Developing the creative eye

[rickp1]

Hi everyone,
I'm not sure this goes here but I guess this is where I'm starting.

My question is this, what are some techiniques or places you go to get some in

What do you guys do to train or develop your ceative eye. I really enjoy photography and when I'm doing reserach on something or trying to learn a technique I come across some amazing shots, and think great eye to compose such a shot.

So, is it just experience or is there a way to develop the creative eye.

Thank

R.

[tamcry]

Just take your camera every where you go and keep looking around.The great thing about the digital camera is that you can see right away what you shot. Try differant angles and take several pictures of what you are looking at. Go out first thing in the morning before the sun comes up. Then as the light is changing take your pictures. You will be surprised how the lighting changes your picture. Try differant locations.

[kencaleno]

On Seeing Creatively:

Developing a creative eye is about seeing things in a different way. A personal visual focus rather than obvious point of view. When we first use a camera we take pictures of all the obvious things around us, landmarks, people we know, family pets, etc., and after some while taking these mundane, overdone subjects, boredom starts to take effect (hopefully) and If we get bored enough, we, (well, some of us anyway) tend to look further than the obvious for our photographic endeavours, hopefully encouraging us to present our personal view of the World. Remember back when you were a kid?, where anything could be whatever you imagined it to be?. We, as adults have set-in-concrete ideas of how something should look, and that’s where the problem lies. How about, (photographically, anyway,) Going back in your imagination to that child-like innocence, and start looking at things the way you decide how they should appear? What would a worm see- if it looked up? Or a bird-looking down- I recall reading somewhere a woman and her 3-year old were out shopping, in a department store, at Christmas-time, and the child was crying. “what’s up with you?” the mother asked,” We are here in this beautiful shop, and we are going to buy some nice things to take home with us-look at all the lovely things they have here”. She looked down and noticed the child’s shoelace was undone. In bending down to re-tie the child’s shoelace, she understood why the crying- all the child could see from his height, was a forest of grown-up’s legs-he couldn’t see all the beautiful Christmas decorations or gifts-he wasn’t tall enough to see above the counters. Here’s a challenge: Spend a day taking photos of everyday things from a height of 600mm to 800mm, how a small child would view them. isolate part of an overall scene, using the camera’s viewfinder -Show things how they are not normally viewed. Use light creatively, to show texture, give mood or to produce silhouetted shapes. Use telephoto lenses for landscapes-wide angle lenses for portraits - take photos into the sun - take pictures while jumping in the air -
Place horizons where you want them to be. After a while creative vision becomes as natural as breathing, and when this occurs, you can concentrate on capturing the moment : The peak of action -a fleeting glance- certain lighting conditions. Learn all the “Rules” of composition-then see how many you can break, while still communicating powerful images. Try not focusing on the point of interest, instead focus on shape, or form. Decide what you want to emphasise-what message you want to convey to the viewer. Look for pictures within pictures. try looking at a scene through a 28mm wide-angle lens, change to a 200mm telephoto lens, and see how many different pictures you can isolate within that scene.


Working the subject

Instead of just taking the one picture from the angle you first saw it, try “Working the subject”, that is, cover the subject from as many angles as you can, to get the best from each photo opportunity. Here’s a checklist:
-From the front
-From behind
-From the left
-From the right
-From up close
-From far away
-From above
-From below
-Capture detail
-Unusual angles
-Into the light
-Include foreground

Copyright: © Kenneth William Caleno (Dip Phot) 2010

[rickp1]

Everyone,
thank you for all your suggestions and ideas.

R.

[inkista]

Three things that helped me, but YMMV:

1. Put a prime lens on the camera and don't take it off for three weeks.

2. Read books on composition. (I like Bryan Peterson's Learning to See Creatively, and Michael Freeman's The Photographer's Eye.)

3. Sit and look at an object, and imagine as many 2D "projections" from the object as you can (as if you're a virtual camera that can move anywhere around the object in a cgi world; pretend you're in "bullet-time"--be the camera). (I.e., imagine what it looks like from below, from above, from the right side, from the left, in the daytime, at dusk, at night, from close to, from far away, with small and large apertures, with fast and slow shutter speeds, etc.) All without moving from your seat.

[karen_s]

I second Michael Freeman's The Photographer's Eye. It goes pretty in depth and has GREAT images from which to learn. Another book you might like is DuChemin's "Within the Frame." I just started reading it myself and it too has great examples along with insight into how he frames up his shots.

And if you have no art background at all, you might consider a class on visual elements. I think you could find the same info online, but if you have no art background, it might be easier to just take a class with a teacher. I was an art major in school and my first design class was about the basic elements of design like color, line, shape, and placement of subject. It was a great start to a career in design and the things I learned transfered well to the art of photography. After taking that first class, I found myself analyzing everything from architecture to billboards to dashboards and beyond.

It really is about learning to see beyond a glance. For example, most people will see a cute puppy where a trained eye will see a cute orange colored puppy that would look great posed against a complimentary blue sky. That eye would also see the puppy's expressive eyes and notice when he runs, his ears flop up and it makes them smile. And when the pup sees a stick about to be tossed? Well, he strikes a pose with great lines. To a trained eye, he's more than a cute puppy.

Sorry for the long post, I tend to ramble sometimes :-)

[Aleix]

Originally Posted by inkista

Put a prime lens on the camera and don't take it off for three weeks.

I found a similar tip in one of Scott Kelby's books. He said that people who shoot landscapes should try for a while using tele lenses ONLY, because as you no longer can shoot a general landscape like you would with a wide angle lens, you're forced to approach the situation in a quite differently manner, focusing in smaller details and so on (unless of course you cheat by taking panos!)

Originally Posted by karen_s

I second Michael Freeman's The Photographer's Eye. It goes pretty in depth and has GREAT images from which to learn.

Recommended! I bought that book last week, and I've really learned many, many things. I'm avidly awaiting my next photo trip (tomorrow) to implement Freeman's tips!

[LeeR]

I think you have been given some great advice so far and I would only like to build on what has already been said. The old saying tells us that 'necessity is the mother of invention.' Likewise, creativity is all about finding clever and ingenious solutions to problems faced by all photogaraphers. So, if becoming more creative is related to soving problems, then what do we need to do but create problems for oursleves.

Some problems have already been suggested. Inkista suggests you put a prime lens on your camera and leave it for three weeks. This is creating a problem, but it is only one of many, many potential problems that could be instructional. What about working only with window light? only in black and white? without Photoshop? Lee Freedlander followed his dog around on his hands and knees to see the world the way his dog sees it. Adriel Heisey shoots nearly all of his images from an ultralight aircraft. Each of these photographers has created problems for themselves and found elegant solutions.

Artist often complain that they need total freedom in order to work their magic, but history tells us otherwise. Often the very best art came from the most restrictive settings. During the time of the Renaissance not only was all art required to be religious in nature, but Jesus was only allowed to be painted or sculpted in seven different poses. Yet this is the time when, arguably, the three greatest artists of all time flourished. Within the restrictions of the church, laying on his back in a dark cathdral, Michelagelo was able to paint some of the most amazing works of all time. Problem created: problem solved...with creativity and eloquence.