Top 10 Ideas for Great Photos
1. Surf around the Web. Look at images at magazines, papers, on-line galleries and you’ll find a wealth of ideas. Try the Gallery at shotaddict.com. Want more - go to flickr.com and look through tones of creative shots. Another useful source is VFXY, it displays recent posts from various photoblogs.
2. Learn the ‘visual language’. Visit Art Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions that have photography shows. Learn art history from Antiquity to the Present and discover how highly creative people developed methods for expressing light and color.
3. Plan a trip to your local botanical garden. Plants are great for experimenting with light and tone. If you can’t find a botanical garden, go to a garden shop and snap away. There are some really beautiful flowers to take photos of.
4. Look at things through the eyes of creativity. Pick anything and shoot it just to see what it looks like: things around your house, in the refrigerator, etc. The subject doesn’t really matter all that much, what matters is how you shoot it. Shoot, shoot and still shoot even more. Digital is cheap.
5. Composition is the key. Think about what you are doing. Frame your photo in your mind. Look for interesting angles and light, go high, go low. The key is to shoot the subject in as many different ways, under different lighting, and try to make those images interesting. So, don’t just point and shoot, but consider composition.
6. Learn about visual arts. Visit art galleries that have photography shows. Read about art history and learn how artists have developed different and exciting ways of depicting the world around us.
7. Shoot in different conditions. E.g. iff you shoot in early morning, late in the afternoon or in sunset, the available light will add more depth, create interesting shadows and color changes for your convenience. Try to photograph places in fog - it will hide distracting background elements.
8. Enter online contests. It’s great inspiration to find interesting stuff to photograph. You have a topic, and it can make it easier to find interesting stuff to shoot. Try Contests at shotaddict.com.
9. Shoot in different conditions. Shoot at different times of day for different lighting effects and atmosphere. Shoot in different weather for subtle changes of tone.
10. Shoot at different times of day to achieve different types of atmosphere. Experiment with dusk, noon, night and see what fits with your subject matter best.