Creative photography can mean a lot of different things. Composites, elaborate setups, hair, makeup and incredible locations all fit the bill. But, you can also get pretty creative without much work.
I like to call it being lazy as a photographer. There are times when I don’t feel like putting in the effort to create. That doesn’t mean I still can’t be creative.
10 words
If you know me or follow me at all, you know I’ve been part of The Photography Scavenger Hunt for going on 10 years. It started on Google+ and has continued to grow and thrive over the years. We just completed our 31st round and I thought I’d share my thought process (what little there was) and the images I ended up submitting.
I fully admit that I do not always feel like participating, but I know that if I don’t I’ll be sorry. So, I do whatever I can to make it happen.
Here are the words we were given:
- Fairytale
- Float
- Fluffy
- Ink
- Self-portrait
- Sparkle
- Tea
- Teal
- Tiny creatures
- Window
Creative photography parameters
Using a theme or limiting yourself to photograph can make it easier (or harder) to create the images for the words. I decided this round I would use only my mobile phone, create images only in black and white and incorporate my office window blinds in every image. Easy, right? I could do all of this (and did) while sitting at my desk.
Here is what I came up with
Window
This is the first shot I made. I just saw this as I was logging into my computer one morning. Simple. This is what set off the whole window blinds theme. (Nevermind that I’m obsessed with the lines and shadows they create on a daily basis.)
Self-portrait
Taken at the same time. The way the reflection in the monitor was distorted looked cool and creepy all at the same time.
Fluffy
Easy for me as I happen to have a stock of feathers in my photo props drawer.
Ink
These are the things that distract me from my work. Shadows, lines and a hopefully little bit different take on ink.
Float
This one actually required me to use Photoshop. While that may not be unusual for most of you, I rarely use it. It was a good exercise for me.
Sparkle
Creating the sun flare was easy but I felt the image needed a little bit more than just that. Another trip into Photoshop to use an image of sunlight sparkling on a river that I had taken earlier that week. Combined the two images and voilà!
Tea
I’ve previously, on more than one occasion, photographed the blinds reflected in my cup of tea. That meant I had to do something different for this.
Tiny creatures
First I looked to purchase some little fairies or something to use. I do not like to buy things that I’ll never likely use again so that was out. I didn’t really want to go the insect route so I just kept thinking about it. Then I realized I have this penguin Russian Doll stack. So the littlest penguin ended up on my blinds.
Fairytale
This one was the second most difficult for me. Some research and a flash of “oh, how obvious could it have been for me” as someone who took ballet most of my life.
Now, how to incorporate this into the theme of the blinds. It was a bit tricky to balance and I had a little help from Nik Analog Efex to make it a little more magical.
Teal
OK, now this one really had me stumped for a while. Red, orange, green, almost any other color would have been easily done as a black and white. Teal? Not so much. That’s when my warped, childlike mind kicks in.
Creative photography, playing and fun
It’s this type of thinking and playing that helps me produce more creative work when I’m shooting. Will they be in my portfolio? Not likely but you never know. In the end, I did receive some recognition from the judges. My self-portrait, fluffy and teal images all received Honorable Mentions.
I highly recommend checking out the rest of the entries for each of these words. It’s truly amazing what people come up with. If you’re interested in joining Round 32 of The Photography Scavenger Hunt, check out their website and subscribe so you are notified of the next sign-ups, which will be in June.
