The 16 Most Photogenic Everyday Objects
This post is written by James Maher – author of The Essentials of Street Photography – an eBook currently onsale at SnapnDeals (25% off).
You know how some people are just photogenic. No matter what the lighting is or if they are all sweaty from the gym, they are still going to look damn good.
Well the same goes for certain objects and structures. I am such a sucker for things like water towers, lampposts, and fire escapes, and so I thought I would create a list of my 16 favorite things to include in photographs. These objects won’t always make a photo, but when included they will almost always make the scene more photogenic.
What are yours?
1. Cigarettes
Bad for your health, great for your photos.
2. Colorful shoes.
Especially when contrasted with dirty backgrounds.
3. Old Patterned Walls and Wallpaper
An easy way to add an element of pattern and design into your photograph.
4. Glowing Screens
It’s a good thing those glowing cellphone and iPad screens look good in photos, because unfortunately they are becoming hard to avoid these days.
5. Tunnels
The old frame within a frame.
6. Umbrellas
Particularly the translucent and colorful kind when lit from behind.
7. Ladders and Fire Escapes
Turn them on their side and to an angle to create an illusion.
8. Water Towers
Even better when you tint them and add some colorful frames.
9. Fire Hydrants
10. Advertisements that mimic or contrast with real life.
11. Glowing Lampposts
My favorite.
12. Phonebooths
Quickly becoming antiquated. Catch them before they all disappear.
13. Phone Lines
Especially when they are in the middle of nowhere.
14. Old Doors.
15. Windows with Silhouettes.
16. Wet Cobblestone
Learn more about Street Photography in James Maher’s eBook The Essentials of Street Photography (currently 25% off at SnapnDeals).
36 Responses to “The 16 Most Photogenic Everyday Objects” - Add Yours
October 15th, 2012 at 2:53 am
Wow for half of these I would not have noticed!
http://blogs.gonomad.com/traveltalesfromindia/
October 15th, 2012 at 3:14 am
Beautiful objectives and examples….very nice !!!
October 15th, 2012 at 3:19 am
I love these photos, they are beautiful. And they gave me some great ideas. I had an old photo I took of a fire escape and I took the advice given here. Thank you.
October 15th, 2012 at 4:30 am
Elephants
http://wildlifeencounters.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/African-Mammals/G0000IrGRBOD5m2s/I0000ZrcEJgXC9xA/C0000bdEkyK_8Dzs
October 15th, 2012 at 9:54 am
How about men with women hands?
http://portraitinspiration.com/inspiration-for-the-day-15/
October 15th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Nice post.. Gave me some new idea’s.
October 16th, 2012 at 1:39 am
Phone lines aren’t usually too interesting. However, POWER lines (which is what’s pictured above) are.
October 16th, 2012 at 3:45 am
Like it. Unfortunately, 90% of these things are not present within 10 miles of my house.
Flickr:
http://bit.ly/oufr4c
October 16th, 2012 at 9:40 am
There are many everyday objects that can be great subjects, this article is the tip of an iceburg.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/7876341294/
October 16th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Wow…I didn’t think water towers are interesting objects to photograph. Love the images and the colourful photo frames. Thanks for the inspiration.
Some of my favourite everyday objects are textures (urban decay), old doors or windows, old collectibles.
October 16th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
Boats
October 16th, 2012 at 11:01 pm
Very inspiring post, I do like to photograph many of the things mentioned!
My favourite object is reflecting surfaces… especially when they’re spheric.
October 17th, 2012 at 12:58 am
wow very good tips i like it…
October 17th, 2012 at 1:44 am
It’s interesting that for every different place and person there is probably a completely different list of 16 things. I like the elephant comment because where I live that is the furthest thing from an everyday objects, but maybe in some places they’re as common as water towers are where I live.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:54 am
Some of these really opened my eyes! Taking these examples makes me realise how much there is to do!
Andy
October 18th, 2012 at 12:17 am
I like the glowing lamppost – especially with either wet or fresh snow conditions.
October 19th, 2012 at 1:47 am
Great list! I’m surprised you didn’t include bicycles, my favorite.
October 19th, 2012 at 2:01 am
Stila – cool shot. I’m surprised someone didn’t object as you were probably taking a picture of a security camera taking a picture of you!
October 19th, 2012 at 2:44 am
Fantastic list!
I just want to hug this list, it needs to end with brown paper packages tied up with string!
October 19th, 2012 at 3:12 am
I agree with the main article, but also think that a love for the place you call ‘home’ is necessary. A sense of it’s history and peoples place in it today….
October 19th, 2012 at 3:16 am
Bicycles! Yes, forgot about those.
October 19th, 2012 at 3:20 am
Jenn that comment made me happy.
Leny, completely – this post is a lot about home. Everyone’s list of 16 is completely different.
October 19th, 2012 at 4:56 am
Nice topic & very nice interaction.
October 19th, 2012 at 5:50 am
Old doors are my softspot James. Where I live everything’s (too) neat and tidy, so I usually have to wait for holidays or trips to come across interesting examples.
October 19th, 2012 at 6:56 am
Great post! Looking for these (and others) keep the creativity flowing.
Best
Jay
October 19th, 2012 at 7:21 am
Such a creative idea! It leads down many paths – and I’m off to make my own list. I’m excited to find out what it is that catches my eye/mind/camera. Thank you.
October 19th, 2012 at 8:44 am
I love these! My favorite is the wet cobblestone. I think the most photogenic place is the beach. It always looks good in photos.
October 19th, 2012 at 11:24 am
Hi, James.
I like this article and the photo.
Thanks for sharing. I’m not a photographer, but like other people I enjoy reading and looking at this kind of post.
October 19th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Now – I’d like to know what sells of your “most photogenic”.
October 19th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Hi James,
Thanks again for sharing the invaluable tips and as usual companied by great sample pictures.
If you ask me to add another ordinary things but photogenic to photograph my answer is mannequin…
Do take a look at my photos of mannequins below:
http://zain.zenfolio.com/streetshots/e23bad2bd
http://zain.zenfolio.com/streetshots/e9c44200
http://zain.zenfolio.com/streetshots/e1b92b763
http://zain.zenfolio.com/streetshots/e42c5b5ec
October 20th, 2012 at 9:35 am
I like the composition of your photos a lot except for the smoking one. It actually says “nigger” across the front of the magazine. There must be other photos of smokers in the world. Since the topic was not political commentary, I think that it is inappropriate for this context.
October 21st, 2012 at 2:56 am
I have recently taken to shooting derelict dwellings. There are plenty of them in our rural area.
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/john-b.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=216054
October 21st, 2012 at 8:10 am
@ Omitade: If you zoom in on the ‘smoking’ picture, you will see that the word is “Bigger.” While looking at the photo, hold down your left Ctrl key and then tap the numeric keyboard plus sign a few times until you can see it enlarged.
October 21st, 2012 at 10:50 am
I agree with the notion that it’s a different list of favorite everyday things for everyone. Personal and cultural triggers are very subjective, and what pushes one person’s buttons may leave another flat. The cool notion here is to explore your own favorite everyday things list, photographically. It’s a great idea for a project. I wonder if I can stop at 16 …
October 25th, 2012 at 6:41 am
I love shooting my models on wet pavement, we found this nice motorcycle standing there so I had her sit on it just to capture a few shots! The wet pavement was a stunner, it brought great contrast!
October 30th, 2012 at 3:30 am
Love this post – thanks for sharing. Sometimes we forget to look at the simple things and that is definitely a miss. This is a great thought-starter on how to look at things a bit differently.
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