The Bainton Snapper

LOST YOUR PHOTO MOJO?

Instead of talking about a specific style or type of photography, I thought I would tackle a subject a little more relevant. We all have heard of writer's block, well we can all suffer from the curse of the photographic doldrums, I know I have been there, so how do you get out of the creative cul-de-sac you have been shunted into?

I have mentioned styles of photography, and hopefully you are developing your own style, so thinking a little away from this to get out of the conceptual siding you are languishing in, why not try this, at least it may get your images from becoming predictable, I know mine have at times. Photographic Projects…

Yes, set yourself some little projects that do not have to be huge undertakings, but the idea is to get you to think, kick start your mojo. The basics still apply, focus, aperture, shutter speed and focal length so with this basic arsenal you can achieve anything within reason. So here are some ideas that may help in kick starting things.

1. Blur

Do your photographs have to be sharply rendered? I know focus is one of the basic rules but shake it up a bit, change your focus point, slow down your shutter speed so that when you pan onto a moving subject, the subject is in sharp focus >>

but the background >> is blurred this can emphasise a sense of speed even in something moving quite slowly.

2. Colour

Look for single colours, give yourself a colour theme, pick out those colours, even better if you can get a good contrast of colour against background. Colour can be quite symbolic look at our bright red post boxes as an example, the red of summer poppies. If you are an early riser look at the colours the dawn can bring and these colours are quite fleeting too, they change second by second, just the other morning while at work I saw to me a cracking shot of wind turbines silhouetted against a fiery red dawn sky, that gave me a bunch of ideas.

3. Work every angle at a location

Start by shooting in black and white, when you have exhausted that, go for getting in closer examine details you would be surprised what you will see, very probably things you would have ordinarily missed. So, with that in mind work a location to death, change your settings, play about with things. >>

4. Go for the mundane

It’s a rainy grotty day, do not despair, the next project can be to find interesting things to produce images with from around your home. Let’s be honest, the amount of clutter folk gather over the years in their homes who would have thought it to be fodder for a photo project, this is just because it is too familiar and off the radar. So, look for angles, play about with lighting a simple way is draw the curtains till there is just a slit for the light to fall through, use that as your light source look at how that single slither of light changes how something looks.

As an Idea take some cod liver oil capsules (if you have them) >> pop them onto some white paper or textured card (even better) and light them with the technique I have just described or even a simple household torch or anglepoise lamp will do just fine, I think that you will be surprised by the results.

5. Isolation

No not that sort of isolation, but Isolating a single element of a scene so that all the viewers’ attention is brought to bear on that point, this is a good way of producing simple striking images, such as a lone tree in a field, a decorative streetlight, even a reflection in a puddle you can’t see the whole scene but the point of interest is in the reflection. Or another way of thinking is KISS, Keep, It, Simple, Stupid, life is too complicated and cluttered as it is so why burden your images with an over supply of details and colours, look for shape, lines silhouettes then imagine them as a Black and White image printed on your wall do you like the idea then shoot it..!

I hope that this brief rambling challenges you to do as an old children’s TV by line was , “Why don’t you do something less boring instead” Looking forward to seeing your images btw. 