Tag: creative photography

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6 tips for creative photo ideas: the extraordinary from the ordinary

6 tips for creative photo ideas: the extraordinary from the ordinary

I really take pleasure in writing about imaginative motivation for new picture ideas. Specifically on the method to learn photography, it is constantly important to me that you don’t have to travel to a unique place to take excellent photos – rather the opposite.

Just walk and find the wonder around you!

Content

– Discover the beauty in everyday life

– Discover the wonder around you

6 tips for more extraordinary in the ordinary

  1. The ordinary everyday life
  2. Observe light and shadow
  3. Take notice of the alignment
  4. Have fun with props
  5. Fascination in the background
  6. Take note of your corners and edges

Discover the beauty in daily life

It’s extremely delightful to take powerful, amazing images of everyday life. What can you do when you live in what you think is a truly dull place and you do not see any beauty in the everyday? The concern is of course not meant extremely seriously. Because it has to do with making something remarkable unusual. Let’s get going and try to find beauty in everyday life.

The reflection on a bonnet provides fantastic themes – and very simple to embed in scene.

Discover the wonder around you

It is a bit difficult not to wait for the big travel photography trip, but to discover the beauty – or at least the aesthetically spectacular fascination – in the everyday. But again and again I show you a lot of ideas that it is now very easy to summon something photogenic out of everything. Would you like some examples?

The view from the window with the focus on the rain-soaked pane.

Practical suggestion: Concern selective understanding

Question your perception and alter your viewpoint every now and then.

We call selective perception the psychological phenomenon that only certain elements of the environment are signed up throughout perception and others tend to be neglected. If you perceive something as allegedly uninteresting or regular, question it and attempt to look at it anew, with different eyes.

6 suggestions for more extraordinary in the ordinary

1. The ordinary everyday life

Take photos of street signs, the supermarket or simply the shopping carts in front of the door. Remember the details and nearness ideas, along with the pointers to clean up your scene:

Common obstacles in our theme search

– If the subject is too little, the viewer of your images may not recognize it as the main topic.

– Are there a lot of (unimportant) things in the picture? Oh dear, then the significance of your picture may be lost.

A completely typical theme can look really remarkable in the right image section!

2. Observe light and shadow

Observe the light and also the shadow cast. How can light and shadow assist your scene? You can find more about photographing shadows here.

Having fun with shadows is a great creative photo idea.

3. Take notice of the positioning

Viewpoint and direction are important for the wow element. As quickly as you photograph a banal pedestrian tunnel in ideal balance, the suction result mesmerizes everybody. Frequently it is only a few steps to the left or right that alter the impact of the picture.

A lot of proportion in the Soviet memorial in Berlin Treptow

4. Have fun with props

I put props in my photo. Are you interested by the texture of the wooden table in the hall? How about the glass on the table including your arm and hand in the picture? Much more alive than without!

Such a basic image idea: the hand brings life to the scene.

5. Fascination in the background

Keep an eye out for amazing patterns and textures. When you have a terrific pattern, your great image is not far away.

The background emphasizes the subject – even if it is small and put on the edge.

6. Take notice of your corners and edges

Keep in mind the pointers about the edges and corners of your photo. Notice what takes place there. Let out whatever that doesn’t belong in there, but likewise generate what makes the structure exciting.

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Fixed focal length vs. Zoom?

Fixed focal length vs. Zoom?

I often get the question what is actually better now, I would like to explain the difference between fixed focal lengths and zoom lenses.

Neither of the two is really better, it depends on what you want to photograph.

Zoom lens

A zoom lens makes life a lot easier for the photographer. We can easily zoom in on objects without moving. Of course, this zoom mechanism needs space. The lenses in the lens have to be able to move and this is usually at the expense of lens performance.

Disadvantages of the zoom lens

Due to the zoom mechanism, the lens is missing in other places. Most zoom lenses are very limited in terms of aperture . That is of course logical. The space that the zoom takes up in the lens is at the expense of the other elements. In the affordable price range, the lenses have a maximum open aperture of 3.5 – 6.3. It all depends on the lens and the zoom level.

Advantage of the zoom lens

Of course, the number one advantage is zooming. You don’t have to change the lens if you want a different focal length . However, this can quickly become a disadvantage. I’ve learned more from prime lenses than I could ever have learned from a zoom lens. You think a lot more about the point of view and the perspective and don’t just zoom in on your subject.

Prime lenses

A fixed focal length is a lens without a zoom function. I cannot change the focal length of the lens and have to walk to get closer to my subject.

Advantages of the prime lens

Of course, the lack of a zoom saves space. This space can be used for a large aperture or to make a lens smaller and more manageable. Fixed focal lengths already offer open apertures of 1.8 in a lower price segment.

Disadvantages of the prime lens

The photographer has to think & move. He has no possibility to zoom but can only change the image section by moving (sneaker zoom).

I don’t really see that as a disadvantage myself. It has boosted my creativity enormously and fundamentally changed my thinking in photography.

Conclusion

My recommendation: Get a fixed focal length and only force yourself to take pictures with this for a certain time. It will give you a whole new view of things. You will know when you need a prime lens and when you don’t. You will think differently and adjust your point of view and perspective on the prime lens. You learn to take photos in a completely different way and don’t just zoom in on the subject lazily.

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Normal lens advice

In photography and cinematography, a normal lens is a lens that reproduces a field of view that appears “natural” to a human observer.

The normal lens is a lens with a normal angle of view. This is approximately in the range of 40 to 50 ° or 40 – 60mm. But what is a normal angle of view? Think about how you perceive the world. Now try to transfer it to the camera. You don’t see the world very far, but you don’t see the world very narrowly either. You perceive your world as “normal”. This is exactly what a normal lens should be, but let me go into a little more detail here.

Normal lens vs. human eye

Theoretically, a normal person perceives approx. 180 ° diagonally. That’s an incredible amount. There are also lenses that can depict this, but this causes extreme distortion (fisheye). So we do not perceive the world with our full 180 ° field of view, but always concentrate on one area. You are probably reading this text on a monitor and concentrating on it. What happens in the corner of your eye is blurred.

So it is difficult to get two movable eyes into the field of view of a photo, but it works best with an angle of view between 40 & 50 °. The image doesn’t look too wide (wide-angle lens ), but also not too narrow (telephoto lens)

In all of the sample images in this post, it looks like the person is standing in front of you. That is exactly the effect of a normal lens. Everything looks normal 😉

Use of normal lenses

Normal lenses are most commonly used in portrait photography. Of course you can also photograph other subjects with the focal length range, but they are best suited for portraits due to their natural effect.

Fixed focal length for beginners

I recommend a prime lens for beginners in this area. It gives a better feeling for perception and you neither get too much nor too little on the picture. It is best to use a 50mm lens here. Thanks to their almost symmetrical construction, these lenses are inexpensive, light and powerful, and perfect for beginners in photography.

With this lens you are forced to concentrate on your subject and the composition of your picture and you cannot “zoom in” on the world.

Buy recommendation 50mm fixed focal length

Canon: EF 50mm F / 1.8 STM *
Nikon: NIKKOR 50mm 1: 1.8G
Sony: SEL-50F18F 50mm F / 1.8 *

Photo with the 50mm 1.8 from Canon

Special feature of CROP sensors

There is a special feature with CROP sensors (APS-C or Micro 4/3). These sensors are significantly smaller than full format. Full frame sensors are used as an output for calculating the focal length . The actual focal length does not change with an image sensor, but the effect of the image and the relation between camera, subject and background do.

That’s why I recommend a wider focal length when using an APS-C camera. Almost all entry-level cameras have an APS-C sensor

That’s why I used a 35mm on an APS-C camera very quickly in my early days.

Of course, I also have a few recommendations for your APS-C camera.

Canon * – Nikon * – Sony *

PS Even with full format, 35mm sometimes work much better than 50mm, even if it is actually too angular to pass as a normal lens. Just give it a try 😉