Digital Camera World » creative photography ideas

9 creative photo ideas to try in June 2013

jmeyer — Fri, 31 May 2013 23:01:09 +0000

As part of our ongoing series to help you get more creative with your digital camera, each month we publish some fun, seasonal, creative photo ideas to help inspire your imagination. Along with some amazing images, we’ve also provided some quick photography tips by both amateur and professional photographers who are experts in these fields.

This month our list covers fun projects like shooting forced perspective photography, ‘uninspiring’ locations, double-exposure portraits and using muted colour palettes, among many other fun and creative photography projects.

On each page you’ll find a stunning image and an explanation from the photographer on how it was made.

If you attempt any of these photo ideas, don’t forget to share them on our Facebook wall!

01 Shoot a multiple exposure portrait

Using a multiple exposure technique is a great way to add a creative twist to your head shots. Although it’s straightforward enough to combine pictures of people and natural features such as trees, waves and cracked earth in Photoshop, it can be more rewarding – and more of a challenge – to do it in camera.

“I usually go with the portrait first,” says Finnish fine-art photographer Christoffer Relander, “and I always choose a place where I can easily shoot both the texture image and the portrait itself.”

Christoffer shot these images using a Nikon D700, waiting for the appropriate light and weather each time. “I prefer working on cloudy days, but misty conditions look great as well. Then I use the clouds or the mist as background – the brighter the background the easier it gets.

“Place your model in an area in shadow, and make sure you frame them against the bright background in order to create a silhouette. If you want to make the image more surreal, then overexpose the background to the textured image as well.

“Shoot with manual settings and start by metering the possible different settings for these multiple exposures – don’t hesitate and expect they’ll require the same settings.”

Get started today…
* These images are made by exposing the same frame twice or more.
* You’ll need to use a camera with a multiple exposure mode to be able to do this technique in-camera, otherwise you could try combing the shots in Photoshop.
* Choose textures and patterns that match the personality of your model.

PAGE 1: Shoot a multiple exposure portrait
PAGE 2: Shoot a county show
PAGE 3: Shoot a wider street view
PAGE 4: Shoot creative flower portraits
PAGE 5: Shoot a forced perspective effect
PAGE 6: Shoot ‘uninspiring’ subjects
PAGE 7: Shoot sparkling dew
PAGE 8: Shoot a muted colour palette
PAGE 9: Shoot creative wide-angle views

Double Exposure Photography: when and why you should turn two images into one

jmeyer — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:22:48 +0000

What is double exposure photography? What started as a mistake in the days of film has been reclaimed by photographers over the years who are fascinated by its artistic merits. In this guide we explain what a double exposure is, when you might use this effect and what to do if your camera doesn’t offer a double exposure feature.

Common questions about double exposure photography

So what exactly is a double exposure?

A simple photographic effect where one picture is superimposed over another.

It sounds like a mistake from the days of film…

Double exposures used to be an occupational hazard when using film cameras. A dodgy loading system or a careless photographer would often lead to two exposures accidentally being made on the same piece of film. But the artistic benefits of combining images were soon discovered by photographers such as Sarah Moon.

How do you recreate the effect?

Some digital cameras provide a special multiple exposure function. This is often found  in the menu options, or in the drive mode settings, and allows you to shoot one image, then record a second over the top.

Don’t all cameras provide this feature then?

No. But you’ll find it on a number of compacts and SLRs. Many cameras even help you with the process, showing you a ghost image of the first exposure as you line up the second – enabling you to preview your result before you fire the shutter for the second time.

What makes a good double exposure?

For artistic montages, try pairing a texture with a strong graphic shape. A close-up of a wall or a piece of curtain becomes a background, which then becomes a surface for your main subject. The second image stands out best in the dark areas of the first. You may need to use your camera’s exposure compensation control to make one image brighter or darker.

What if my camera doesn’t offer this feature?

Fear not. Nowadays it’s probably best not to create multiple exposures in- camera anyway.  You get much more creative control if you combine your images in Photoshop (or another image-editing program).

Why does an image-editing program offer more control?

There is no need to shoot both pictures at the same time. In fact, you can combine pictures taken years ago with more  recent work. If you get the double exposure bug, it’s even worth building up a folder of textured and dark images that will work well as multiple exposures. You can download 100 free textures from our website at www.photoradar.com.

Is it a complicated process?

Not really. You open up one image, copy all the images (in the same way as copying all the text from a Word document), then paste these onto the second picture. You then have a wide range of tools for blending the two images together to get the exact effect you want.

What tools are these?

Each of your images is stored in your Photoshop document on a separate layer. By varying the transparency, or Opacity, of a layer, you can see more of the layer underneath – varying the montage effect. You can also adjust the Blending Mode of a layer, making the contents combine with the layer below in different ways.

Multiply, Soft Light, Hard Mix and Exclusion are just four of the many Blending Modes worth experimenting with – each giving very different results with suitable pictures. You can also create masks so that key features of a layer underneath can be selectively made more visible.

Do double exposures have any serious, non-artistic uses?

Yes. Many of the best underwater photographs are double exposures; a close-up of a sea creature is shot with flash, and because of the depth the background appears black. By combining this with a shot taken in shallow water, the image then looks more natural. In the studio, multiple shots are often taken to allow several flash bursts to be used. This means that a narrower aperture can be set to give more depth of field.

PAGE 1: Common questions about double exposure photography
PAGE 2: How to make double exposures in Photoshop

Creative flash photography ideas: how to get artistic with your flower photos

jmeyer — Tue, 28 May 2013 10:28:20 +0000

Find out how to give your plant and flower photos a boost with this easy off-camera flash technique. This simple creative flash photography idea can be shot in any home studio, hassle-free.

The essence of good plant photography is about capturing the character of your specimen. Think of a plant as a personality and seek to express that in the same way a portrait photographer will strive to reveal the individuality of their subject.

With this thistle, we wanted to accentuate its intrinsic spikiness. To achieve this, we decided to backlight the specimen to create a strong highlight around its edges. We shot it against a deep black background (light absorbent velvet) to make the subject stand out.

To create the backlit effect we positioned a Nikon SB800 flashgun, connected to our Nikon D200 SLR via a SC-17 TTL Remote Cord, behind our subject, and then pointed it back towards the camera.

Pointing the flash towards the camera also caused some unsightly lens flare, so we positioned a piece of card between the thistle and the camera to act as a shield.

This is a simple but hugely effective technique that’s successfully enhanced the character of this thistle. Why not try it with botanical subjects of your own?

How to shoot and edit your flash photography flower photos

The set-up
Using a makeshift home studio, we positioned our flash behind the specimen. We connected the flash to the camera using a remote cable and pointed it back towards the lens to create a backlight effect.

Instant feedback
Using Lightroom 3’s Tethered Shooting feature, we were able to connect our camera to our computer. This is a great way to work in a home studio and the instant visual feedback on a large monitor proved useful.

Clean as a thistle
Moving our file seamlessly into Lightroom 3’s Develop mode, we processed our RAW file, tweaking the tones, colours and contrast. If you’re not using Lightroom 3, Adobe Camera Raw will be just as good.

3D Anaglyphs: using Photoshop effects to create a sense of depth

jmeyer — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:00:11 +0000

If you’re looking for creative photography ideas to try and get more from your images, making 3D anaglyphs is a really fun technique to learn. In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple way of using Photoshop effects to create the illusion of depth in your images.

3D graphic effects work by giving each eye a slightly different perspective of a scene, creating the illusion of depth. With 3D anaglyph images, the two perspectives are in different colours (usually red and cyan, as these two colours are chromatically opposite).

This is why classic 3D glasses have different-coloured lenses, as these restrict what each eye sees.

3D films are shot with two lenses side by side, one for each eye, but you can achieve a similar illusion using a single image.

Our before image

Different ‘depth planes’ can be created by dividing the image into separate elements, creating red and blue layers of each, then controlling the amount and direction the red and blue layers are shifted.

Moving the red left and the blue right will make the area appear further away, while red right, blue left will make it appear closer.

It’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds, and the results are instantly gratifying. So grab a pair of 3D glasses and let’s get started…

How to make 3D anaglyphs

01 Select the hand
Open original start image, then hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy the background layer. Grab the Quick Selection tool and paint over the hand and sleeve on the left to select it (hold Alt to subtract if the tool goes wrong). Click the Refine Edge button and set Smooth 15, Feather 2, Contract/Expand +100.

02 Clone around edges
Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy the hand to a new layer. Highlight the middle layer and grab the Clone tool. Repeatedly Alt-click to sample the background, then paint with the tool to create a crude edge that extends the background walls and ceiling so that they overlap the edges of the hand.

03 Make the blue layer
Double-click the layer name and call it Red, then hit Cmd/Ctrl+J and call the copy Blue. With the Blue layer highlighted, go to Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels. Click the Channel dropdown and pick Red, then go to the Output Levels slider. Drag the right-hand point to the left, then hit OK.

04 Make the red layer
Hide the Blue layer and highlight the Red layer. Go to Levels again and this time choose Green from the Channel dropdown. Once again drag the Output slider right point all the way to the left. Next select Channel: Blue and again drag the slider across so your image is completely red.

05 Blend and nudge
Reveal and highlight the Blue layer, then click the Blend Mode dropdown in the Layers Panel and choose Screen. Hit Escape, then grab the Move tool. Press Shift + ► twice to nudge the Blue layer 20px to the right. Highlight the Red layer and press Shift + ◄ twice to nudge it 20px to the left.

06 Add graphics
Reveal and highlight the hand layer, then go to File>Place. Next, we navigated to the ’3D’ logo file and hit Place, then did the same for the png file of the 3D glasses icon. We then used the Move tool to position the graphics and add text.

Finally, put on a pair of 3D glasses and check out the effect!

Family photo ideas: make a striking family portrait from individual faces in profile

jmeyer — Mon, 06 May 2013 23:01:42 +0000

Many photographers struggle for great family photo ideas, but some of the best family portrait photography is that which relies on the old adage that less is more. In this quick and easy tutorial we’ll show you how to make one of our favourite family photo ideas – shooting individual family members in profile and combining them on the computer into one striking family portrait.

At once simple yet instantly recognisable, side-on profiles have been a popular record of a person’s likeness since long before the invention of the camera.

From the silhouetted keepsakes of 18th century lovers, to the royal visage adorning every coin in your pocket, profiled portraits have been ubiquitous for centuries.

One reason for this may be because they show off a person’s unique features in such a clearly defined shape, which also makes for a fascinating family portrait.

Here we’ll show you how to shoot a series of dramatically lit profiles of an entire family – one person at a time – then stitch the individual portraits to create a family photo that not only looks stylish, but also delivers an interesting study of the similarities and differences between each face.

If you’re planning on shooting your own, we’ve got a host of useful tips that will show you how to set up, light and shoot your family in profile.

Once shot, you’ll find a step-by-step guide that shows you exactly how to put your images together in Photoshop. This is much easier than you might think.

All we need to do is use the Lighten Blend Mode so that the lighter parts on each layer show through, then tidy up with a little painting. As the images are mostly black, this makes combining the faces a quick, painless task.

If you prefer to watch, there’s a video among this month’s files that guides you through both the camera skills and Photoshop technique involved in creating an elegant family portrait that will be cherished for years to come.

Family Photo Ideas – step-by-step how to shoot your striking family portrait (1-3)

01 Use a black background
Begin by putting up a black background. Black velvet is best because it’s completely non-reflective. If you don’t have one, you can improvise with some other common material.

It’s crucial that the background remains as dark as possible, so watch out for light  spilling onto it from your flash or lamp. If there is any spillage, reposition the light or place something between the light and background to block the light from reaching it.

02 Set up a light source
You’ll need a strong light source to create your dramatic profiles. We’ve used an Elinchrom home studio flash head here, fitted with a small softbox to diffuse the light.

If you don’t have a flash head, you could use a flashgun fitted with a diffuser as long as you can trigger it wirelessly or via a cable. Alternatively, a strong lamp will work, but you’ll need to increase your camera’s ISO and adjust exposure to allow for weaker light.

03 Position the light
Set up your light source off to one side and slightly behind where your subjects will be. The positioning, height and angle of the light is vital, because the aim is to light the edge of the person’s profile while keeping the rest of the face fairly dark.

Directing the light straight at the person will result in harsh light, while swinging it more in the direction of the camera will ‘feather’ the light and give softer results. Take a few test shots to determine the right angle.

PAGE 1: Family Photo Ideas – step-by-step how to shoot your striking family portrait (1-3)
PAGE 2: Family Photo Ideas – step-by-step how to shoot your striking family portrait (4-6)
PAGE 3: Family Photo Ideas – step-by-step how to combine your images into one portrait (1-4)
PAGE 4: Family Photo Ideas – step-by-step how to combine your images into one portrait (5-8)

Photo Anatomy: why Dan Chung used a tilt-shift lens to capture Usain Bolt

crutter — Sun, 05 May 2013 01:00:14 +0000

In our Photo Anatomy series on Digital Camera World we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment award-winning press photographer Dan Chung reveals how he captured Usain Bolt’s 100m final victory at the Beijing Olympics using innovative tilt-shift lens effects.

Freezing the action
“I handheld my Nikon D3, which was fitted with a Nikon PC-E Micro-Nikkor 85mm lens,” Dan says. “I used an exposure of 1/500 sec at f/2.8 with the ISO set to 800.”

‘Toytown’ effect
Dan used his tilt-shift lens to create a narrow depth of field, making the runners stand out from the blurred background as if they were a group of miniature-scale models.

Decisive moment
This frame was captured just after the runners had crossed the finish line, and Bolt’s holding out his arms in celebration. The display board shows his record-breaking time.

Alternative viewpoint
“I’m always looking for a different perspective on an event,” says Dan. “This photo was part of a series of tilt-shift images I took during the Games.”

Press ethics
As a press photographer, Dan had to create this effect entirely in-camera. “I was shooting for The Guardian and wouldn’t have been allowed to use software to simulate it,” he says.

We Say
“Tilt-shift lenses have a variety of technical and creative uses and are great fun to experiment with, but they’re expensive.  As an alternative, the miniature-like appearance shown here can be created at the post-capture stage.
Chris Rutter, Technique editor

Shadow Art: abstract photography effects with everyday items

jmeyer — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:00:03 +0000

Find out how you can use common household items to create striking shadow art. These simple photography effects can be achieved by anyone and can be shot anywhere, using anything!

Get creative this weekend – all you need for this project is a lamp, a plain wall and a bottle. By deliberately using shadows as part of a composition you can give a unique feel to your still lifes.

Glass props work well for this project, as they give off interesting shadows under a strong light.

We set up our glass bottles on a table, placing a flower in one to give a stronger silhouette, and lit the scene from the side using an anglepoise lamp.

You can also use a flashgun as a light source, but you’ll need a cable or wireless trigger so that the flash can be placed away from the camera.

Another option is to set up your bottles behind paper or muslin and shoot through it – the shadows will fall softly against the surface.

How to photograph shadow art

01 Set it up
Set your props up in a dark room and place your light source to the side of the table. Now it’s just a case of playing with angles until your bottles cast a strong shadow on the wall behind them. Try overlapping shapes and colours, and mixing transparent props and opaque ones.

02 Settings
Put your camera on a tripod. This will allow you to use a low ISO, such as 100 or 200, and leave your hands free to adjust your props. Use a small aperture, such as f/11, to ensure everything stays sharp. If you’re struggling to give your shots an abstract feel, try changing the White Balance.

03 Get experimenting
Don’t stop at bottles – scout around the house and you’re sure to find a host of objects that will give you interesting silhouettes. Anything translucent works really well, or try shooting the shadows left by everyday items like a fork or a wedding ring to see what effects you can get.

Tripod Tips: using a tripod to shoot from unusual camera angles

jmeyer — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:00:52 +0000

Want to take more creative photography? Shooting from unusual camera angles is a tried and tested technique for adding drama to your shots.

But doing so requires knowing how to use a tripod like an expert. Follow these tripod tips to find out how to set up your camera to shoot from every angle possible.

Image by Mark Hamblin

Your tripod is just as important as your camera kit, and without one it would be impossible to take many shots at all.

A lot of the time, you’ll just use your tripod at a comfortable height, but to capture something a little different you need to think beyond using the tripod as a mere camera support. Instead, use it to shoot from unusual angles that give your images a creative edge.

Tripods come in many styles and configurations, but most have the option for the legs to splay right out.

This reduces its height, which is great for low-level shooting – an ideal way to accentuate foreground interest in your landscape images and get unusual perspectives on ground-dwelling wildlife subjects.

Centre columns can be a real pain if you want to get really low though, so consider buying a model without one. Alternatively, most can be removed and reinserted to mount your camera upside down.

Sometimes the best shooting position can be very awkward to get to, on uneven ground or higher than you can reach. But there are ways around this.

For example, two legs can be extended to full height and the third kept short to enable working on very steep ground.

In some cases, one leg can be redundant altogether, with the tripod resting on two legs and leaning against a vertical surface such as a fence. Or to gain height you can bring the legs much closer together or even hold the tripod high above your head.

Tripod tips for shooting from unusual angles

Get down low
Keep the legs at their minimum height and adjust the locking clips so the legs can be splayed out. There are often a couple  of positions that the legs can be locked into to optimise the height. The absence of a centre column is best for ultra-low shooting.

Reverse the centre column
If your camera has a centre column, remove it and re-insert it the other way. You can now mount the camera upside down and position it close to the ground. Adjust your settings before positioning the camera and use Live View to compose the shot.

Handhold your tripod
A tripod can sometimes be used to good effect by holding it high up with your camera attached for an elevated view or unusual angle.

Set a high shutter speed of around 1/250 sec or faster to prevent camera shake and fire the shutter using a remote release.d re-insert it the other way.

You can now mount the camera upside down and position it close to the ground. Adjust your settings before positioning the camera and use Live View to compose the shot.

How to make a photo planet from an old baking tray

jmeyer — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:46:04 +0000

Believe it or not, this photo planet was made entirely from a shot of a grubby old roasting tin and a simple but cunning combination of Photoshop effects!

If you’re into spacescapes, the core skills in this walkthrough will add to your sci-fi repertoire of techniques, and you’ll be able to incorporate planets, moons and other heavenly bodies into your scenes. Let’s see how it’s done…

Draw a selection
Open you starting file (a close up shot of an old greasy baking tin works well). Take the Elliptical Marquee tool, and draw out a circle covering the width of the image; if you hold down Shift while making the selection you’ll be able to draw a perfect circle. Go to Edit > Copy to copy the selection. Next press D, then X to set the background colour to black.

Create the background
Go to File > New > Blank File. Set Width to 10 inches, Height to 8 inches, Resolution to 300 pixels /inch and Background Contents to Background Colour. Go to Edit > Paste to paste the circular selection into this document. Click Show Bounding Box, and drag a corner handle to scale the selection down. Select the black background by clicking in it with the Magic Wand tool, then press Ctrl+Shift+I to invert the selection, so that the circle is selected.

Get some perspective
To give the planet some perspective go to Filter > Distort > Spherize. Enter a value of 100% and click OK, then go to Filter > Spherize to reapply the filter. Create a new layer, and draw another circular selection that’s roughly the size of the planet. Go to Edit > Fill Selection and fill with black. Hide this layer for now by clicking the eye icon to the left of the layer thumbnail.

Add an atmosphere
Click on the planet layer and go to Layer > Layer Style > Style Settings. Check Glow, then check Inner. Set Size to 25px and Opacity to 75%, then click the colour swatch and choose a light blue. Next check Outer, set Size to 80px and Opacity to 75%, and choose a slightly different shade of light blue.

Create the dark side
Show the black circle layer at the top of the layer stack, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set Radius to 70 Pixels to create the effect of a shadow. Select the Move tool, click Show Bounding Box, resize the circle if need be by dragging a corner handle, and position the shadow roughly as shown.

Add a sunrise and stars
Go to Layer > New > Layer. In the dialog set Mode to Hard Light and tick ‘Fill with Hard Light-neutral colour’. Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare, and set Brightness to 100% and Lens Type to 50-300mm zoom. Click OK, then use the Move tool to position the flare on the planet’s horizon. Take the Brush tool, set Size to 5 pixels, hardness to 100% and the foreground colour to white, and click to dot a few stars around.

Creative Photography: 10 tips for getting out of your comfort zone

jmeyer — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:00:22 +0000

One of our goals as photographers – after we overcome the common photography problems and improve our skills – is to make original work. But avoid the traps (and tripod holes) of cliched compositions can be incredibly difficult. To help you along we’ve polled our experts and put together 10 of our best creative photography tips.

While these tips won’t necessarily guarantee success, or even creative photography, they will however help get you out of your comfort zone. Start ditching your usual routines, and then you’ll be in the place where original and creative photography is more likely to happen!

10 quick creative photography tips, 1-5

01 Break the rules
Some of the most creative images arise when you throw away the rule book for photo composition. Of course, you still need to understand the fundamentals of how to create a photographic image, but try disobeying a few rules if you want to push your creativity further. Why not place a horizon right in the middle of the frame?

It might not adhere to the ‘rule of thirds’, but there are some fantastic and successful images that do just that. Ditch the tripod and try hand-holding your camera for a one-second exposure. The results might not be pin sharp, but they will have a wonderful sense of motion or artistic blur.

02 Colour
Colour presents fabulous opportunities for the creative photographer. Look for colour combinations that work. Whether you’re mixing complementary colours to create a visual harmony or clashing colours to create a sense of tension, you’ll find colour a great tool in your creative armoury.

Experiment with your camera’s white balance settings. Sometimes the “wrong” setting can add mood to a scene, so switch from auto mode, take control and try using the Fluorescent setting in daylight, or the Daylight light setting under indoor tungsten light.

03 Celebrate blur
Use blur as a creative tool and you can get some fantastic impressionist or semi-abstract results. However, there is an art to getting it right and it’s not simply a case of twisting your lens barrel so everything’s out of focus.

Your choice of lens and aperture will affect the characteristics, as will your subject matter. Use your camera’s screen to monitor the effects and experiment.

Colour and tone combinations become more emphasised when working with blurred images, so you’ll need to be more aware of the elements in the composition.

04 Shutter speeds
As a general rule of thumb, photographers want crisp photos that don’t display any signs of motion blur or camera movement, and using a tripod or a fast shutter speed will pretty much guarantee this.

However, adding a bit of movement can add a fascinating dimension to your work. Try jogging your tripod during a long exposure or even hand-holding your camera for a second or two. Remember that you’ll need to adjust your aperture accordingly so your shot isn’t over-exposed.

05 Experiment with lenses
Try using specialist lenses in the wrong context to give your images an unusual twist. Experiment with a tilt-and-shift lens, which is typically used to correct converging angles in architectural shots.

In the “wrong” situation it can produce some interesting results and skew perceptions of depth, distance and scale. If you don’t have access to a tilt-and-shift lens, try using a more economical alternative, such as  a Lensbaby.

PAGE 1: 10 quick creative photography tips, 1-5
PAGE 2: 10 quick creative photography tips, 6-10