Some people take pictures of their families and friends, and that's all they ever want to do. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, if that's all you want to do, that's great. Other people want to take shots for creative and artistic reasons. This is an article to help you take pictures that are more creative. I will show you how to change the way you look at things, and show you how to practice, to make yourself see things in different ways that will allow you to be more creative.
You need to change the way that you look at things, you need to see things in a way that most people would not even think of looking at them. You need to look from different angles, from higher or lower than normal. The best way to practice this is to pick an object and take about 30 shots of it. Take shots from above, below, from every angle that you can. Take shots with overhead lightning, side lighting, with back lighting and front lighting. Look at all the shots and critique them, which ones are better than others from the view, and which ones are better from the way it is lit. Number the shots, write down what is good about each, what is not good.
After you go through all of them, look at the notes and determine what is the best combination of ways to shoot this object. Go back and look at the ones you picked as the best and make sure you still think they are. Pick another object, something totally different, in a different setup and repeat the process. You should have an idea of what looks the best for those 2 types of shot and setups. Do this again every so often, just to keep your eyes sharp as to what works. After you do this for several objects, you will know what looks best for that particular type of object. You can transfer that knowledge to other similar objects.
Go to a park, or someplace that you can walk around for a couple of hours and take shots of things that you find interesting. Shoot anything you see that you think might make a cool shot. Try the different angles and elevation. Take notes on these shots when you review them also. You will start to see patterns, that show you what differences look best with different types of shots.
Go out to a place to shoot. Take just one lens, take a long zoom, or a 50mm fixed, or a macro, or a wide angle. Shoot everything at one setting, try to get the best shots you can get of everything you shoot, from one zoom length. It forces you to be more creative if you have to shoot everything without using the lens you normally would use. You will be surprised at some of the things you see when review the shots.
Set a goal to take a shot of something different, every day. It has to be a good shot, not just a pull out the camera and shoot one. Do this for 30 days. Put limits on it or not. It has to be taken in your yard, or it has to be taken in your house. Just force yourself to take a good shot every day.
Go out and shoot, make every shot you take that day, contain repeating patterns. The subject of your shooting has to be red, or yellow, or blue. Make all your shot for the day be churches, or schools, or old houses, or barns. Make sure that you take all these shots in the most creative way you can. You can pick different objects, or colors, or patterns, you can do these over and over. You will never run out of subjects to shoot. These exercises will make all your photos that you take better.
After a while of practicing, these tasks will make your eye look for the best, most creative shot you can on every shot you take. You won't have to think about it, it will become natural for you. You will just do it, and all your shots will be improved.
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