11 Ways You Can Take More Creative Photos with Your Digital Camera

How to take creative photos is a question almost all photographers ask. No matter how outside-the-box you think, you’re bound to get a creative block at some point.

To help, we’ve put together 11 ways you can capture more creative, eye-catching and weird photos using just your digital camera.

Our creative photography ideas are perfect for everyone, beginner to pro. So, take a look through and get inspired for your next shoot.

Experimenting with angles

Playing around with angles is one of the easiest and most creative ways you can take more interesting photos. Angles give you a sense of perspective and dimension, so tinkering with the status quo is a sure way to create a striking, one-off image.

Try taking low-angle shots by shooting upwards to make your subject appear taller and more powerful than in reality. The psychological effect means your audience feels inferior or even vulnerable to the subject, which is especially effective if you use typically harmless, everyday objects. Anything from an apple to a teddy bear is sure to catch the eye.

Or go to the other extreme; place your camera up high and angle your shot downwards on your scene, either with an extended mono/tripod or from a raised platform. High angle photos have the reverse effect and it’s your subject that is in the weakened, dependent position. This shot style often has a strong emotional impact on your audience, making them feel anything from compassion to superiority depending on the subject. High-angled shots often let you to capture more of the surrounding area than low-angled shots, which should open up your creative field even more. Be careful not to shoot from directly above and make this an aerial shot, which is different.

Using different effects

Without even thinking about camera position, you can create eye-catching and weird photos using post-production techniques and camera settings.

Grainy

Grainy images, like the very old photos you might have lying around of grandparents, have a way of adding an element of mood and gritty imperfection into a photo. Ironically, technical advances in photography work to eliminate this effect, so the best way to achieve it is by editing your photo in post production.

White balance

Experimenting with your camera’s white balance setting gives your images a range of different color casts that offers many creative photography ideas. Since white light consists of the entire colour spectrum, white balance is supposed to eliminate colour casts to give a more natural image and maintain the correct ‘colour temperature’. This is helpful for creating consistency in films, but playing around with it means you can either warm up or cool down an image for more interesting photos.

Infrared

Infrared photography can create some strikingly interesting photos ranging from black daytime skies to pearl-white trees. Remember, not all digital cameras can capture infrared light and you’ll need a special filter and long shutter speeds to achieve the best results. Noon, when there’s lots of sunlight, is the most effective time of day for infrared photography.

Playing with depth of field

If you want to know how to take creative photos, you first need to think about depth of field. Depth of field is basically a measurement of how much of your scene is in focus, so mixing this up is an easy way to take a collection of attention-grabbing and weird photos. Try putting something seemingly trivial in sharp focus and leave the more chaotic, interesting action in a mysterious blur in the back. Or why not shoot against a plain background, which will leave none of your shot in focus and your audience trying to work out what’s going on. On most digital cameras, you can adjust the aperture setting to control depth of field, so it’s a relatively simple creative photography trick to do, too.

Manipulating scale

One of our favourite creative photography ideas is tinkering with scale. We’re sure you’ve seen holiday snaps of people holding the Taj Mahal in their hands or pushing against the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Rather than having your photos featuring everyone and thing matching their real-life sizes, you can distort reality by bringing small objects close to the camera and making them ‘interact’ with larger objects that are further away. Called ‘forced perspective’, you can make tiny items look just as big — or bigger — than skyscrapers, monuments, or anything else that grabs your interest.

Abstract photos

Capturing abstract shots is a great idea for people learning how to take creative photos. If you’ve ever made a comment and had it taken out of context by someone, you’ll know how something can take on an entirely new life and meaning in a different situation. The same is the case in creative photography. Try taking an everyday object out of its normal surroundings — or ‘context’ — and you have a fresh perspective on something ordinary. You can physically do this, by removing your subject and placing it somewhere else, or by simply taking a close-up shot and cutting out your object’s surroundings. You can use anything with interesting shapes, colours, patterns, or textures, as long as you make sure to fill your frame with the abstract element to create your image.

Add a focal point

Another way you can take some interesting photos that might sound obvious, is using a subject, such as an animal or person. Shots of open landscapes are always popular, and we’ve already talked about some creative photography ideas to make them stand out. However, using a subject gives your images a focal point and allows for more creative shots. Subject-focused photos helps your viewer identify with the picture and usually encourages them to invent a story to explain what’s happening. Try putting your subject in an obscure place to really get the viewer’s imagination flowing.

Using slow shutter speeds

Implementing slow shutter speeds into your photography lets your audience see something unusual. Using a slow shutter speed means that anything moving is captured in your photo as a blur, while anything still looks sharp and in focus. So, traffic headlamps spread into a line of light, while roads and buildings appear in normal time. This thread of creative photography is very on trend and simple to carry out.

Place your camera on a tripod facing your chosen scene (preferably a good mix of stillness and movement) and use a shutter speed of a few seconds. Leave for a while to allow your camera to collect its series of snaps. At the end, inanimate objects will appear sharp and anything moving will be blurred.

Zooming

Zooming in or out while photographing creates a selection of weird and interesting shots and is a simple creative photography idea. This technique makes your subjects appear as if they’re moving towards or away from the viewer, which is a really eye-catching effect particularly when put alongside completely stationary photos. To take these shots, set your camera’s shutter speed for a longer exposure, keep the camera still, make sure you maintain a smooth zoom throughout, and try to use low lighting.

Same photo, different season

Pick your favourite lake, tree or field and photograph it in each season. Use the same angle, depth and camera position to make each captured shot almost identical, then try putting these together in post production to make a creative collage.

Add intrigue to your subject

Here’s one for the person in your image. If you’re taking a shot of someone and want a weird photo that will make an audience think; try adding some perplexities using props and stances. Get your subject to hide their face behind their hands; make them look at something off camera but don’t show the viewer what it is; or ask them to display a mood or expression that doesn’t match the rest of the scene (i.e. crying at a party or celebration). Making the most of your subject can spark some fantastic creative photography ideas and is an easy way to evoke human emotion and interest.

Shadows and silhouettes

An old photography trick but a good one; using harsh shadows and powerful silhouettes is the perfect creative photography idea. You can create mystery and drama in one swift shot simply by using the natural light all around you. Put your subject in front of light source for a silhouette, or take photos in harsh light for impressive shadows. No extra kit needed.

If you want to freshen up your photography kit, check out our range of quality tripods, monopods, digital cameras, and lighting kits from world-leading brands before you go.