15 Photo Ideas, how to be creative
It does not matter what are the subjects that you photograph, or if you prefer to capture your pictures in colors or black and white. The fact is photography is out there to help us keep records of moments of how we see the world, sometimes images impossible to others to see, but that through our lens, we can show it to everyone. Photography makes us see everything in a different way. The amount of themes within photography is really extensive, but even so, sometimes we may feel lost or without inspiration.
The fact is, within photography there are plenty opportunities everywhere. All we have to do is look closely and put our creative side to work. So whether you are a professional or just practice it as a hobby, I set up a list with 15 ideas for you (we all lack of ideas from time to time, that is a fact).
Besides being a street photographer, I am also a travel photographer. A fine art street travel photographer. That long name embodies a lot of ideas. And with ideas come creativity. Although I am obsessed with harsh street urban photography, I have also a few other themes in my website that happened along my career and that I am also fond about it. Let me inspire you!
"The best camera is the one that is with you…"
Chase Jarvis
*Architecture
This is one of my favorite themes along with street photography. I love everything about architecture. Being a huge fan of Bauhaus, to bring the circles, triangles, squares and play with details, lines, forms and designs is easy for me. If you like architecture, you can read all about techniques and ideas in my previous post here.
*Bridges
Bridges are an engineering wonder and they have its own identity. Whenever I think of it, passion and mystery comes to my mind. It seems bridges tell stories to us, magic tales.
“Bridges are metaphors for everything in life, … The bridge is not just about getting back and forth between north and south. The bridge is about connecting our communities.”
Jim West
*Coffee
I love coffee. Actually, I am addicted to it. Black, pure, strong. Whenever I visit a city, I go for a coffee first. Everyday life? Coffee in the morning, afternoon, evening and night. Big mugs. Full. Coffee is a status, a way of life, a reflex of yourself. Coffee shops are a great opportunity to shoot street photography and is also part of my series. What kind of coffee lover are you?
Clockwise: Florence, Vienna, Paris and Bologna
*Cycling
The idea of this series came from the countless amount of bicycles around the globe. Cycling is an unlike theme and easy to shoot it. It is a kind of photography where you can mix street, people, speed, light, slow motion, blur, stillness, transportation, way of life and sport.
"If you don’t see it, you cannot capture it.”
Thomas Leuthard
*Metro
The life running inside metros is another world. The amount of people within it is crazy and an excellent opportunity to shoot street photography. Not only that, but the trams, details of the structure, the flow of people, the light, the rush hours, the late hours, the signs. As 99% of my work is black and white I am suspicious to say it, but if you have the chance, shoot it in color and then change it to black and white. See the difference. Embrace the art of a monochromatic world.
Moscow Metro is another world. A fascinating one.
*Nature
When I think of nature, I think of the sea, rivers, lakes, flowers fields, desert cliffs, waterfalls, snow blankets, green valleys, giant canyons, distant lands. A million of ideas pop up! I have a few places where I love to be quiet, alone, just me and the nature itself, letting the moment guide me towards the perfect shot. Some people don’t like nature in black and white, only colorful. I disagree. I think nature can be as astonishing in black and white as in color. Let's just remember Sebastião Salgado and Ansel Adams.
*Noir
The visual look of a noir photography can be traced from the harsh black and white, the dirty streets, foggy nights, low light, odd angles adding dramatic girth and symbolic tones, a sense of claustrophobia and also paranoia, urban landscape, blurry moments, metropolis sidewalks lamps, shadowy pedestrians. Sinister context that creates the noir universe. The word itself immediately brings a lot of things on everyone’s mind. A noir photography is a scenic framed moment. I like to create this unique atmosphere and bring my public to another era, a hypnotic one, even though we are no longer living this moment, I like to think that all that we want to create is possible, specially within photography.
*People
"Street photography is 80% balls and 20% skills."
Eric Kim
Don’t you agree with that? Although street photography can involve so much more aspects than just people, still, you have to have the guts to go out there and shoot people right at their face. And I could not left out my favorite street photographer from this theme, Daido Moriyama. His work has a great impact in my photography and I simply love the way that he shoots street photography. The strong contrast, the odd situations, the vividness and bizarre moments are simply perfect. People’s faces everywhere and also everything else. In order to learn how is the best approach to shoot people, you have to practice a lot. Be at ease with the chosen environment, stay calm, focused and patient. If I ask people to photograph them? Never. Do I ask permission afterwards? Never. Why? The photography and the moment will never be the same if I start to ask questions to do my work. Street photography is all about the moment! As I said, practice everyday. When you start to practice you lose the fear and things start to work naturally.
Greek moments ...
Venice streets ...
*Perspective
Perspective is one of the most imaginative ways to create different photography. From below, from the top, whatever is your idea, objects, people, buildings, perspective is a great way to enhance your experience.
*Rain
Another of my favorite themes, in every aspect: rain. As a pluviophile, I consider myself a person obsessed with rain. Rainy days or nights can change my mood from angry to happy. Those raindrops have such a huge impact in my soul that I don’t know how to put into words, so I go out there and photograph. My language is translated into images. Rainy seasons brings a feeling of romance, passion, solitude, pure beauty. Lost souls or happy couples. Night walkers under the spell of a unique state of mind. The most beautiful shots can outcome from rainy moments …
Clockwise: São Paulo, Paris, Bucharest and Berlin
“At night I dream that you and I are two plants
that grew together, roots entwined,
and that you know the earth and the rain like my mouth,
since we are made of earth and rain.”
Pablo Neruda
*Silhouette
Silhouettes are everywhere in my work. Dark figures, shadows, mysterious alleys, foggy nights, strong light sunsets filled with outlines, strangers. Silhouettes translate the atmosphere of another world to me. I like to be in the backstage just watching. Waiting for the moment when souls bump into each other. Or, stay hidden waiting for situations to happen. Imagining if that couple is in love or having an argument. Wondering if that group is a family or a bunch of strangers. That person is lost or guiding directions? Or even when there are just elements. Like a single bench. I like to think about these situations as short stories that were not meant to be told. Like a secret brought to public through my lenses.
Budapest lost souls ...
Berlin never disappoints ...
Lisbon daylight contrasts ...
*Snow
Some people love summer. Others spring. I love winter and fall. Although I live in Brazil, I can’t stand the heat. Complicated, I know. I was once a summer person, but that was a long time ago. People change. The way we feel about things change and with that, the reflex upon my work changed as well. So winter is a constant theme in my photography, therefore, snow as well.
*Statues
I have a series in my website that is called Faces. Why?Have you ever noticed how interesting is to shoot street photography and statues along with it? The expressions on their faces...if the statues could talk! An idea that came after all these years seeing all monuments and historical sites everywhere.
*Texture
An abstract kind of photography, but still, a very interesting one. Different textures makes the public be curious about the kind of material that shows in a photo. But, is it really a material? A wood wall, stone, bricks? Maybe a fabric? Tree layers? Sea rocks? Dead leaves? Iron? Glass? Yes, texture photography can become so absorbing to the point of the public wonder if that is a photo or a canvas. This is how good it can gets. From ordinary to extraordinary. Excellent opportunity for the fertile imagination.
*Water
Water can deliver creative shots. Just picture it: puddles, sea, lakes, rivers, rain, drops, transparency, density, sensations, reflex in the pool, bubbles, splashing water. Also, you can play with surrealism, abstraction and fashion. Water as the subject, not as a detail.
JUST SHOOT
The act of shooting is intimately connected with physical and mental training, like a warrior. The camera is your sword, ready to cut and to stab. When we photograph we cut a piece of a chosen moment. A piece of the world. A piece of history, a place, a person, a cultural moment.
Learn the rules, and break them. Be ordinary in order to be extraordinary. Be humble and yet, bold. Don’t explain your image, let it speak for itself. Tell a history, but not the end. Be simple, furthermore, be complex. And shoot endlessly.
“It’s all automatic. All I have to do is press the button.
It’s a camera that every amateur buys.
[pause, points to his head] It’s all in there.”
Helmut Newton
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thank you so much
for reading!!!
Happy Holidays!!
