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As photographers, we should always be looking for new, creative ways to improve our craft. One of the most popular ways of doing that is undertaking a personal photography project. Projects are a great way to tap into your creativity while also broadening your skills. Plus, the possibilities for a photo project are seemingly endless. Regardless of your area of expertise and experience level, there’s always some sort of project that’s just waiting to help you become a better photographer.
Try your hand at recreating old photographs as a great way to learn about composition and lighting since you’ll have to study it in the old photograph to recreate it in the new. (Photo: Pure Photography by Chris Hsia)
Creative Self Portrait
Discovering interesting subject matter can play a large part in creating compelling photographs. The good news is, we don’t have to look very far to find it. In fact, you don’t have to look any further than yourself. Establish a creative self portrait project that places the emphasis on the creative aspect.
Challenge yourself to step away from the cliched “selfie” and come up with unique and inventive ways to capture yourself. Start by choosing a realistic time frame to complete the project in, but don’t be too easy on yourself, as it’s the challenge which will improve your photography. Try taking a portrait every day for two weeks, or once a week for a year. If you’re feeling stuck, browse the internet for inspiration, but try not to replicate another person’s idea, but, put your own twist on it.
Caution: Objects In The Water Drop Are Closer Than They Appear by Lazlo Ilyes
Shooting From The Hip
Taking a great photograph often requires a lot of foresight and planning, but it doesn’t always have to be so much work. Take the lead from some street photographers and Lomography enthusiasts and inject a little spontaneity into your shooting. Cutting loose and forgetting about the “rules of photography” is a surprisingly great way to sharpen your eye and mind for composition. It will also improve your ability to determine proper exposure settings on the fly.
Spend some time working on a project in which you shoot only from the hip. Set a certain amount of time in which you don’t plan out your shots. Grab your camera and take a walk through town, if you see something that strikes your interest grab a photo of it immediately. Don’t fuss over the details, just shoot it. Go true Shoot From The Hip style by setting your focus to infinity and don’t even lift the camera to your eye. Hold it at hip level in the direction of your subject and snap away. It’s a great way to capture candid portraits as people won’t notice a camera being aimed in their direction.
See How to Shoot from the Hip by Eric Kim for more details.
Traditional Arcade by Miguel Virkkunen Carvalho
Don’t be discouraged if you miss compositions and framing at first, while the style seems pretty easy (you’re just pressing a button, right?) it’s actually pretty difficult and takes quite a bit of practice to get right. While shooting from the hip isn’t an ideal style to shoot exclusively, using it during project will certainly teach you a few things.
Break Through Your Comfort Zone
Specialize, specialize, specialize. At some point in your foray into photography, it’s sage advice to pick a specific type of photography and specialize in it. By placing your focus on a specific style, you are much more likely to perfect it. To that end, we should also allot ourselves some time to step outside of our comfort zones and try learning a new style. Not just allow ourselves, but force ourselves. If you find that your primary focus is on portrait photography, go the other direction with it and practice some wildlife shots, where you are not necessarily in control of the subject nor the environment. Food photographers can work on a project focusing on people. Really into aerial photography? Why not try underwater photography!
Breaking down self-created barriers is an excellent way to learn and improve your photography because it forces you to deal with new situations and setups you would not have experienced otherwise. This can be learning to work with different lighting (natural light vs. strobes), animated subjects vs inanimate subjects, and on and on.
Experience Is Everything
Ultimately, the point of a photography project is to gain experience. As we all know, experience is an invaluable tool when trying to learn new things. Once your project is over, make sure that you take what you have learned from the venture and find ways to incorporate it into your everyday shooting. Before long, you’ll see an improvement in the overall quality of your images regardless of what you are shooting.
