A three part blog post The first part briefly talking about the experimental photo below: Smoke and Light and secondly we talk about experimentation in photography but it could apply to anything in the creative world. Final part we look at an artist that uses Taxidermy as her medium of expression Polly Morgan.
Part 1: Smoke and Light
A few words on this photo I call smoke and light taken on Berwick street in Soho, Central London
This was a photo that I had in my head for sometime so I deliberately went out to see if this could be re-created in the real world. The photo was a silhouette surrounded by smoke and steam a bit like those New York photos on the streets in winter. The only place I could think where you would get this look was in Soho where the street food vendors are. A bit of experimentation and this was the result. Totally candid, nothing posed, one of the chefs just walked into the frame. We have sunflare, blown out highlights, under exposed subject a perfect technical disaster but this photo has mood and drama and is not your run of the mill photo. Confirmed by a lot of interest on my Instagram account.
Part 2 Don’t be afraid to experiment
Not just photography but any creative endeavour, it’s good to experiment. Some of the best photos have arrived after experimentation. William Klein and his two kids on the street accidental blur photo paved the way for more blur photos shot by him ON PURPOSE. Vaccines are the result of experimentation, so are inventions. We would still be living in caves if it wasn’t for experimentation.
What kills creativity in photography?
The 3 biggest killers of creativity in photography in my opinion which are recent developments are Auto Focus, Program Mode and Evaluative/Matrix Metering (across the whole frame)which kill experimentation.
You end up with an evenly exposed, sharp subject smack bang in the centre and maybe with a bit of bokeh. They are technically superb but visually sterile. No drama, no mood, no conflicts, no soul. There are millions of these pictures out there and they just keep on coming.
The Rose Photo conundrum?
Google “Rose” or Rose Photos”, I did it today and look at the results. Photos taken 2 feet away, mid day in probably Program Mode with Auto Focus, all the same view point over and over and over again, just different colours. Pages and pages of the things. People then think that this is the photo you have to take to get on the first page of a Google search and so the process continues, you end up with billions of them.
If you are happy with this fine. If you have aspirations or ambitions for your work to get recognition beyond likes and follows on the major platforms you need to experiment and move beyond this..
An example, if all Rose flowers seem to be shot during the day, shoot at night with water sprayed on them and a small amount of flash.Put a portfolio of those shots of different flowers on your website and sit and wait and the enquiries will come. It takes time but they will come. Major companies are always on the look out for creative minds with new ideas, I worked for an advertising department of a major company so I should know, I used to pay them via company money. I know what these creative types get paid, maybe less in current times……… but the demand is still the same.
Photographic Experimentation Examples?
Examples of experimentation can be, instead of sun over the shoulder shots, try side lit, backlit with fill flash, low angle of view (floor) or high angle of view (overhead), over exposed (high key) or under exposed (low key), macro or close up, black and white, reverse bokeh, wide angle, telephoto, the golden hour, the list is endless.
Turn off the Auto Focus and look through the viewfinder and focus manually in slow motion and watch what happens. Use this creatively. Switch to aperture priority and switch the metering to spot metering. Wave the camera around like a mad person in a room with a strong light source and take some shots.
Switch to Shutter Priority and shoot at 1/8 second all day. Yes 1/8 second. TRY IT! I swear once you look at those photos it will transform your photography and stimulate the creative part of your brain.. Experiment!
Part 3. Polly Morgan and Experimentation
Finally I’ll hand you over to Polly Morgan. She is a Taxidermist based in London who uses dead animals to create beautiful artistic creations that sell for thousands by experimenting.
She is not a photographer, but you can learn from her creative thoughts and process. She has looked at what has gone before, the accepted norm and has gone against it and put a modern twist on it, her twist and it works. I think what she says at around 9-10 mins in Part 2 has been said by many an artist about confidence levels. In summary. EXPERIMENT!!!!
Warning: features dead animals not for the squeamish!
VIDEOS:
PAVEMENT PULSE 
One response to “Always Experiment with Creative Ideas”
[…] part will talk about “Thinking Outside the Box”. Similar to the previous post on “Experimenting” but different. Curious or scratching your head? Read […]
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