Sunday, June 7, 2015

Creative crops

In my photography support group this weeks challenge is "creative crops." Let's face is, shooting the every day cookie cutter images will and do get boring, FAST. You must push yourself and try new things to stay fresh and inspired. Creative crops is a great way to give your images an artistic, creative twist. Not only will it keep you from getting bored but your viewers like to see different things as well. I am huge on creating from your heart and breaking the "rules." But you must first know the rules before you should break them accordingly. I think its very important to know the technical aspect of photography as well as the creative side. Knowing rules of thirds and composition is critical in making a great photo. But breaking them is a must in my eyes. I love getting creative and trying new things and stepping outside of the so called "boundaries."


A quick run down of how you should compose your images. I am sure you have heard the term "rule of thirds." Am I correct? Well, what is it some may say. Quite simply, imagine breaking your image down into thirds (vertically and horizontally) so there are 9 parts. As you see below.



As you can see where I circled in red are the points where you want the focus of your photo to be. So in other words. Where do you want your viewers eyes to go to? You want to put those parts of your image on one of these 4 points. You typically don't ever want your image smack dab in the middle. But like my top image here You can see its center focused but its on the top line, so it isn't smack dab in the middle. now that you have a quick breakdown of how images "should" be composed. Lets get into some creative comps shall we. 

Here are some images I composed a bit differently. 





Getting creative with your crops makes your images more artistic and well, creative. It will make you feel fresh and inspired the more you step outside your comfort zone and do you own thing. It will also make you unique and interesting. I would love if everyone actually shot FOR the challenge rather tha use old images. These tutorials and challenges are to get us all out there shooting and stepping outside our comfort zones. I can't wait to see what you all come up with for this challenge. You all rocked out the dramatic light challenge. As always, create from your heart. Thank you! Until next time, XOXO! Amber