Concept Shooting in Photography
Concept Shooting is a way of approaching photography that can take your work to a new level. It takes a little more thought than just going ‘snap happy’ but can really help you to convey a message with those viewing your shots. Christina N Dickson from www.ChristinaNicholePhotography.com looks further at Concept Shooting. Image by ~*Leah*~.
Winter is coming for many DPS readers. The weather is turning cold and frightful. And sometimes, you just can’t motivate yourself to bundle up and head outside to practice your photography. How can you keep developing your skills in the winter and prepare for next the next season?
Concept shooting.
Concept shooting is similar to advertising, stock, and photojournalism for several reasons. First, concept shooting involves some intense analyzing of a “message” you want to strongly convey. Second, concept shooting involves careful consideration of your audience and how the message will touch them most powerfully. Third, concept shooting is centered on emotions, and the telling of a story in its message.
Concept shooting involves a great deal of “mental” preparation, rather than on scene analyzing. Before you shoot, you decide several things. For example, we’ll apply each of these considerations to the concept of love:
- Message: Is your message true love or broken hearts?
- Angle of the message: Is your angle the true love of family or the true love of kindred spirits? The bitterness and pain of broken hearts, or the recovery?
- Audience: Is your story written for first time high school lovers, or 50-year marriage partners?
- Emotional connectors: In what ways can you cause your story to resonate best with your audience? The love that brings a sense of belonging? The love that will last forever? The pain of betrayal? The despair of no hope for recovery?
- Creative composition: An audience of high schoolers will require edgy, high contrast, and inventive imagery. An audience of older couples will perhaps be impacted more by elegant, soft, and expressive imagery.
- Dynamic artistry: Camera angle, type of lighting, color, venue, depth, and motion…all such factors will influence the overall outcome of your concept shot.
- Story telling quality: In one image, does your concept tell the complete story? A picture is worth a thousand words, so one image can capture depth of story. It will simply take some time in thought, and some well developed shots.
The following three images all expound on the concept of love. Each is an independent story. Each effectively reaches its audience. Take a moment to evaluate each image based on the 7 criteria before reading the project creation description.
- Concept: Love
- Message: Broken Heart
- Audience: Young women who lost their first love
- Emotional Connector: Feeling of aloneness and walking away from what once was;
- Creative composition: Taken from the ground so the broken heart is considered first before the girl; the girl is anonymous adding to mystery of who is experiencing the broken heart
- Dynamic Artistry: The broken heart is in 2/3rds of the frame dominating the image, but attention is given equally to the girl due to the fact that she is walking toward the vibrant blue ocean
- Story telling quality: Does this single image describe the feelings, the experience, and the hurt of a broken heart?
Starting to make sense? Let’s evaluate one more. Remember to pause for a moment to evaluate the image for yourself before going on to the explanation:
- Concept: Love
- Message: True love
- Audience: lovers who know commitment
- Emotional Connector: Feeling of beauty, delicacy and precious value
- Creative composition: Taken from above to take advantage of a perspective of innocence
- Dynamic Artistry: the shallow depth of field completely isolates the rose without taking away from the story telling quality contributed by the hands, and the black backgrounds provides for no distracting elements
- Story telling quality: Does this single image describe the feelings, the experience, and the precious value of true love?
No matter what level of photography you are, no matter what field you dominate, if you take the winter months to practice conceptual photography, you will find your imagery grow leaps and bounds in whatever field you pursue.
36 Responses to “Concept Shooting in Photography” - Add Yours
October 29th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Spring in Argentina. We can still practice concept shooting.
This is my version!
Thanks.
Excellent site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rodri200000/2916984095/
October 29th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Excellent topic.
This is a great exercise to push photographers beyond point and shoot. Point and shoot is fine for personal photography. But, I know many of the photographers on this site would like to make a living with photography and point and shoot will not do.
I think I’m going to try it a couple ideas this weekend.
Rosh
http://www.newmediaphotographer.com
October 29th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Nice tips for those who want to push the limits and learn new things. I interviewed several commercial photographers for Colours Magazine http://www.coloursmag.com, and they mentioned the importance of shooting for yourself. As this lets you increase your creativity and broaden your experience. Otherswise you are limited to what your client wants.
It would also be important for personal portfolio development or for increasing your own experience. I am certainly going to try it the next chance I get for some free time.
Regards,
Zeeshan Kazmi
http://www.coloursmag.com
http://www.zeeshankazmi.com
October 29th, 2008 at 4:07 am
I started a photo group that (in theory) will be doing a themed shoot every month. Themed is a little looser than concept shoot (our next one is supposed to be in an abandoned house with the theme “Haunted”, however you want to interpret that). It really stretches you creatively and is a whole lot of fun…
October 29th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I love this way of shooting. I tend to do this myself, as i was trained as a journalist and always shoot with a ‘Story’ in mind.
Although this way is a little more indepth and pre-planned. I think i’ll give it a go before my next shoot.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:19 am
That was a neat exercise! I’ve noticed learning how to compose a story in a frame is what most people have a hard time doing since they can’t connect snapshots with human emotions.
I’m definitelly guilty of ignoring the importance of this lesson from time to time. I’ve found writting every morning about anything you want helps get the creative juices flowing once again. It doesn’t even have to be alot just 200 words or so will do.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
A good field of study that can give you more insight into this type of imagery is semiotics. It is the study of symbols both verbal and visual. By understanding the symbols the mind uses to interpret meaning, you can create a deeper, more meaningful image. I did a few to many papers on the stuff to be useful to the average person, but I think wikipedia has a good place to start. Also, there was a website that helped me a bit… let me see… ah there it is.
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem02.html
It’s a bit dense, but it is good
October 29th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Amazing article! Absolutely love it and will recommend to my readers, who are mostly shoot for microstoks where concepts are of high demand.
October 30th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Great tutorial. I’ll have to give this a go.
Lovely images too
October 31st, 2008 at 4:37 am
Neat! Very clear and concise article on planned photography. I find a little planning usually leads to a lot of inspiration from a fertile brain. Food for thought! Feed it!
October 31st, 2008 at 7:22 am
Possibly one of the best posts Ive seen here.
Thanks.
November 2nd, 2008 at 5:51 am
one of the best and my favorite article on DPS
would like to see more of such articles…
really nice…
thank you very much
will love to see something related to colors…. : )
November 5th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I think this article is great! So well thought and comprehensive!
Thanks !
November 7th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Great article. I’ve been thinking around this for quite a while in regard to a particular theme, this will help me put some flesh on it.
November 20th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
I love this article, I love the way photographs can tell stories and that’s one of the main reasons that draws me to photography.
I can connect with a story told through a photograph more than a story told through art for instance, nothing against art it’s just a personal thing!
And this article is really helpful in describing each process needed to create a great concept image – thanks can’t wait to give them a go!
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 am
I need help, criticism and suggestions on my first few shots or even concepts shots at my sight. I am interested in learning more and getting connected in the circle of digital photography.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Brilliant post! The points are broken down very well. I agree with Edward, I need criticism and suggestions.
P.S. Just thought I’d let you know about the formatting of point 7 (Story telling quality: In one image,..)
March 22nd, 2011 at 8:28 am
Hi
This is a take on Yin and Yang using skates – using a figure skate and a hockey skate shows the synergy and complementary nature of Women and Man
Yin Yang: http://t.co/VYZs4Wy
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:44 pm
I just love all wisdom passed down!!
Thank You!!
March 22nd, 2011 at 12:45 pm
I just love all wisdom passed down!!
Thank You!!
March 22nd, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Interesting article, I’ve never thought of photopraphy using this combination of concepts before.
Though by accident, and a with different concept and message, I took this and believe it tells a story for the recent St Pats Festival.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/5542121913/
March 22nd, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Hi
Here I tried to recreate an angry Bride after hearing the post marriage cofession of the Groom – she was on the ground as the revelation was so shattering that she could not stand. When the Grrom said, “I’m sorry” she flies into a primal rage. (Did it work?)
“I’m Sorry, Honey” Trash the Dress: http://t.co/gUaGFvx
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Took this one while working on a film noir project.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/4557804773/
March 24th, 2011 at 5:51 am
I approach concept photography after the shoot. I focus on the subject, texture, light, composition, and initial implied narrative I feel. Once I develop/process the image (Lightroom) I then spend time researching quotes that I feel match the mood of the image. Two examples:
1. “Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whalemap/5459816141/
2. “When friendship disappears then there is a space left open to that awful loneliness of the outside world which is like the cold space between the planets. It is an air in which men perish utterly.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whalemap/5219510519/
March 25th, 2011 at 1:59 am
Excellent. Thank you very much!
March 25th, 2011 at 2:54 am
Yes, this is one of the best ways to help young photographers to explain the “concept” of photography. In the recent past, I have observed that photographers then to just “shoot” without thinking twice about the concept, audience etc. With fast lens and gigs of memory cards, they “think” that one of the photographs will come out as “this is it”, but alas none of them mark any mark above mundane.
March 25th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Great advise. My only problem when looking at those three images – I can only see two.
March 25th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
I guess we all make mistakes – I didn’t get advice right !
March 26th, 2011 at 8:41 am
DPS is the best website, and really providing useful and helpful information and open your eyes to something new every time.
warm regards,,, ,, ,
March 26th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Nice little article, useful to bear in mind as wedding photography can often be event driven?
March 28th, 2011 at 12:56 am
I wonder if..”is a visionary artist and philanthropist”.. is a title the author gave herself?
March 29th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
This is great. I have been doing this a lot lately and found that it really helped my photography.
June 30th, 2011 at 7:18 am
This was very helpful in giving me a start to working on concepts. I have a photo shoot with a model with some experience and was a little intimidated when she started asking about concepts. I was like “concepts?” Now I have a base where and how to start paying attention to such things when preparing for a shoot.
September 8th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Wow, I really enjoyed this article! I do find it a lot harder to keep shooting in the winter, and I think this idea could really help! Thanks!
October 12th, 2011 at 7:46 am
i just wanna be good at what i do. i wanna grow
March 3rd, 2013 at 4:30 am
I am new to photograghy and recently enrolled in a concept composition class. I feel I am over my head with the concept thing… but this page has given me some help … now I need to burn some brain cells for the assignment I have to turn in a couple of days… concept: a pic of the external place where you live and a pic of a room you live in… well I am thinking… god help me.
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