Photography Ideas to Recharge Your Creativity

Photography Tips

Are your portraits starting to all look the same? Maybe you’ve been using the same portrait styles for a little too long and want to try something new? New York-based photographer Brandon Woelfel might just have an idea that can get your creative juices flowing again:

It doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment to take creative photos. It just takes a bit of imagination and a willingness to experiment.

1. Create a mirror image

Somehow Woelfel figured out that if you hold your smartphone up to your camera lens at an angle, you get a mirror image. Of course, if your phone is your primary camera you may be out of luck. But if you do have a dedicated camera, the effect is quite impressive.

2. Think like an editor

This isn’t actually a physical technique. Rather it’s more how you look at a shot before you get to post. Think about your editing style and the way you’d like the final image to come out before pressing the shutter.

3. Be your own model

If you thought that you were the only one taking self-portraits because you had no model around, think again. But this tip isn’t just about using the self-timer. You can create interesting photos with just a hand or a foot or…?

4. Bounce light in unusual ways

Light’s an amazing tool that can be used in many ways. Here Woelfel bounces it off a sequined pillow and shoots it through other textures to create unusual patterns of light.

5. Use an object to create depth

With this hack, Woelfel chooses an object that matches the theme of his shot and hold it in front of his lens to create a sense of depth.

These are all pretty simple tips, each of which you can do in your own home or in areas nearby. In fact, you may have been using some already. (Though I’ll be impressed if you’re already doing number 1.) The best thing about these, though, is the creative thinking behind them. A little bit of out-of-the-box thinking can go a long way.