Learn Digital Photography – 5 Keys to Creative Photography

Every photographer wants to be more creative in their photography. You’ve spent a lot of money on a great digital camera and yet your photos don’t look like those in the books and magazines. How do you create photos that look stunning? Here are five keys to get you more creative.1. Get to know your cameraThe most important thing you need to learn in any hobby or profession is how to use the tools of the trade. Getting to know your camera properly is essential to becoming more creative in your photography. And you heard me correctly, photography and not digital photography. Photography hasn’t changed. You might use digital instead of film but it is still the art of photography. Knowing all the functions of your camera, especially the use of aperture, shutter speed and ISO is fundamental to becoming a more creative photographer.2. Use your brainA creative photographer is a thinking photographer. Take your time and think before shooting a subject. Resist the temptation to press the shutter button and consider what you are about to do. The film photographer had twenty four or thirty six exposures and needed to be more thoughtful as it was much more expensive than digital. A wasted thoughtless shot cost money.3. The 100 Shots ExerciseOnce you have thought about your shot it’s time to be creative. We can be very single dimensional in our thinking and this limits our creative ability. There are better ways to shoot a subject than standing right in from of it and firing away. So let’s get creative. Find an object or a subject, look at it carefully and then shoot it in a hundred different ways. Difficult? You bet this seems difficult, but once you get started you’ll find that it gets easier. Try different angles, focus on different parts of the subject, increase or decrease your depth of field or change your white balance. By doing this exercise you will be forced to think beyond your normal viewpoints and find shots that are really creative and different.4. Visualise your final photoSo often we try to shoot an image by pointing the camera and hoping for the best with no idea of what the final shot will look like. Look at your subject without your camera to your eye. Walk around it and think about the final image. What do you want in the photo and what will you exclude? By having a clear idea in your mind’s eye you will not only have something to work towards but also be able to plan your image. Beginning with the end in mind allows you to make adjustments and be more creative as you add to the idea of the final image.5. Practise, practise, practiseAsk any one of my students and they will tell that this point is my personal photographic mantra. There is nothing that can ever replace practise. The sportsman or artist spends hours developing their art, so why not you? Continual shooting and refining will bring you closer to more frequent stunning shots. You will learn what it takes to shoot a great image and be able to repeat it until you are continually shooting really creative photos.Creative photography is not a skill you are born with but one that can be attained by diligence and practise. All of us have it deep within. Don’t let anyone say that it’s for the famous few. Work hard and you will find that before long, you too are a creative photographer. Happy shooting!