Creative tip 5: winter close-ups | London Creative Photographer

Just a simple project to take me out of my comfort zone…a little. I got hold of a Macro lens and used it until my arms and neck hurt. I prefer taking photos of people, so I practised on my eldest daughter up-close-and-personal. But to challenge myself, I also shot a few things – “object / still-life” which I do not normally do – I’m only showing here the very few that made the cut!

So this project is simply to step out of our comfort zone and try something new. If you are an object / still-life shooter, take photos of people and vice versa. If you like landscapes, shoot moving subjects real close. If you like Macro photography, shoot some wide angles and landscapes. Or if you like full bright colours, try shooting muted, pale colours, and so forth. You get the idea.

…Just a little exercise to remind myself that there are views other than those I’m used to seeing, other visions that can help me see the world a little differently.

Techie tips:

If you own a DSLR, try a lens that you haven’t used or if you don’t have another lens and have a zoom, try just using one focal length, for example shoot only at 35mm. If you have another lens that you hardly use, shoot with it. Or shoot using settings that you are not familiar with, for example, if you are used to shooting in Automatic mode, try a semi or full Manual mode, or if you like shooting wide open at f2.8 or wider, try smaller apertures like f8. In the set below, I used a variety of apertures including f8 which I do not normally use.

If you own a point and shoot, experiment with the different scene modes and even the black and white / sepia modes.

Try to see the world with “different” eyes. Have fun!

If you missed creative tip 4, click here and follow the trail for previous tips.