

[Designer]

CycleDog; I agree with the idea of taking some art appreciation classes. It is amazing how you will begin to look at things in a more critical way once you train your brain.

IOW; you need to exercise the right side of your brain. Just like exercising muscles, you can "build it up".

 

[Braineack]

I'm a technician.

This is good since a photographer is a technician.

My photos are properly exposed and (usually) well composed. My daughter, however, takes all that and applies a more creative, artistic approach.

This is good because a photographer is an artist.

I'm not looking to mimic someone's work, but I'd like to expand my abilities. The question is how to do so. I've started an ideas notebook, for one thing, but are there other ways to do this?

Mimicking someone's work teaches you how they did it, which allows you to use the same technique to go about creating your own work. If you like something you see and would like to shoot in a similar way, there's no other way to really learn other to to mimic it.

At least you're not asking where everyone downloaded all their "matte" and "soft black" actions.