Top 10 Ideas for Great Photos
1. Surf around the Web. Look at images at magazines, papers, on-line galleries and you’ll find a wealth of ideas. Try the Gallery at shotaddict.com. Want more – go to flickr.com and look through tones of creative shots. Another useful source is VFXY, it displays recent posts from various photoblogs.
2. Enter photography contests online. Contests often give you topics or themes which can give you inspiration when you don’t know what to shoot.
3. Watch Movies. It is another source of inspiration, as they are nothing more than still images shown to you at 29.97 frames a second. Lots of ideas for concepts, lighting, messages, or just plain pretty images.
4. Shoot with style. Pick anything around the house and shoot it just to see how it turns out. You’ll see that how you shoot something is far more important than what. With digital cameras, there’s no excuse not to!
5. Composition is king. Take time to consider the layout of your image. Imagine the photo in your head. Try and discover new angles and lighting- see things like you’ve never even thought of seeing before.
6. Learn about visual arts. Visit art galleries that have photography shows. Read about art history and learn how artists have developed different and exciting ways of depicting the world around us.
7. Shoot boring things. Take a look around you in a whole new way. Make an effort to shoot things that you would never consider shooting. A bottle. A phone. A lamp. Anything, just shoot it in lots of different ways and see what comes out.
8. Explore the web. The internet is an amazing resource for visual inspiration. Type anything you can think of into the search engine and see what comes up. The internet gives you access to lots of amateur photographer’s work, among them some hidden gems, which will surprise you.
9. Join a photo community and interest groups. It is cheap, informative, and fun. You can post your photos, participate in critique and discussions at forums. Some very good and interesting stuff to be found there!
10. Join photography forums. It’s free and fun. You can discuss photography, post up photos and meet some cool people who love photography as much as you.