Creative Art Photography: Tips, Tricks, Hints and Digital Camera Mods Too!

Blogged by: Brian Bruner

Are you tired of wasting time and money on good (not great) prints at your local drug store or superstore photo lab? Have you ever wanted to simply do it yourself at home and create extremely high quality prints? Well, a couple years ago, that was my problem. I did not like the quality and service I got. I was unhappy with having to drive to town, wait in line at the self-serve print station, and realize that the prints just didn’t convey what I had personally seen through the camera viewfinder. So I made it a goal to find the best printer, paper, and ink. These 3 items, along with simply having a nice photo to print, are the keys to creating your own perfect prints.

When it comes to photography, it is a rectangular world.  It is certainly convenient to have the standards that we do (3×5, 4×6, 5×7, etc.)  It makes buying frames and albums easy—and inexpensive. 

After getting my feet wet with my own photography, I started paying attention to what other people were doing for a little inspiration.  One of the most interesting styles I have discovered along the way is square photography.   

Classic square format cameras are making a comeback in popularity.  While I would love to own film cameras, the truth is I really do not have the time or money to devote to getting into true square format photography with film.  My inexpensive and fun trick: crop it!

Getting creative with patterns

Blogged by: Saumil Shah

In Part 1, I touched upon some examples of artistic photos through patterns occuring in nature. I shall now discuss how to get more creative with patterns in nature. The previous example with the palm fronds was very well illuminated and had bright, vivid and pleasing colours. Sometimes, the subject exhibiting the pattern itself may not carry pretty colours or may be poorly lit. But the pattern itself may be gorgeous. The photographs discussed in this post are examples of patterns formed by silhouettes.

The photograph below is of another palm leaf which was quite poorly illuminated. The tips of its fronds were beginning to wither away and it wasn’t brighly coloured either. However, the pattern formed by its leaves was beautiful.

I stood close to the palm leaf and focussed on the fronds so that the shape formed by the pattern is very sharp. Behind the palm plant was a lawn, and having it out of focus yielded the green colour filling in the spaces between the fronds.

The spine of the leaf is straight, slanted slightly. I used this to my advantage for applying the Rule of Thirds to this photograph. Think of the photograph divided into three columns. The eye is led from the top to the bottom, with the diagonal line slicing through the centre column. The diagonal separates the picture into two regions. As opposed to the previous example, these regions exhibit bilateral symmetry and similarity.

The beauty of the pattern is brought out by the silhouette.

Continue onwards to see my best shot of the day when hunting for patterns in nature.

Artistic photography from your own back yard

Blogged by: Saumil Shah

Patterns occuring in nature make for extremely artistic photos. And for seeking out patterns you do not need to travel to the far corners of the Earth. It would be great if I got the opportunity to fly over the Sahara and photograph the uniform ripples in the sand dunes, but looking at objects closely in my own back yard can bring out quite a few beautiful subjects!

Nature is always aesthetic and therefore photographing objects occuring in nature will almost always lend themselves to be pleasing to the eye. What makes a beautiful artistic photograph depends on how you compose the photograph, how the subject is illuminated and some basic camera settings.

Let us see a few examples. The photograph below is a close up of a palm leaf. I have chosen to capture only a small section of the palm plant. What is left out is as important as what is captured. I do not want the viewer to think about anything other than the beautiful symmetry of the fronds of the palm leaf. These fronds remind me of calligraphic strokes. Simple, straight and uniform.

I spent a couple of minutes properly composing this photograph. The photograph is based on the famous Rule of Thirds. The spine of the leaf forms a graceful curve beginning from about 1/3rd photo height down from the top left corner and ending almost near the bottom right corner. The curve divides the photograph into two regions. The top region is filled with dense green strokes formed by the fronds. The eye of the observer is led from the bottom right corner to the top left part of the photograph. The bottom region could have been empty but I chose to zoom in on this particular area of the palm plant where I could fill up part of the bottom region with tips of fronds from another palm leaf below this one. The aperture is set to f/5.6 which gives an average shallow depth of field, conveniently blurring out the background.

Last but not the least, I chose to illuminate the subject in the best possible manner. Leaves and flowers are translucent. Having the sun or the light source shine through them makes their colours vivid and bright. The risk here is that you would be taking photographs either against the sun or in blazing sunlight which may cause problems in exposure. These can be avoided by careful positioning. If you cannot change the orientation of the subject, simply walk around it until you get an angle you like. In the photograph above, the light shining through the palm fronds gives them a bright green colour.

Let us see how you analyse the next photograph. The subject in the photo below is the same palm plant, photographed from a different angle.

Continue onwards for my thoughts behind taking this photograph and see whether your observation is in line with mine. It doesn’t have to be, though.

Blogged by: Brian Bruner

Although visiting places I have never seen is one of my favorite things to do, it is the people I encounter along the way that make my trips special. The candid photos of these perfect strangers are what complete my photo albums. People make your photos more natural and alive. The tough part - everything is spontaneous. In fact, more often than not, my photos with the highest level of spontaneity are my favorites.

However, we should always be mindful of the individual’s privacy. When taking candid photos of people living their everyday lives, always place yourself into their shoes. If the person does not seem to want their photo taken, then do not take their picture. But if you show common courtesy or simply pass along a smile, many people will be more accomodating to let you take their photo.

Sometimes artistic photos can be created from everyday objects, like peepholes! 

Peepholes are not just for doors.  You cannot deny it.  Peepholes are fun—the kind of mindless amusement that comes from playing with simple toys like a Slinky or silly putty. 

When I found an old peephole sitting in my junk drawer, I instinctively picked it up and began to play.  I loved how the peephole distorted the world around me.  I realized I had to try taking pictures through my newly rediscovered do-it-yourself fisheye lens. 

This was the beginning of my “through the peephole” photography.  This first peephole I used had a small viewing area and made it difficult to get a good focused shot.  After a quick trip to a local hardware store, I found a peephole with a one inch viewing area.  It was perfect for getting the focused shots with that fisheye look that I was going for.

Blogged by: Brian Bruner

Have you ever seen an impressive panoramic photo and thought, “I wish I had a camera that would take photos like that?” Fortunately, if you have a camera–you can take panoramics! This type of photography is easier than you think. All you need are a consistent series of photos and a process called “stitching”. There are several software programs available that include this tool. I prefer to use Microsoft Digital Image Suite.

Start out by setting up a tripod. A tripod is not required, but it does help in keeping your camera steady. Make sure the camera is mounted level to the ground or horizon and zoom out slightly more than you expect the image to appear. The reason for this is because stitching the photos together will require you to slightly crop the image as a final step.

Blogged by: Carrie Bruner-Hillyard

Sometimes an artistic photo can come from taking a “bad photo.” In fact, I often take bad photos intentionally by overexposing my digital images.

Overexposing simply means that you are letting more light into your photograph. It whitens your photos and can be an interesting and easy technique for you to make one-of-a-kind images. Often times, the edges of the subject you are photographing will have a softened glow, especially with backlighting. (Yes, ladies, with the right lighting overexposed images of yourself can make you look slimmer!)

Before you try this on your own, you should be aware that overexposed photos usually take minor photo editing. I prefer to use software that allows you to adjust the midtones. Without editing, your photo may appear washed out. But after a quick increase of midtones, prepare to be surprised at what jumps out at you.