In the above photos, I implemented some of the things I talked about here, as well as restrained myself even more. The main difference between these photos (all taken in the NYC subway system), and the ones on the Brooklyn Bridge is that I didn’t allow myself to use the view finder or the LCD on my DSLR in the subway. This was a bit of a conscious choice, and my desire to avoid confrontation while photographing people (if you’ve ever shot on the streets of NYC, you know exactly what I’m talking about—people aren’t afraid of confrontation!) In other words, I was treating my expensive DSLR like a cheap, throw-away, point-and-shoot camera. “That defeats the purpose of the control a DSLR extends to the user,” you say. But does it?
My goal behind this article, and the previous article, is not to completely change the way you shoot day in and day out, but rather for it to act as: 1) a catalyst to see things differently. And 2) just another tool in your camera bag when you’re bored, or not satisfied with the way your images are coming out.
As photographers, we get complacent just like any other vocation out there, and with that complacency comes a systematic way of thinking and seeing the world. If you’ve ever worked a desk job, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You wake up, find your ‘Monday suit’, grab the same coffee on the way to the office with only a dash of milk, and 1 packet of sugar, show up, sit down, check your email and begin to tackle the days chores—most of them ‘a change the client name, and a few facts in the report’, or just a continuation of yesterday’s leftovers. That routine may work for the corporate world, but it certainly becomes a bane when trying to be creative. And as photographers, we often chain ourselves to similar routines while shooting, often allowing only little room forvariation —rule of 1/3rds, similar framing to shots we’ve seen, bracketing, horizontal and vertical planes. You get the idea. Now, I’m not saying that all routine in photography is bad—trusting certain brands, shopping at certain retailers, favorite places to shoot. All of these things can be inspiring too. What I’m trying to get you to do here is not change how you shoot, but rather change the way you shoot…sometimes.
The most important reason to occasionally alter, and limit the way you shoot is simple—to surprise yourself! For me, it puts the fun back into things and reminds me of why I got into photography in the first place. By limiting ourselves, we’re removing the stress and pressure we photographers put on ourselves to get the shot. If you’ve ever been on vacation in a foreign place, or at the beach with skies so blue they’re almost purple, or horizontal and vertical lines for miles, you know what I mean. The pressure stacks and you feel you need to capture the scene like a pro. It’s my belief that when confronted with a scene that we think will make a perfect photograph, our subconscious shuffles through the similar photos we’ve seen like a Rolodex, and we try to replicate them with maybe a tiny twist of our own. And that my friend is where the ‘seen-that-shot-before’ syndrome kicks in and you capture images that are no different from the hundreds of others you’ve seen on flickr, or the mammoth size books sitting on your coffee table. There’s really no innovation in that. And I’m guilty of doing it, just as I’m sure most of you are.
What it boils down to is not how often should you put the brakes on and restrain yourself—if you’re happy with the pics your capturing then by all means keep up what your doing—but if your burnt out and looking for something to shake up the way your seeing the world, or want to separate yourself from the thousands of similar shots, then try a few of these techniques:
- Don’t use the viewfinder—shoot from the hip, point and shoot, etc…
- Tilt the camera—go nuts and avoid worrying about keeping leveled planes.
- Change your preferred subject matter—like shooting landscapes? Then shoot people. And vice-versa.
- Change perspective—shoot horizontal? Then shoot vertical. And vice-versa.
- Shoot into the sun and avoid the traditional back-lighting.
- Use the different modes on your camera for things they weren’t intended for—landscape mode for shooting portraits, etc…
- Rent a lens you’ve never used before.
- Give yourself an assignment—photograph an object/place at different hours throughout the day and night.
- Shoot from from different levels—put camera on ground, stand on bench, or wall, get on someones shoulders and shoot down.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Very Insightful.
Your techniques suggestions are about as good as any well known photographer with 40 yrs experience could suggest. Which leads me to believe you are a very fast learner and pick up things of importance in a short period of time.
We all need “catalysts” to see things differently. Especially when we feel we are becoming “stale” in our work. I think your best suggestion is “to change your subject matter” from time to time. The word I keep seeing in your article here is “Redundant.” Mix things up, shake things up, change the way you do things on occasions. Especially if you feel your images are stagnating.