Creativity exercises

[Spirit]

This thread could also be called "Getting to know your new DSLR".

It was suggested to me as an exercise to lock myself in the bathroom and take a minimum of 50 pictures, without taking doubles (that was interesting). Another was to photograph an egg from different angles, and in different situations/lighting. Of course there's also the "pick one lens, at one exposure, and walk about town" exercise (one of my faves).

I thought these were great way to get the creative juices flowing, so I thought I'd ask if anyone else knows of suggestions, or if you'd like to post photographic evidence of good (or poor) photography exercise samples... if anyone has any.

:-)

[Matt S]

What an excellent thread. Great idea about locking yourself in the bathroom, I might jut give that a go over the weekend, and not leave until I have 50 shots.

[Anke]

Great idea, helps you get out of that creative rutt that we get stuck into from time to time.

[Naturalist]

What an excellent thread. Great idea about locking yourself in the bathroom, I might jut give that a go over the weekend, and not leave until I have 50 shots.

Matt
If we never hear from you again, we'll know why! :rolleyes:

[liza]

I'd just go out and shoot something I find interesting. Like football. I'm headed for Colts training camp this weekend. :)

[airfrogusmc]

Try it from up near the ceiling and down on the floor too. Maybe take one prime lens and only one.

[the_incubus]

What an excellent thread. Great idea about locking yourself in the bathroom, I might jut give that a go over the weekend, and not leave until I have 50 shots.

i cant do that. My bathroom is so small i dont have any lenses that could focus so close. :)

[Spirit]

Try it from up near the ceiling and down on the floor too.

Using a tabletop tripod (on the floor) is another good idea.

[DocFrankenstein]

Shoot film
Shoot large format
Draw
Study illustration
Shoot two bit images
Draw the image you want to get before you shoot it
Know what you want to say with your photograph

[Spirit]

I'd just go out and shoot something I find interesting. Like football. I'm headed for Colts training camp this weekend. :)

But I think this goes against the purpose of the exercise. It's to find creative ways to photograph something you normally wouldn't, or in a certain way (like with using only one lens, at settings you would never normally use).

Perhaps we can start a 2 foot rule as an example. All photographs must be taken from 2 feet away. Lens or settings do not apply, zoom is not allowed... etc.

I was hoping for some visual examples! Oh well. Anyone? ;)

[howzitboy]

shoot something u dont usually shoot. go out and try shoot some bird shots!! i looked at the birds forum and those guys are awesome. i tried and mine came out like crap. humbling experience!! once u got a few good ones, head over to the macro forum.
i tried a few of those too and again, its super duper hard!
trying new things will get your juices flowing again and show u how little you really know about photography!!

another tip is get some pictures u see (internet, magazines) and try to duplicate it. really tuff to do

[Tel]

Go somewhere familiar, put your camera in manual, turn off image playback and the histogram (maybe put tape over the LCD) and don't leave till you've shot 50 or 100 shots. Again, only one shot of each thing. You'll probably be shocked and learn a fair bit when you get home!

[Packhorse-4]

I’ve seen some interesting shots from people who “locked” themselves in the kitchen for a similar exercise. You could narrow it down to kitchen utensils if you want a different challenge.

I also just listened to a pod cast asking the listeners to shoot the alphabet. 26 individual shots, one for each letter. The letters could be from billboards, or street signs. But if you really want to get creative, just use your natural surroundings. Look for branches, roots, fallen trees, natural curves in the landscape or just about anything really.

When I can find the time, I am going to start working on the alphabet project. I may have to just keep an eye out for “letters” when I am out taking pictures.

[bieber]

I just always keep an eye out for things I wouldn't normally think about. When I spot something, I start working out how the photograph should look in my head, then eventually I shoot it. This (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/60259558/) came about that way, I had the idea while shooting wildlife with the lens pictured one day. I noticed a nifty pattern in my tooth-brush rack the other day, and now I'm kicking around composition and lighting for it in my head...

[Spirit]

I also just listened to a pod cast asking the listeners to shoot the alphabet. 26 individual shots, one for each letter. The letters could be from billboards, or street signs. But if you really want to get creative, just use your natural surroundings. Look for branches, roots, fallen trees, natural curves in the landscape or just about anything really.

I LOVE this idea!!

[Fotoshooter]

Macro shooters have a similar exercise as with the bathroom - go into the field and measure off a square foot or inch in which to shoot.

Now if you locked yourself in the bathroom with another person.....

Did you hear about the guy who's room was so small... when he closed the door he was in bed with the knob.

[stoneylonesome]

When I get into a rut I grab the camera, just go outside and walk around the house looking for anything, old fence post, a twisted branch, some peeling paint (this is also a reminder I have to paint the house :rolleyes: ) You'd be suprised what you can find in a short distance.

[Fotoshooter]

Ask yourself what makes the subject unique or interesting and pick a technique to focus on that feature or idea.
After you have taken your usual image, do something different. Look for an unusal angle, change perspective with another focal length and subject distance, use selective focus or large depth of field, use slow or fast shutter speeds, move the camera with slow
shutterspeeds, change your angle for different lighting.
Pick one of these techniques and practice it with different subjects.

Give yourself a new project or subject to look at. Go to a new location.
Photograph the same subject or location at different times of day in each season.

Go on a workshop. Attend a seminar. Go to an art gallery or museum.
Go to the library or book store.
Get off the couch. If you can't, look at your toes with the camera.

[Mark_Cohran]

I also just listened to a pod cast asking the listeners to shoot the alphabet. 26 individual shots, one for each letter. The letters could be from billboards, or street signs. But if you really want to get creative, just use your natural surroundings. Look for branches, roots, fallen trees, natural curves in the landscape or just about anything really.

This is an old trick and one I've used many times. It also works with helping youngsters think creatively. When my kids were young and we'd go on walks through the parks and forests we'd use this as a game with the rule that you couldn't use signs. It's actually a lot of fun.

Another exercise I like is finding repetition in a scene - something like two horses grazing under two trees along a lake shore and the whole scene reflected in the still water of the lake.

Mark

[Spirit]

I just worked 51 hours overtime so I haven't had time to go out and take pictures. But since today was my first day off, I decided to spend it at home going through my photography folder and deleting all the ones that I wasn't impressed with. I've got about 40gb on this hard drive, so it took forever, but I learned a lot about how I take pictures.

My technique over the years has drastically improved, which was nice to see, but in going through all those pictures now (and noting all my old faults), I'm definitely more aware of how to take a better picture now. There was a lot of "Why would I do that?" lol

I've done quite a few "photo exercises", but I think I learned more from just looking at old pictures.

I'm going to do that alphabet one for sure though, the next time I'm out on a hike. Can't wait for that one.