How do I bring out my artistic side?

[mikehaugen]

I feel that I am getting a pretty good grasp on the technical side of photography, but still feel that my photos are boring and lack interest. I have learned a lot from reading here and interacting with people here, have a read a lot of books, done some experimenting, and have done other online research on composition etc... but have a hard time implementing it. I see what I see and normally my shots come out as I see them, but they are just lacking any artistic value.

I guess I kinda buy into the whole right brain/ left brain thing as I have always been good with numbers and science and technical things, but have never considered myself artistic. Has anyone noticed this with themselves and how did you overcome it. Is this something that more practice will bring, or am I just going to have to accept being a mediocre photographer forever. That would be a shame because I do enjoy it an awful lot. It is a little discouraging seeing people on here that have taken like 6 photos with a point and shoot their whole life and their photos, while maybe not usually technically correct are more appealing than mine. Some people just have an eye for photography and I am not sure that it is something that can be learned.

I know some people are going to say to post some pictures, but I am not looking for specific advice on any one or two pictures, just your overall feelings about this. I am going to stick with this regardless, just hoping that maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Derrel]

I dunno, maybe a new shade of lipstick...maybe some cute Capri pants...perhaps some new peep-toe pumps from Nordstrom???

Oh, no, wait....those suggestions were intended for Schwettylens!!!

 

[mikehaugen]

Hey, don't mess with him- have you seen that new tactical gear he's got now! j/k schwetty

 

[Josh66]

Drugs & alcohol.

When you say you are good with technical stuff, but not so much with creative stuff - I am the same way. You are probably actually more creative than you think you are.

Things that I think lack creativity and are boring 'left-brain' compositions/photos, other people seem to say are creative. Either they're lying to me, don't know how to express their thoughts, or maybe the stuff actually does have some creativity in it...

I also tend to agree with you on learning creativity. I don't really think it's possible (others disagree) to learn it - I think you just have it or you don't. But, even if it's not oozing out of you, there's still some in there, somewhere. You just have to find how to 'unlock' it.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Go shoot something that you aren't comfortable with. Go take a stroll downtown and shoot something that you never though of shooting before. Use something as common as a lamp post, or flower bed, and try to shoot it in a way that interesting. If you don't take a second look at the photo you shot, chunk it and shoot again.

 

[Village Idiot]

A bubble bath and some chamomile?

I mean, no one on here can tell you that.

 

[Derrel]

I think some of the most easily-understood and accessible writing on artistic ability and the debate between in-born and learned creativity has been written by Alain Briot, and published on The Luminous Landscape web site. Briot rejects the idea that creativity/artistic ability is "in-born" and possessed by only a select few people. He believes that it can be developed through education, training, and practice. I would comb the LL website for his essays.

His most recent one is Composition top 15

 

[mikehaugen]

A bubble bath and some chamomile?

I mean, no one on here can tell you that.

I know, I know, this sounds a little strange... maybe even whiney. I guess what I am looking for is what Derrel responded with. Do you believe creativity is natural or learned?

 

[RockstarPhotography]

I think its natural. I believe a little can be "learned" through education, although it would never stack up to someone who just has the natural talent.

 

[altitude604]

not sure about it being learned... but there definitely is a natural element to it.

i do agree with what ChristopherCoy said though. push your limits... i try to do this often as 95% of my photography is aviation related, it gets kind of stale, even for me so i am always looking for new things to try.

give a shot to portraits of your pets, landscapes around your town, pick up some cheap extension tubes and try macro photography. i've been experimenting with M42 adapted manual-focus lens and find that the increased learning curve has made it a more enjoyable experience and gets me thinking more about all aspects of creating a photo.

YMMV.

 

[KmH]

I feel that I am getting a pretty good grasp on the technical side of photography, but still feel that my photos are boring and lack interest. I have learned a lot from reading here and interacting with people here, have a read a lot of books, done some experimenting, and have done other online research on composition etc... but have a hard time implementing it. I see what I see and normally my shots come out as I see them, but they are just lacking any artistic value.

I guess I kinda buy into the whole right brain/ left brain thing as I have always been good with numbers and science and technical things, but have never considered myself artistic. Has anyone noticed this with themselves and how did you overcome it. Is this something that more practice will bring, or am I just going to have to accept being a mediocre photographer forever. That would be a shame because I do enjoy it an awful lot. It is a little discouraging seeing people on here that have taken like 6 photos with a point and shoot their whole life and their photos, while maybe not usually technically correct are more appealing than mine. Some people just have an eye for photography and I am not sure that it is something that can be learned.

I know some people are going to say to post some pictures, but I am not looking for specific advice on any one or two pictures, just your overall feelings about this. I am going to stick with this regardless, just hoping that maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Many scientist, mathmaticians, physicists, technical types are also quite artistic. Mathmaticians tend to gravitate to music, as an example.

What do you know about art and it's evolution over the last couple of thousand years? How artists use light, line, form, color, and shape to make their images interesting to look at, or at best compelling? Taking an art appreciation class may be helpful to you.

Being creative is something you can definately learn to do.

An important thing to learn about photography is the use of light. If everything is lit the same, like outside on an overcast day, nothing really stands out
even if it's closer to the camera because there is no visual separation to add a sense of depth to the 2D photograph. If the main subject is darker than the rest of the photo, the photo is usually a lot weaker than if the main subject is brighter than the rest of the photo. (light advances, dark recedes).

I made a series of images a few months back using blank sheets of sketching paper held in place on foamboard with a few push pins:

 

[Village Idiot]

And because you think you're not creative doesn't mean you aren't. When's the last time you just tried to imagine ****?

 

[RauschPhotography]

Sometimes I tap into my artistic side by delving into other arts before picking up my camera. Maybe I'm a little weird, but sometimes I find myself sketching out shoots, posing ideas, shots I'd like to capture at some point. Otherwise I'll listen to some music, play guitar, or just look on the forum to look for ideas that maybe I haven't experimented with yet. Everyone's method is going to be a little different, and it's really hard to give advice pertaining to tapping into your creativity.

 

[o hey tyler]

Smoke a ton of weed.

 

[imagemaker46]

Some people are just more artistic, just as others are better athletes, the majority comes from natural ability. You can learn all the technical stuff you want, and learning it is important, it lays out the base from which you should build on. I am not a technical photographer, far from it, I don't care about megapixels, using a zone system, thirds rules, or any of the other "photo school" teachings. I don't read books on photography, but I understand how to use light.

Photography is an art. Don't give up on using a camera because you feel what you shoot is mediocre, look at something and shoot it from different angles, look at how the light affects it, try shooting from the darkside of the subject.