What is creative photography?
Creative photography is an open field for all people. Honestly speaking, there is no easy definition of the term, as a good number of people think of a creative photo as something abstract and out of focus. Others just think the term “creative” is just a fun way to praise a bad photo in general. But what would be the next best thing that can define creative photography for us? Some artists think of creative photography as containing additional elements that are used to creatively enhance the original version of the photo.
If you noticed, that definition has two very important aspects that make a big difference between a creative photo and an everyday photo:
additional elements, which are mostly outside of the regular process of taking a photo and have a lot of room for interpretation. Creative minds always include some kind of simplistic workflow in photos, and it can be as simple or as complex as you like. The main goal is simply to get the best out of a single photo.
Intention, or the intentional use of additional elements. When it comes to taking photos, photographers always lack that extra bit of creativity. This is why getting a good camera exposure will never make a photo look or feel creative. But intentional underexposure with the goal of getting a darker image adds an extra touch of creativity.
By capturing a well-exposed image of anything, no artist will ever consider it a creative display. If you’re wondering why, you should know that it’s because nothing outside of your normal photography workflow was used to take the image. As good as your location, lighting, weather, and all other real-life factors are, you can’t bring out the colors and other details in an image without good post-processing skills.
Once you compare a non-stylized photo to something taken under bright lighting, shallow DOF, and the rule of thirds, you can create an image that will make your audience dream of what your image shows. With that approach to photography, not every artist will admit that their work has a creative edge, but when you take the definition highlighted above, the additional elements and intent can be nature itself.
Of course, people will always differentiate creative from non-creative photography, but just like art, there is no pattern that directs you in any way. There is no definitive answer to what makes a creative photographer because unlike the technical part of photography, which has a clearly defined workflow, the creative part does not. That is the most challenging and exciting part of creative photography, and that is also the reason why people think that learning photography is something they spend their whole lives doing. While you can pick up on the technical side of photography, it’s the creative side that will require you to always look for new ways to achieve your goals.
The unfortunate thing is that almost no one can give you a direct creative workflow. The only two things she can work on are careful observation and thinking outside the box. These two methods are an absolute must for capturing creative photos.
Best practices for capturing an image ready for a creative touch include improving the composition of the frame by removing all distracting elements around it (such as trees or buildings). The final result, of course, will look dull and boring, even if there are no technical errors in the image. It can take as little as one ocean wave for an image to look impressive, and it’s a completely natural occurrence.