One of the most frequent questions we get on our workshops is how to become more creative. Certainly learning the latest camera settings and technique is important as well, but for many photographers learning which button to press or mode to use is more tangible than learning to be creative. Are there ‘hard steps’, things you can quantify, to becoming more creative? The answer is yes, and I will share one I learned in journalism school. Shoot self assignments…
When you shoot editorial assignments, editors give you a framework of what they want to capture in the images. Their end goal is engaging their audience, so they are looking for images that capture the spirit, mood and story that is the subject. Sometimes they tell you to shoot in certain formats or focal lengths to meet layout and copy requirements. If you have worked with an editor before, they may give you more freedom to cover the assignment.
Assignments give you a framework and end goal in your photography. You have to start thinking of original ideas, creative solutions and problem solving to make it happen. Maybe you experiment with a new technique, or try an angle you have never shot before. How about using a speed light for edgy lighting? These are all good things! You are putting your creative juices to work….and you are getting more creative as a result.
So rather than wait for a magazine editor to give you your assignment, give yourself your own assignment on your next photo outing. This excursion could be an afternoon in the local park, urban area or exotic safari. It doesn’t matter where, what matters is you go through the motions of shooting a self assignment and exercise those creative ideas and techniques.
Cree and I just did two personal trips in Alaska, one to Nome for musk ox, and the other to Denali NP. Rather than just focus on animals, I gave myself an assignment to capture the mood and beauty of fall in Alaska. I followed this idea; shoot wide and tele, macro and landscape, ground and aerial, horizontal and vertical, and cover all subjects. No boundaries, anything that said autumn I was going to photograph. I was getting creative photographing my self assignment.
You can see some the images here from that self assignment. If you are sitting at home feeling like you are in a creative rut, grab your camera, assign yourself a photography subject or concept, and go out and shoot! Remember, the process is as important as the end result in developing your creativity.