Whether you are taking your first photo or have been snapping away for years, it’s easy to fall into a rut where you do the same thing over and over. Then suddenly it’s no longer fun or exciting to take pictures and you’re not motivated to pull your camera out during daily life. It happens; we’ve all been there. Over the years, we’ve both had times when photography started feeling stale. Usually this happens because you’ve fallen into a routine of taking the same photos over and over again or have stopped challenging yourself to try new things. Here are a few creative techniques to help you break out of these dry seasons! These ideas will get you trying new things and capturing pictures you wouldn’t normally think to take, not to mention inspire other creative ideas brewing under the surface!
Profile pictures are great alternatives to straight-on face shots. They can be super flattering and often feel more dramatic and special because they have a little bit of mystery, since your subject is looking off to the side.
To set up a profile photo, ask your subject to stand in front of a simple background. You don’t want your background to be too busy or distracting for this type of photo, but feel free to spice it up with your color or texture choices. Have your subject face the light source to leave as few shadows on his or her face as possible.
Take a few photos and see what you think. Ask your subject to slightly raise or lower his or her chin. Find whatever position is the most flattering. Keep trying slightly different angles and expressions until you get what you like.
Elsie took this self-portrait in a mirror, after a lot of practice shots.
highlight your profile by facing the window
We had Stacy face the window for this profile picture, lighting up her facial details and some of the glitter behind her.
Getting a photo of your subject with moving objects around him or her is a great way to capture a busy or active environment. Examples include cars driving by, other pedestrians pushing past your subject on a busy street, or water rushing around your still subject.
The best way to capture an image like this is to use a dSLR camera and adjust your shutter speed. Shutter speed controls how long your exposure will be—meaning how long your camera’s shutter stays open to capture an image. The longer the shutter stays open, the more any movement will be recorded as blur. (The shorter it stays open, the more motion will be “frozen.”) Choosing the right shutter speed depends on your situation. Start by setting it to 1 second and take a photo. Do you want more blur? If so, slow the shutter speed to 2 seconds. By the way, it is absolutely essential that your subject hold still while you take the photo. You want the background to have motion, but not your subject.
Whenever you use a longer exposure, it is best to use a tripod or flat surface to set your camera on so you don’t shake it. If you don’t have one available, pull your arms in to your sides and hold as still as you can while you photograph. Just before you snap a photo, exhale and center yourself. We’ve seen great results both with and without a tripod, so never be afraid to try.
If you aren’t using a dSLR or don’t want to adjust your shutter speed, try photographing late in the day when the sun is setting. We took this photo of Emma in front of moving traffic without adjusting our shutter speed. The reason it worked was that we had our camera set on auto and it was late in the day, when there is less available light. This forced the camera to automatically slow its exposure time to let in more light. Of course, this last technique is very experimental and will probably require a lot of takes before you get the perfect photo.
Capturing moving objects behind your subject can make a picture feel alive.
Wind can be frustrating when you are out taking pictures. It can blow over props, mess up hairdos, and (most embarrassing of all) blow up skirts. We’ll be the first to admit that wind can be a nuisance when all you want is a pretty picture. But. Wind can also add a lot of life and beauty to your images if you work with it and not against it.
To make the most of wind, be intentional with your styling choices. If your subject has long hair, ask her to wear it down so it will move with the wind. Have your subject wear loose, flowing fabrics, especially medium and long dresses (wear short skirts at your own risk!). Let the wind do its thing as you snap away. Experiment with different poses: so the wind blows her hair behind her, then in front of her face, and so on. Pay attention to the facial gestures your subject makes. Not every photo will turn out flattering, but if you give yourself a lot of options, wind can be a photo friend after all!
Choose loose clothing for pretty wind pictures.
be patient! wait for the perfect windy moment
Wind can breathe life into an otherwise ho-hum photo.
Action shots can be fun and add a lot of personality to your pictures. These are great options for kids or for groups of friends. Sometimes you can get organic action shots at sporting events or at the park.
To set up a jumping portrait, think about a good location. It can be easier on your subjects if they have a small step or stoop of some kind to jump off. Make sure you like the background and that your subjects will be safe (have them wear jumpable shoes if needed!). Be sure your subjects are wearing clothes they feel comfortable jumping in and can safely move in. Never try to force someone to do a jumping portrait if he or she isn’t into it. Jumping body + angry face = weird photo.
Be sure to keep taking shots until your subjects are tired of jumping. Not every photo will have the perfect facial expression, and some will probably turn out blurry. So give yourself the freedom to take a bunch and choose the best.
Amy demonstrates the classic jumping portrait. Go, Amy!
If you find yourself the subject of a jumping portrait session, don’t be afraid to go for it! These are meant to be fun and lighthearted.
We so often focus on details, filling the entire frame of our photo with the subject. It can be a great challenge to take wide photos, which force us to be more intentional about how we get viewers to notice our subject. Remember, you almost always want to highlight only one special feature in each photo. What do you want your viewer to see first? You can highlight this subject by how you crop the photo, where you place it in the frame, or through lighting.
Great times to try to get wide photos are when you are in a special environment you want to capture, such as the beach or hiking in the mountains. (Landscape photography can be a fun change of pace if you usually photograph people and objects.) Another reason to take wide photos is to incorporate negative space. Negative space is the space around your subject. Having a lot of negative space adds tension to a photo, forcing the viewer to note the subject first.
Maybe you want to highlight your subject by leaving him or her in the lower third of the photo, with the rest a textured wall. This type of photo can be really pretty and different. This is also great if you plan to add text to the photo later for your blog or photo album.
wide-angle lens
Isolate your subject by taking a wide photo.
Notice the tension and atmosphere in this wide photo of a building and sky.
In general, most of us want our photos to be crisp and clear; blurry photos are usually viewed as mistakes. But every once in a while, a blurry photo can be beautiful. To take a blurry photo on purpose, you can either set your camera to manual mode and blur your point of focus, or, if your camera doesn’t have manual mode, try moving slightly as you snap the photo. Either way, it may take a bit of practice to get the amount of blur that you want.
When you choose to take a blurry photo, you are trying to capture a feeling more than a specific feature or image. The best blurry subjects are striking images that convey messages all on their own, such as a couple holding hands, snow falling on a tree, a baby reaching up to its mother, and so on. It’s best not to photograph faces with this technique as the results can be unflattering. Instead, focus on gestures and body language, or landscapes.
Blur can be used to create dreamy, romantic landscapes.
We set our camera to manual and took a few blurry photos of Darren and Stacy holding hands.
Macro photos are extremely close-up photos of features or objects. There are special macro lenses you can buy for dSLR cameras; we have one we love (see this page for details). But you don’t need special equipment to get pretty macro photos. Here are a few tips to think about as you explore the world up close and personal.
Macro photos need a sharp point of focus, either the entire subject or, if you’re super close, just the most important point of the subject, with the rest blurry. This is easiest to achieve with your camera set to manual, but with practice and patience you can get good results using your auto setting or with a camera phone. Choose subjects with a lot of different colors or texture. Often macro photos can be so zoomed in that you can no longer tell what the picture is of, and that’s okay! As long as you are being intentional it can be interesting to get a close-up photo of almost anything.
Experiment with different angles and perspectives when you’re shooting details, such as photographing from above.
zoom in to discover pretty details
Macro photos highlight the beautiful details in our everyday world!
Typically when we photograph, we simply capture the world around us, as it is. But another approach is to create atmosphere in your photos, setting up your shot to convey tension or specific emotions. You are still working with the natural environment, but being more intentional about how you photograph it. Here are three tips for creating atmosphere.
PAY ATTENTION TO SPACE. How you frame (or crop) a photo greatly affects the message it conveys. For example, if you leave a lot of empty space around your subject (maybe he or she is standing in a wide open field, or against a large wall), this creates a strong focal point. The viewer will immediately look at the subject, making him or her the central focus of the photo.
USE COLOR. Certain colors give off feelings: yellow and orange feel happy, blue and black feel calm or (sometimes) sad. Choose to focus on certain colors to give your photos a more emotional feeling.
USE CONTRAST. Contrasting colors, textures, patterns, and subject matter can make your photos feel more alive and energetic.
We photographed these lattes at a local coffee shop that has a large window and cute yellow chairs—elements that could easily make our photo feel happy, bright, and cheery. For a challenge, we tried instead to convey a feeling of calm. We moved the lattes away from the bright window to a wooden coffee table with more subdued light and neutral colors.
The contrast of Elsie’s black hair and fair skin against a bright blue wall add energy to this photo.
use a monochromatic color scheme to create soft and airy atmosphere in your photos
Depth of field refers to the amount of your photo that is in focus. If all of your photo is in focus, from front to back, it’s called a deep depth of field. If only a small part of your photo is in focus, such as the subject, and the background is blurry, that’s called a shallow depth of field.
Depending on what kind of camera you use, you may have more or less control over your depth of field. With a dSLR camera, you can manipulate your aperture and focal distance to control depth of field. If you use a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) and a closer focusing distance, you’ll create a blurry background (shallow depth of field), which is great for taking portraits. If you have never played around with f-stops on your dSLR, consult your camera manual to see how to adjust your specific camera.
If you are not using a dSLR or don’t want to mess with your f-stop, here’s a fun challenge. Photograph a person with his or her back directly against a wall. This will create the look of a deep depth of field, where everything is in focus. Then have the subject move three or four feet (or more) away from the wall to create the illusion of a shallow depth of field, with the wall in the background falling into blur.
You can manipulate depth of field even with an iPhone camera by having your subject stand close to and then farther away from a wall. In the top example, everything is in focus (deep depth of field); in the bottom example, the wall becomes blurry (shallow depth of field), making Emma really pop.
Wouldn’t it be fun to explore the world through a new set of eyes? Homemade filters can do just that—they are a super fun and inexpensive way to change up your photos, no Photoshop needed! Camera filters are transparent (or translucent) elements that alter the quality of the light as it enters your camera, distorting the image. Homemade filters can be made out of all sorts of materials for different looks. Here are our three favorite ideas.
LACE. Add a thin layer of lace or tulle in front of your lens while photographing. Choose lace that your camera will be able to focus through. If you have trouble getting your camera to focus on your subject and not on the lace, cut a small hole in the lace, which can make the edges of your photo look cloudy.
SUNGLASSES. Focus through the lens of your sunglasses or a piece of colored transparency paper. This will cause your photos to take on a different range of colors.
SARAN WRAP AND VASELINE. This is our current favorite. Tightly wrap your camera lens in Saran wrap and secure it with a rubber band (or simply hold it in place as you photograph). Now smear Vaseline on the Saran wrap, circling the lens center. Leave a small area for the camera to focus through. This filter will give your pictures a very blurred outer edge, giving them a dreamy, ghostly feeling. Weird, but fun!
When trying the Saran-wrap-and-Vaseline technique, take care not to smudge your actual lens!
cool toy camera effect!
Hand coloring is a retro technique that was used before digital photography. There are ways to do this with photo editing software, but we love the vintage vibe and variety of colors you can get when doing it by hand. Also, no special equipment is needed—you can use everyday paintbrushes and acrylic paints from any craft or art supply store.
First, print a few black-and-white photos. You can use a variety of papers for these prints, but we don’t recommend high gloss as the paint will have a hard time absorbing and is more likely to smear during the process. For paints, we like acrylics because they are inexpensive and easy to mix to create our own custom colors. Oil paints are the traditional option, but they are often more expensive and take longer to dry. You can also use colored pencils and a little oil (such as canola or vegetable oil). Simply color the areas you want and then lightly dab on oil with a cotton ball to blend the color.
Remember to start light; you can always add more color later, but it’s much harder to take color out if it’s too dark. And feel free to color outside the lines! There are no rules, so if you want to paint a tree blue and the grass pink, then do. Have fun and create something you love.
Hand coloring adds a vintage vibe to any photo.
